Korramenu Fish

Koramenu

Common names:

bullseye snakehead; giant snakehead; great snakehead; cobra snakehead; Indian snakehead; soal (Pakistan); haal (Assam, India); sal, gajal (West Bengal, India); pumurl, bhor (Bijar, India); kubrah, sawal, dowlah (Punjab, India); saal (Orissa, India); poomeenu, phoola-chapa, phool-mural (Andra Pradesh, India); aviri, puveral (Tamil Nadu, India); chaeru-veraal, curuva, bral (Kerala, India); hoovina-murl, madinji, aviu (Karnataka, India); ara, gangara, kalumaha (Sinhalese, Sri Lanka); iru viral (Tamil, Sri Lanka); ara (Sri Lanka); trey raws (Cambodia).

Size:

This species is reported to be the largest of the family Channidae, reaching a length of 120-122 cm (Bardach and others, 1972; Talwar and Jhingran, 1992). Talwar and Jhingran (1992) reported that it grows to 180 cm and a weight of 30 kg in Maharashtra State, western India, noting that a length of 30 cm can be attained in 1 year. Rohan Pethiyagoda and Prachya Musikasinthorn (personal commun., 2002) stated they doubted that any snakehead would reach such a length and were unaware of any specimens of that size. Murugesan (1978) reported a maximum size of 52.8 cm at 8 months from fish stocked at an average length of 37 mm in a tank in Karnataka State, southwestern India, with lengths of 38.6 to 48 cm typical in 1 year. He recorded growth of 2.5 to 4 mm/day for the first 3 months and 0.8 to 1.3 mm/day thereafter, with an average growth rate of 7 cm/month. Johal and others (1983) reported that bullseye snakeheads grow faster than Channa argus, C. punctata, or C. striata, but also noted that growth decreases with increasing age, with the greatest increase in weight occurring during the second year. Their specimens were obtained from River Ghagger, Rajasthan State, northwestern India. Ahmad and others (1990) also reported decreasing growth rate with increasing age in specimens from River Kali in northern India. Wee (1982) cited C. marulius and C. micropeltes as the two fastest growing snakeheads.

Habitat preference:

Lakes and rivers; deep, clear water with sand or rocky substrate (Talwar and Jhingran, 1992); “rivers usually in the vicinity of mud or fine sands” (Sen, 1985); “deep pools in rivers and occasionally in lakes” (Pethiyagoda, 1991). Jhingran (1984) noted presence of this species in swamps, tanks (=small reservoirs), and ponds, but that it also “prefers deep, clear stretches of water with sandy or rocky bottom.” Rainboth (1996) listed preferred habitat as “sluggish or standing water in canals, lakes, and swamps from India to China, south to Thailand and Cambodia.” He added that it is often found with submerged aquatic vegetation.