Parachanna africana | |
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Parachanna africana, after Boulenger, 1916 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Anabantiformes |
Family: | Channidae |
Genus: | Parachanna |
Species: | P. africana |
Binomial name | |
Parachanna africana (Steindachner, 1879) | |
Distribution of Parachanna africana. [2] | |
Synonyms [3] | |
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Parachanna africana, the African snakehead or Niger snakehead, is a species of fish from west-central Africa. Little is published on its biology. Limited primarily to coastal sections of rivers, it is thought to be a nest-building, thrust predator like other Channidae. [2]
Its native range is southern Benin to southern Nigeria, primarily the Oueme River and the basin of the Niger River. [2]
This specie also referred to as "African snake Head" or "Niger snake head" is uncommon in the aquarium trade. In Nigeria, it is used for human consumption and used in medicine. This specie is sometimes mistaken for Congener P. obscura, but following Bonou and Teugal (1985), P. Africana can be distinguished from Congener P. obscura by the following combination of characteristics since sometimes they are misapplied:
Most times, the chevron marking may not be visible in a live specimen; this depends on the mood of the fish.
Diagnosis: The body of the specie is elongated, tapering backwards; lateral line scale medium-sized, head depressed anteriorly and covered with larger scales. Lower jaw slightly longer than upper, with 3–4 well developed canines; dorsal fin with 45–48, 8–11 Chevron-shaped dark bars onside.
Coloration: The body color is light to dark grey, back and top of the head darker, underside lighter, dark lateral band on head, broadening between hind margin of the eye and hind margin of Gill cover, followed by a large, rounded black spot; small rounded black spot at the caudal fin.
P.africana are freshwater species; Benthopelagic species. They primarily inhabit lowlands, coastal river basins, swamps, lakes, and man-made reservoirs.
This fish specie prefers a dimly-lit aquarium with a layer of surface vegetation such as Ceratopteris spp plus some submerged cover.
It is essential to use a tightly – fitting hood since Parachanna spp are notorious for their ability to escape and a gap should be left between this and the water surface as they require access to a layer of humid air.
■The water condition should have a temperature of about 20–25-degree Celsius, A pH of 5•0–7•5 and the hardness of the water should be 36 – 268ppm
P.africana is an ambush predator that feeds on smaller fishes and invertebrates in nature but in most cases adapts well to dead alternatives in Captivity. Some specimen accepts dried food though these should never form the stable diet.
Young fish can be fed with chironomid larvae (blood worm), small earthworms, chopped prawns and suchlike while adults will accept strips of fish flesh, whole prawns, mussels, live river shrimps, larger earthworms etc.
Older individuals do not require feeding on daily basis, with 2–3 times per week sufficient.
Note that, this specie should not be fed mammalian or avian mean for example beef heart or chicken since some of the lipids contained in these cannot be properly metabolised by the fish and may cause excess fat deposits and even organ degeneration.
Adult males are slightly slimmer and smaller than females, they possess a longer, narrower head shape, and slightly extended unpaired fins.
P.africana lay their eggs among floating vegetation or floating plants where they float at the surface and are guarded by the male. Nuptial individuals darken considerably and turn to appear blackish with the peak of reproductI've activity during the wet season.
The Asian arowana comprises several phenotypic varieties of freshwater fish distributed geographically across Southeast Asia. While most consider the different varieties to belong to a single species, work by Pouyaud et al. (2003) differentiates these varieties into multiple species. They have several other common names, including Asian bonytongue, dragonfish, and a number of names specific to the different color varieties.
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Brachyplatystoma is a genus of catfish from the family Pimelodidae. As the occasionally used common name goliath catfishes indicates, this genus includes some of the largest species of catfish, including the piraíba, B. filamentosum, which reaches up to the region of 3.6 metres (12 ft) in length. Brachyplatystoma are found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and other tropical freshwater and brackish habitats in South America. Some species are migratory. These fish are important as food fish and, to some extent, aquarium fish.
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The mud whiting, or mud sillago, is a species of coastal marine fish in the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae. The mud whiting was first described in 1985 and is currently known from the north west coast of Australia and the Indian coast.
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Malapterurus beninensis is a species of electric catfish native to the African nations of Angola, Benin, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo. This species grows to a length of 22 cm (9 in) SL. Its habitat is lowland marshes, rivers, and lakes.
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Decapterus russelli, also known as the Indian scad, northern mackerel scad, round scad, Russell's mackerel scad, slender scad, or three lined grunter, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Carangidae. It naturally occurs in the Indian and the western Pacific Oceans and has colonised the eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. It is an important species in coastal fisheries throughout its range.
Channa pleurophthalma, the ocellated snakehead is a species of Southeast Asian freshwater fish in the snakehead family.
Aenigmachanna gollum, the Gollum snakehead, is a species of aquifer-dwelling dragon snakehead fish that is endemic to the Indian state of Kerala.
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Iguanodectes spilurus, the green-line lizard tetra, is a small characiform fish from the rivers of South America. It is not a well-studied species, but research is available, including data from hobbyists that keep it as an ornamental fish. It has a distinct lateral stripe of reflective-green scales, and lacks any red markings therein; red is common in congeners' lateral stripes.
●https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Parachanna-africana
●https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/parachanna-africana/#:~:text=Maximum%20Standard%20Length,250%20%E2%80%93%20300%20mm.