Giant Snakehead (Channa micropeltes): Facts, Size & Record

 
The Giant Snakehead (Channa micropeltes) is one of the largest snakehead species in the world and one of the most powerful freshwater predators in Southeast Asia. In fact, it can grow to well over a meter and 20 kg, it breathes air, and it guards its young with real aggression. This guide covers names, size and world record, habitat, diet, breeding, danger to humans, edibility, invasive status and, finally, how to tell it from other snakeheads.

What is a Giant Snakehead?

The Giant Snakehead is a large, air-breathing predatory fish in the family Channidae, native to Southeast Asia. It has the long, cylindrical, snake-like body that gives the group its name. A long dorsal fin runs along the back and a long anal fin along the belly, and together with a powerful tail they also make the fish a fast and agile swimmer.

In addition, the head is large, with a wide mouth at the tip of the snout, a row of sharp teeth in the upper jaw and a pair of big canine-like teeth in the lower jaw. It grabs and holds its prey, then swallows it whole. Moreover, like every snakehead, it has a suprabranchial organ, an air-breathing chamber above the gills, that lets it take oxygen directly from the air at the surface. This is why it can survive and even thrive in warm, oxygen-poor water, and why it can stay alive out of the water for a short time.

Habitat and distribution: where does it live?

The species is native to Southeast Asia, from the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia to the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. You can also find it in Vietnam and Myanmar. Since 2011, scientists have treated the populations in southern India, once counted as the same species, as a separate species, the Malabar snakehead (Channa diplogramma).

It prefers deep, still or slow-moving water: rivers and streams, swamps, lakes and reservoirs, especially with vegetation along the shore, shallow bays, fallen trees and other underwater structure. These places give cover for ambushing prey, and they also serve as breeding and feeding grounds. When the wet season arrives, rising water lets the fish move into newly flooded areas to hunt. It also adapts to ponds and oxbow lakes, and farmers raise it in ponds in parts of Southeast Asia.

How to identify a Giant Snakehead

• Body: long and cylindrical, with a long dorsal fin and a long anal fin.
• Head and teeth: large head, wide mouth, sharp teeth in the upper jaw and big canine-like teeth in the lower jaw.
• Adults: dark olive-green to black on the back, with black spots and stripes on the sides, a dull silver-grey to purple shine and a cream belly.
• Juveniles: bright red or orange. Black stripes along the sides appear after about two months and fade as the fish matures. This is why the species is also called the red or redline snakehead.
• Breeding adults: turn almost black. Once the nest is built, the fish show a black-and-white pattern.

Common and local names

The Giant Snakehead is also called giant mudfish, Red Snakehead, Redline Snakehead and Indonesian snakehead. In Malaysia and Singapore it is known as Toman, in Indonesia and Malaysia as ikan toman or toman harimau (ikan means fish), and in Thailand as Pla Chado (also spelled Pla Shado). Names vary from region to region. For example, the aquarium trade usually sells juveniles as “red snakehead”.

Giant Snakehead Facts at a Glance

How big does a Giant Snakehead get?

A Giant Snakehead can reach about 1.3 to 1.5 meters (4.3–4.9 ft) and 20 kg (44 lb) or more, but typical fish are far smaller. Most catches in Thailand weigh around 2–5 kg (4–10 lb), so anglers consider a fish of 5 kg a good one. Young fish grow fast: roughly 1 kg after the first year, about 2 kg after the second and 5 kg or more after about three years. Growth then slows, and food supply and water conditions decide how big an individual becomes. In the wild, the species generally lives about 10 to 15 years. Some sources list weights of up to 30 kg, but most verified fish are far smaller.

World record: The IGFA all-tackle world record is 13.61 kg (30 lb 0 oz). Faizal Zainal caught and released the fish near Rawang, Malaysia, on 28 February 2018, and later Shamsul Azmi Bin Azman tied the record at the same location in 2023 (IGFA).

Diet: what does it eat and how does it hunt?

Giant Snakeheads are carnivores and opportunistic ambush hunters. Adults lie hidden among submerged vegetation or timber, use their camouflage and then strike suddenly. Fish make up most of the diet, but they also take frogs, small lizards and snakes, crabs, shrimp, and even small mammals and birds that come to the water’s edge. After the strike, they swallow their prey whole.

However, fry eat very different food. Newly hatched fish feed on zooplankton such as tiny crustaceans and rotifers. As they grow they switch to small aquatic insects and larvae, and later to small fish fry, shrimp and juvenile crabs.

Giant Snakehead breeding and parental care

First, the fish reach sexual maturity at around two years of age. In Thailand they spawn mainly in the rainy season, which generally starts in May or June, when rising water and warmer temperatures trigger breeding. Next, the male leads the nest building in shallow, vegetated water, collecting plant material and small pieces of floating twigs and leaves in his mouth. A female then lays from a few hundred to several thousand eggs, depending on her size and age.

After spawning, both parents guard the nest and fan the eggs with their fins to supply oxygen and keep fungus away. After hatching, the fry stay close to the parents, who lead them to feeding areas and attack anything that comes too near. Fry are red-orange and about 1 cm long at first. Black and orange stripes appear after about two months, and the stripes and red colour disappear as the fish mature.

