9. All about Snake Head

Photo 9.4 : The photos and posters above is enough to tell the Snake Head character

Channidae is a family of freshwater perciform fish commonly known as Snake Heads, and is native to Africa and Asia. There are 2 genera, Channa in Asia, and Parachanna in Africa, consisting of 30 species. These predatory fishes are distinguished by a long dorsal fin, small head with large head scales on top, large mouth and teeth. They have a physiological need to breathe atmospheric air, which they do with a primitive form of a labyrinth organ.

Photo 9.5: The diagram on what is called Labyrinth Organ

They are considered valuable food fish. Larger species like Channa Striata, Channa Maculata or Parachanna Obscura are farmed in aquaculture. Snake Heads feed on plankton, aquatic insects, and mollusks when small. When adult, they mostly feed on other fish like carp, or frogs. In rare cases, small mammals such as rats are taken. The size of the snakehead species differs greatly. Dwarf Snake Heads like Channa Gachua grow to 25 cm. Most Snake Heads grow up to 100 cm. Only 2 species Channa Marulius and Channa Micropeltes can reach a length of more than 1 meter and a weight of more than 6 kg.

The snakehead is imported to the U.S. as a food fish and also for the aquarium trade where many thousands are sold every year as pets. The Snake Head fish is unique in several ways from most other fish. Similar in body-type to a muscular eel, some varieties can grow to 1.2 meter in length. The Snake Head has a flat snake-like head and toothed maw, hence it's name. What makes the Snake Head so unique, however, is its voracious appetite and its ability to breathe air. In fact the snakehead can travel short distances across land and live for up to three days out of water! It will eat fish equal in size to itself and will consume small mammals as well. There are even reports in Asia of snakeheads attacking and killing humans (“This one have been verbally recorded, happens in Pahang, Malaysia”- Elham).

Photo 9.6 : Giant Snake Head caught when fishing

The northern Snake Head is extremely adaptable to various climates including cold waters, and like all snakeheads, breeds easily. Adaptability, carnivorous appetitive, lack of natural enemies and ability to transverse land, makes the northern Snake Head a real threat to U.S. waterways and indigenous species of fish and amphibians. Tropical and subtropical breeds of Snake Heads can pose an additional threat to warmer waterways like those in Florida and Hawaii.

Photo 9.7 : A beautiful Dwarf Snake Head

Snake Heads have been found in U.S. waters in several states, released by aquarists and freed from food markets. Many states now ban the importation of live Snake Heads, however, illegal snakehead-activities have been recorded in most of these states and snakeheads are readily available over the internet.

Many people do realize the environmental impact of releasing a pet or a food fish into local waters where that fish is not native. With no natural enemies in U.S. waters, the Snake Head's prolific breeding habits and hardy natures create a real potential for Snake Heads to multiply and destroy entire populations of fish and amphibians in the waters in which they are released, including many species on the endangered list. This could cause significant damage not only to the environment but also to fishing and other recreational industries that rely on the preservation of lakes and rivers.

Snake Heads are known in the aquarium trade as tankbusters; they grow to be very large and require a substantial investment to keep, not only because of the tank size required but also because they must be fed large amounts of food daily. For this reason Snake Heads are often released at some point by their owners. Hobbyists should return these fish to the aquarium trade where they can be placed with other willing aquarists, local fish stores, or public aquariums. It is illegal to release non-native fish into local waters, whether a Snake Head or any other type of fish.

The threat of Snake Heads finding their way into U.S. waterways is not likely to go away anytime soon. Only strict monitoring, swift action and stiff fines can prevent what might otherwise be a potentially devastating loss to the local environment with significant economic impact.(“Next time, don’t throw your Snake Head away, you wouldn’t know how good their flesh tastes. Me? I have ate lots n lots of ‘em”- Elham).

