Channa argus
No common name
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Channidae (Snakeheads)
Channa
Channa argus
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Body shape: elongated.
Distribution
Asia: Amur southward to Xi Jiang and Hainan Island, China (Ref. 82587). Introduced elsewhere. Japan (Ref. 6094) and the USA (Ref. 51238) report adverse ecological impact after introduction.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater. benthopelagic. Found in: streams, lakes.
Biology
Can stay out of the water for 3 to 4 days at temperatures ranging from 10 to 15°C (Ref. 37350). Is a typical ambush predator that lies in wait for its prey on the bottom. Hunts mainly in the morning and in the evening, feeding primarily on fish (Ref. 12569). Matures at the age of 2 years and length of 30 cm. Spawns in June and July (Ref. 56557). Eggs are pelagic. Utilized for human consumption.
Max length: 100.0 cm TL; max weight: 8000 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; guarders (clutch tenders).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2020-02-24. Resilience: Low (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Guseva, L.N. (1990) Food and feeding ratios of the Amur Snakehead, Channo argus warpachowskii in water bodies in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya. J. Ichthyol. 30(4):11-21.
Reshetnikov, Y.S. (2003) Atlas of Russian freshwater fishes, Vol. 2. Moscow Nauka.
Novikov, N.P., A.S. Sokolovsky, T.G. Sokolovskaya and Y.M. Yakovlev (2002) The fishes of Primorye. Vladivostok, Far Eastern State Tech. Fish. Univ., 552 p.
Bogutskaya, N.G., A.M. Naseka, S.V. Shedko, E.D. Vasil'eva and I.A. Chereshnev (2008) The fishes of the Amur River: updated check-list and zoogeography. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 19(4):301-366.
Comments On Channa argus