Snakeheads: The Movie You’re Thinking Of? No.
Before we begin: no, this is not Snake Head Terror. There will be no low-budget CGI here, probably no screaming people, and, possibly unfortunately, no chainsaw showdowns with a 50 foot long snakehead. We’re talking about real snakeheads today. I know he said I don't have to credit him, but I still want to say that @Kazuma Satou gave me a ton of facts for this blog and I appreciate him for it, (and for listening to me ramble about fish the entire last week lol).
Before we begin, you might be wondering what the heck is a snakehead and the first image that comes into your mind is probably something from a movie. There are over 50+ species of snakeheads that are divided into 2 different groups: Channa and Parachanna. The 2 main types I'm going to be talking about today are Northern Snakeheads and the Ceylon Snakeheads both from the Channa groups.
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A few facts about Ceylon Snakeheads:
- Incredibly dangerous, even to their own species, they will eat smaller members of their own species.
- They don't stay in one place for long. when food becomes scarce they move to other ponds by jumping on the ground and they can survive without water for a while.
- They can heal fast, with bruises from walking across land healing within a day.
- Can grow up to 10–13 inches (25–33 cm).
- They don't hesitate to attack humans and if you put a finger into the water they'll swim toward it at lightning speed and try to bite it.
- They're fast swimmers and when they feel like they're under attack, they stir up the mud to make water unclear.
- They're easy to catch if you just slowly place a net in front of them and tap their back they'll swim straight into it.
- The Ceylon is one of the smaller snakehead species and often referred to as the "Dwarf Snakehead".
- Habitat: Streams, rivers, ponds, and wetlands.
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A few facts about Northern Snakeheads:
- Originally from China, Russia, and Korea and is classified as an invasive species in the United States.
- Can grow up to 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) long and weigh up to 15 pounds.
- Like the Ceylon, they "walk" by wiggling on land from one body of water to another and can breathe air for several days.
- Eats fish, frogs, crustaceans, insects, and sometimes small birds or mammals but if it fits in their mouth, they will eat it.
- They prefer sluggish waters with dense vegetation, but can inhabit canals, rivers, and ponds. They are highly adaptable to temperatures ranging from 32F - 90F(0C - 32C).
- A female Northern Snakehead can lay up to 100,000 eggs per year and they can double their population in as little as 15 years.
- Northern snakeheads are respected among some Chinese fishermen for their virtue, as parent snakefish are known to sacrifice themselves to protect their young.
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Myths VS. Facts: Snakehead edition.
Myth #1: They can crawl for miles on land.
Fact:
They cannot go on epic cross-country journeys. They can survive out of water for a short time if kept moist and may wriggle short distances to reach nearby water and they are not planning to attack any local towns.
Myth #2: They attack humans.
Fact:
There are no confirmed cases of Northern Snakeheads hunting people. They’re aggressive toward other fish (especially when guarding babies), but you are not on the menu unless you go sticking your hands in the water or aquarium you have them and then yes, they will dart at your hand and likely try to bite you because they'll think it's a food source.
Myth #3: They’re venomous because they look like snakes.
Fact:
They are not venomous and not at all related to snakes despite the name.
Myth #4: They’ll completely destroy every ecosystem instantly.
Fact:
They are invasive in parts of the U.S., and they can compete with native species which is a real ecological concern, but they are not machines of mass destruction (despite that movie lol) Ecosystem impact varies by location.
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I hope you enjoyed reading this, and tomorrow we will be covering Sea Bunnies~!
And of course, I had to throw this in here for @Zeref, his favorite movie LOL
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