Photo 9.8 : This fish tastes much much much better than their looks

I got so little time yet so many thing to put in this blog. Maybe next time, with more photos of this deadly fish that is invading worlds freshwater habitat and inhabitans. Until next time, please take a good care of your fish.

Prohibition of Piranhas Import, etc. Regulations

There is an error on the text link on the previous post (8. All about Red Bellied Piranhas). Here are the ‘printscreen’ version of it. The proof that Piranhas are prohibited in Malaysia by all means. If I do caught a pet shop selling the fish, I would certainly lodge a report to the Customs. I don’t wanna have the rivers filled with this deadly fish!!!


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9. All about Snake Head (the Debut)

Hi all...

Last Wednesday, on August 15th I purposely apply for annual leave from my boss just to relax and clear my mind away from work. When I get into my office recently, it seems like I were in some kind of pressurized tank and the force keeps increasing and pressing me down like hell. I knew that I had to do something before my brain explode. So, I set up a plan with my technicians to go fishing at a new place we’ve found during our weekend ‘chick-hunting nite’…hehe. Since my technician works in early morning shift, they can go out at 3.00 pm. My friend Hanif will go catch live baits while others preparing for food and drinks. The live bait that we are using is none other than the Gourami and the fish we are targeting is the Snake Head!!! We’ve found their lair in a lake inside an oil palm estate in Taman Impian Emas, Johor Bahru, a new housing area which is still under development.

We arrive there at 5.00 pm and the weather is about to change. By looking at the cloud, I bet heavy rain is on its way. To get to the perfect ‘fishing port’, we have to go deep inside the estate with our bike. The soil is wet, full of slopes, potholes and tall bushy grass making the ride so bumpy. Thank God we didn’t meet with the Cobras or Pythons that usually lurks inside the estate area or else, our ride will turn from bumpy to…deadly!!! At last, we’ve arrived. We put on our fishing equipment and raise our fishing rod. Right now it is the best time to fish because the Snake Head finds their food at this moment. How do we know?? The fish will eventually move to the surface and breath on the open air. There are lots of bubbles coming out from the water which is a sign that the fish is moving up and without wasting any second, we throw our line.

No need to wait for long. As soon as our line reach the water surface, the Snake Head quickly snap and hooked. However, we only manage to caught the young Snake Head only, and the battle is not so exciting but Alhamdulillah (All thanks to The Almighty). Here are the photos taken from Hanif’s Nokia. Wanna join us?? Girls only…Hehe


Photo 9.1 : My friend’s catch. These are called Toman Bunga (Flowered Body Snake Head)


Photo 9.2 : My catch. Young Snake Head

Photo 9.3 : First Snake Head landed. Not mine

8. All about Red Bellied Piranha

Photo 8.1 : Red Bellied Piranha

Hi all, I think it’ve been a quite a long time since the last vids post. Currently, I am too busy designing jigs and fixtures for new model that will be coming soon. I think I’ve not yet telling what kind of job I’m doing right now. Well, I work in a factory that assembles VCM for hard disk drive. What the hell is a VCM?? It is a device where the hard disk ‘readers’ are located. Using magnetic force, the VCM function is to move the ‘readers’ when ‘seeking’. ‘Seeking’ is the process where the ‘readers’ is searching something like files, folders, blah blah blah...enough. The customer is none other than SEAGATE U.S. As a designer, it is my responsible to make sure the VCM assemblies can be shipped on schedule by designing, setup and troubleshoot automated fixtures. My motto is, ‘Never Fail Any Shipment’. If we fail to ship the parts, the workers in our customer site will have nothing to do and they have nothing to produce. So, the company where I work right now must pay for their workers salary on that particular day. Quite tough don’t you think??

