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Although it seems to be confined to the states of Assam and Nagaland in the northeastern part of India, Channa Barca is very rare and is seldom harvested in large quantities.
In recent years, it has been documented in the districts of Kamrup and Morigaon in Assam, although the development of this disease in Nepal and Bangladesh is regarded as being very improbable.
The name of the type location is the “Brahmaputra River near Goyalpara, Assam, India,” and “Goyalpara” refers to the present-day Goalpara district in the state of Assam.
Habitat Of Channa Barca:
It has been reported that this species lives in vertical burrows along the edges of wetlands, even though these areas usually go dry during the winter months.
The majority of the time, these burrows are around one meter deep and comprise of one or more entry tunnels that lead to a bigger chamber that is located below the ground water table.
During the colder, drier months of winter, the fish utilize them as safe havens, and then they emerge to hunt and spawn when the environment is inundated.
It is suggested that it be protected as a concern for conservation because it is less of an ecological generalist than many other Channa species, it needs a particular kind of microhabitat, it has a limited distribution, and it is seldom seen in significant numbers (Gosawami et al., 2006).
- Channa barca: from the Latin channe
- Size: 800 – 900 mm
- Temperature: 12 – 26 °C
- pH: 5 – 7
- Hardness: 50 – 350 ppm
Maintenance tank:
The presence of some surface cover, such as floating or overhanging foliage or branches, is desirable but not required. Relatively simple.
Since Channa barca spp. are infamous for their capacity to escape, it is vital to use a hood that fits snugly. However, a space should be allowed between this and the water surface since they need access to a layer of humid air.
C. barca must not be kept at a steady temperature but must instead be supplied with natural seasonal fluctuation in the form of distinct winter and summer months. This is perhaps the single most critical need for the care of this species.
Because the fish do not need as much food when it is cooler, the water level in the tank may be allowed to drop without any further topping off taking place.
Diet of Channa Barca:
An obligate predator that most likely preys on smaller fish and insects in the wild but, when kept in captivity, is able to make a successful transition to feeding on dead alternatives.
Even dried meals may be tolerated by certain specimens, however they should never make up the bulk of the diet.
Young fish may be fed chironomid larvae (bloodworm), tiny earthworms, chopped prawn, and other foods of a similar nature. Adult fish, on the other hand, will eat strips of fish meat, entire prawns or shrimp, mussels, live river shrimp, bigger earthworms, and other foods of a similar kind.
Because certain of the lipids present in mammalian or avian meat, such as beef heart or chicken, cannot be adequately metabolized by the fish, it is not recommended that this species be given mammalian or avian meat. This may lead to excessive fat deposits and even the degeneration of internal organs.
To a similar extent, there is no advantage to using “feeder” fish such as livebearers or small goldfish because these fish bring with them the possibility of the introduction of a parasite or disease and, in any case, they typically do not have a high nutritional value unless they have been properly conditioned beforehand.
Conduct and a sense of compatibility:
Keeping them in an aquarium designed specifically for their species is recommended.
Even in couples or groups that have been kept together for lengthy periods of time, it is still territorially hostile against other members of its own species, and it is possible for violent acts to break out unexpectedly and without prior notice.
Differentiation of sexes:
When males reach a size of around 150 millimeters, they begin to produce a dorsal fin that is more expanded and strongly patterned.
Adult fish can often have their gender determined by looking at them from above due to the fact that females have a more rounded head shape than males.
This species is incredibly uncommon and costly to acquire, yet it is highly coveted in the aquarium hobby.
It may be differentiated from other Channa species by the combination of the following characteristics: 62-63 lateral line scales; 50-51 dorsal-fin rays; 33-34 anal-fin rays; 56 total vertebrae; two big cycloid scales on each side of the underside of the lower jaw; dorsal-fin and flanks covered with many black dots; pectoral-fin reddish with black bars composed of spots.
Members of the Channidae family are popularly referred to as “snakeheads” owing to the presence of enormous scales on the heads of most species, which resemble the epidermal scales (cephalic plates) of snakes.
There are now about 30 legitimate species, although it is anticipated that the variety within the group will be substantially larger.
The probable C. gachua species assemblage of Britz (2008) includes C. orientalis, C. gachua, C. bleheri, C. burmanica, C. barca, C. aurantimaculata, and C. stewartii suggests the presence of separate evolutionary groupings.
Northeastern Indian species have also been classified into the C. marulius and C. gachua groups (Vishwanath and Geetakumari, 2009).
C. barca was included in the latter assemblage, which the authors characterize as having the following combination of characteristics: presence of a U-shaped isthmus; evenly arranged cephalic sensory pores in a single row; presence of one or two large cycloid scales on each side of the lower jaw; absence of a sharp prominent spine-like hypurapophysis; absence or presence of one tooth plate in the epibranchial; absence of an elongated uro
All Channa spp. have extra breathing equipment in the form of paired suprabranchial chambers positioned behind and above the gills; however, they are not labyrinthic but lined with respiratory epithelium.
These chambers enable the fish to breathe atmospheric air and live in hypoxic settings or even out of the water for an extended amount of time. In aquariums, the fish are often seen rising to the top to take gulps of air.