How to tell male and female apart

Sexing is difficult in young fish. In adults, however, females tend to be slightly larger and more heavily built. Besides size, the most reliable sign is the genital papilla, a small fleshy protrusion just behind the anus: pointed and elongated in males, rounder and less prominent in females. During the breeding season, males also become more territorial and aggressive.

Is the Giant Snakehead dangerous to humans?

Rarely, but a guarding fish can bite hard. Most snakeheads avoid people, but this one has a reputation for aggression. The U.S. Geological Survey notes reports of aggression toward people who get too close to a nest (USGS). Indeed, parents guarding fry charge anything they see as a threat. With sharp teeth and great power, the fish deserves respect, so keep your hands away from the mouth and stay away from nests and fry schools. Overall, stories of man-eating giants exaggerate the danger.

Can you eat Giant Snakehead?

Yes. The Giant Snakehead is an important food fish in Asia. Farmers raise it in ponds in several countries, and restaurants often serve it. The firm, white flesh is also popular grilled, steamed and in soups and curries.

Giant Snakehead vs Great Snakehead vs Striped Snakehead

Several snakehead species live in Thailand. The three best known are the Giant Snakehead, the Great Snakehead (Channa marulius) and the Striped Snakehead (Channa striata). All three also live in the jungle waters of southern Thailand. However, the Giant Snakehead is the one with the red juveniles and the most aggressive behavior, and it is the heaviest snakehead on the IGFA all-tackle list.

 
Read more about the whole group on our Snakehead species page.

Want to catch one?

Anglers travel to Thailand’s jungle lakes to catch this fish on lures and flies. At Cheow Lan Lake in Khao Sok National Park, for example, most of the Giant Snakehead we catch weigh 2 kg or more, and fish of 11 kg have been landed. If that is your plan, then read our guide to Giant Snakehead fishing in Thailand, with trip details, equipment and prices, or our guide to snakehead fly fishing. Ready to book? Contact us.

Keeping one in an aquarium (and why you shouldn’t)

Shops sell juveniles as red snakeheads and they look striking, but the species is a poor choice for a home aquarium. It grows very large, is extremely aggressive and territorial, must live alone, and needs a huge tank with a tightly fitting lid, because snakeheads can leave the water. Many places also prohibit or restrict keeping the fish.

Is the Giant Snakehead invasive?

In Southeast Asia the species is common and the IUCN rates it Least Concern, so it is not under threat. Outside its native range, however, the picture is different. For example, releases of unwanted aquarium fish have led to finds in the United States and the UK, and to a breeding population in Sri Lanka’s Deduru Oya reservoir. It is also treated as an invasive species in Taiwan’s Sun Moon Lake, and a single fish caught in a small pool fed by a subthermal spring in Tuscany, Italy, in 2012 was the first record in Europe. Thus, the suprabranchial organ, the tolerance of poor water and a big appetite make it a threat to native fish.

In the United States, for instance, the Lacey Act lists snakeheads as injurious wildlife, which makes it illegal to import or transport them across state lines without a permit. If you suspect you have found one, report it to your state wildlife agency. Never release aquarium fish into the wild.

Giant Snakehead FAQ

Why is it called a Snakehead?
Because of its long, cylindrical, snake-like body and a head covered in large, shield-like scales. Similarly, the species name micropeltes comes from Greek words meaning “small shield”, a reference to those scales.

How is the Giant Snakehead classified?
It belongs to the genus Channa in the family Channidae, order Anabantiformes (older sources list Perciformes). No subspecies are recognised. Furthermore, the genus Channa contains about 49 species.

How does it differ from other Snakeheads?
The northern snakehead (Channa argus) comes from East Asia and is invasive in the United States. The Giant Snakehead is tropical and cannot survive cold winters, so finds in places like England usually come from aquarium releases. It also grows far larger: the IGFA record is 30 lb, against 21 lb for the northern snakehead (IGFA all-tackle record, caught in Maryland in 2023).

Can a Giant Snakehead survive out of water?
Thanks to its suprabranchial organ the fish breathes air, so it can survive out of water while it stays moist. Therefore, keep the fish wet and release it quickly.

What is the biggest Giant Snakehead ever caught?
The IGFA all-tackle world record is 13.61 kg (30 lb 0 oz), caught and released near Rawang, Malaysia, in 2018. Fish above 20 kg are reported, but not recorded as IGFA records.

How fast and powerful is it? Its slim body and large tail give short, explosive bursts of speed for ambushes, which is why strikes on lures feel so violent.

Who first described the species?
Georges Cuvier first described it in 1831 as Ophicephalus micropeltes.

Is it legal to keep one?
Rules vary by country. For example, North Dakota lists the Giant Snakehead as a prohibited aquatic nuisance species (North Dakota Game and Fish), and British Columbia prohibits the possession, breeding, release, sale and transport of live snakeheads (BC Invasive Species Council). Check local law before buying or importing one.

What is the Giant Snakehead called in Thai?
In Thailand it is called Pla Chado (ปลาชะโด), also spelled Pla Shado.

Where can I fish for Giant Snakehead?
Thailand is one of the best destinations. Cheow Lan Lake in Khao Sok National Park is one of the places where we guide anglers for lure and fly fishing. Read more about Giant Snakehead fishing in Thailand.

Sources: Wikipedia, FishBase, IGFA, USGS, IGFA (northern snakehead), North Dakota Game and Fish, BC Invasive Species Council.

Back to Fish Species

Last updated: October 2026