Talking about shipment have remind me on this type of fish. The infamous Red Bellied Piranha. Are you man enough to swim with this fish?? Go ahead, nothing will go wrong (“I hope”- Elham). Some says ("not me"- Elham), their reputation as man-eaters is not true. Believe it or not, there are no reports of a person being killed by a Piranha. Piranhas, in the Amazon are a common food fish. If a fisherman gets a bite from them, its shows that the fisher is careless and the fish is actually defending itself. Outside the water, they are quiet harmless. Other than ‘play dead’, the Piranhas defensive action is done using their razor sharp teeth. Their lower jaw is so powerful just like the crocs and the gators, so please bear in mind that if you’re bitten, you will lose small chunk of flesh of your own with the Piranhas shear-action-interlocking set of teeth!!!

This fish is so common in the Amazon basin and usually found swimming in schools. When raining season in the Amazon, flood will happen and during this season, the fish will be able to swim to their doorstep thus giving the local people some free meal.

Red Bellies comes from their appearance. Their belly and chin is glowing in red and on their sides glitters with flecks of gold and silver. They are mainly carnivorous while some of them feels more comfort as a vegetarian feeding on fruits and nuts. Did you know that other than scoop the flesh of their prey, their teeth will also comes handy to crack nuts. Did you also know that mainly the Piranhas is a hardcore fin + scales nippers. Yes, they mainly take a bit of a fish’s scales or fins as their source of protein.

The Piranhas may grow from 30 cm to 60 cm long with their weight more than 1.5 kilos. When breeding, the female may produce up to several thousand eggs at one time. If you want to keep them as pet fish, just go ahead. But please make sure that your tank can filled up to 100 gallons of water with heavy duty filtration, bogwood and few robust decors. The fish should live in a tropical condition with the water temperature from 24°C to 27°C with the water should be fairly soft or slightly acidic but preferably avoided. Of the 18 piranha species, only four are considered dangerous. The Red Bellied Piranha is one of those, because it will bite when it is underfed, overcrowded or threatened. They also bite anything that moves where blood is present in the water. Fishermen have lost fingers by pulling a piranha out of the water in a net and then allowing it to throw itself around on the bottom of the boat. Some species of piranhas actually have a mostly vegetarian diet, eating seeds and fruit that fall into the water. Piranhas are sold as pets, but they are extremely shy aquarium fish and only come out at feeding time. Most piranhas cannot be kept with other fish, because they consider them food. In the wild, they live in large packs and because of their enormous appetites, spend most of their time searching for food. For your information, Piranhas is prohibited in Malaysia. Here’s the proof from Royal Customs of Malaysia. (Prohibition of Piranhas Import, etc. Regulations).

Photo 8.2 : Red Pacu, often mistaken as a Red Bellied Piranha

Photo 8.3 : Pacu, another Piranha look alike

Well, that’s the time I have for now. Got to go, right now it is raining here. A wonderful time to get some sleep. Tomorrow is Monday, sigh…same old Monday, curse you Monday!!!

Fish Tank Forum Vids Bits 4

Hi all...This vids bits shows a female Guppy in the process of giving birth. Yes...the Guppy didn't lay eggs like other fish, that's why the Guppies are also called Livebearers.

Fish Tank Forum Vids Bits 3

Wanna see how zesty your tank with the Tiger Barbs inside?? Here you go..

Fish Tank Forum Vids Bits 2

Hi all...This vids bits shows a fishing scene located at the Amazon basin. Any idea on what their catch?? Just watch. The fish is actually originates here and now, their species have been widespread.

Fish Tank Forum Vids Bits

This vids bits was shared with YouTube.com. The thing that I wanna show you is the decor that the owner use in his/her tank right now. By the way, lots of Catfish you got there. Quite nice!!! Back to our topic, that driftwood that covers with carpet-like weed is so beautiful. At my place (pet shop in my area), that thing is quite expensive. Not because of the wood, but the 'weed' itself. I forgot the name of the 'weed' but one thing for sure...the more there is, the higher the price tags.

7. All about Labyrinth Fish (Gourami and Climbing Perch) (Part 2)

On the previous chapter, I’m forgot to tell you something. Did you know that the Gourami and the Climbing Perch have a high economic value?? This 2 fish is the main source of protein in most village area. Besides being sold alive, the Gourami and Climbing Perch also sold as salted fish or fermented fish. Believe me…their flesh is soooooo tasty!!!

Photo 7.7 : Fried Climbing Perch with flavored rice, salad and tomatoes


Photo 7.8 : Fermented Climbing Perch…Yummy!!!!!

Photo 7.9 : Dried Salted Gourami in the market

Ok now, as promised I will tell you a myth about Climbing Perch. Although Malaysia is a developing country and currently in a fast paced in the terms of new land opening, tall building constructions, traffic jams occurrence, car accidents, demolished playgrounds and soccer fields and many more…some mystical beliefs still remain strongly inside many individuals. Eventhough modernization is about to taking its place right now, it cannot bypass the arts, cultures and beliefs that have been brought down from the old generation. Malaysians is divided into 3 major races which is Malays, Chinese and Indians. For Malays, we usually believe in the presence and existence of the invisible matter such as ghosts. As a Muslim, believing on the invisible matter such as the existence of genies, Satan and angels is a must. They are just like us human, a being created from the Almighty and for your information, among all the creatures that The Almighty have created, the human being is the greatest, the complete, the most perfect and the ultimate creature of all. And because of that, Satan still hold the grudge against human for not being the perfect creation from The Almighty and have made a promise with The Almighty to astray the human being from doing good deeds. The most popular deceiving method that comes from Satan is his cunning lie on how to be rich quickly.

Long time ago, people who want to make Satan as their servant must first serve for the Satan. They must undergo several training courses in the jungle, swamps and on the top of the mountain. For example, they must stay at one spot without eat, bathe or even sleep. All they do is just sit still just like yoga. How do I know all this?? Of course I know, I’m a Malaysian, it happens here and I always hear this kind of true stories that really happens during my childhood from my grandpa, my uncle, my martial arts guru and many others. Even there are some urban legend that actually covers by our reporters including a story about an Oily Man who have to have sex with 100 virgins to be immortal and about Toyol who’ve been sent by their keepers to steal some money as per instructed by them. The story about Toyol have some relation with the Climbing Perch.

Photo 7.10 : The baby corpse inside a jar

Photo 7.11 : A real figure of the mummified baby corpse

Photo 7.12 : The making of…Toyol is begin!!!

Toyol is a being that comes from baby corpse. The corpse is then mummified and kept inside a bottle or glass jar. When it ready to be used, the mummy is worshipped and during that time, Satan or genies will go inside the corpse and make it alive, just like the scientist that created the Frankenstein. When the corpse is alive, it will emerge in a form of a small boy, totally nude with green skin color. The Toyol is used for only one purpose, that is to steal money. The Toyol will go to the house which it have been instructed to. Normally, Toyol will only steal ¾ of the total amount of money that the victim’s have. They can go inside any house because they can went through any hole even it is as small as a needle tip. During their ‘working hours’ they tend to get hungry, so they will bit the toe from anybody inside the house and suck their blood but normally, the owner of Toyol will feed them with their own blood or blood from a black rooster.

In order to prevent Toyol from stealing our money, here are the tips. Scatter some beans (green) at your living room. The more the better. Toyol will stop there and play with the beans. Usually Toyol will count the beans one by one until finish. So, pur as much as possible!!! Make it count until dawn, because they must leave before dawn or they will be history. Another tip is to tie a crab inside your house. Toyol is so scare of crab. The last tip is to KEEP THE CLIMBING PERCH!!! Toyol loves to play with the fish, and they will keep playing until they forget about their boss command. Beside the use of astray Toyol from stealing your money, the Climbing Perch is also believe can ward off evil spirits and all the bad luck away from your home. How did the fish do that?? I have no idea. Just sharing my stories and share the lessons from it. Until we meet again, please take a good care of your fish.