Pla-chon

[frikkiedeboer]

can anybody know the scientific name for pla-chon? the thais tell me it cant be raised in tanks (but then,they said the same about catfish!)

i need to know if they are live-bearers or lay eggs. they seem to be able to breathe air,too-saw them for sale at the talaat and all alive in spite of being kept for hours in a bucket without water. next time one of you guys eats one,could you rip off its head and tell me what you find inside the gill area? i am looking for a red "broccoli"-type organ

they sell at about double the price of catfish and i would like to try an experimenting with them when i get back to thailand. i am sure they could be coaxed into eating pellets if raised from fry-saw the fry going for pellets i threw into my dam for the bla-birk and pla sawaai i keep for recreational fishing.no (useful) information seems to be available for this species as a culture fish in thailand, and if anybody can help,i would greatly appreciate it. the fry are very easy to collect- they appear after rainstorms,swimming in a red-coloured cloud in schools, and a simple dip-net on a long bamboo pole can be used to collect them, though i would like to try spawn them artificially. they did not do well on the locally available catfish starter {useless} feed ,but could survive if started on artemia,as i we do the catfish.

regards

frikkie

[Tim207]

can anybody know the scientific name for pla-chon? the thais tell me it cant be raised in tanks (but then,they said the same about catfish!)

frikkie

I didn't read this but I think it will give you some of the info you are looking for.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AC238E/AC238E00.htm

[Khonwan]

My wife has a book on Pla-chon, which is in Thai - wish I could read it. However, it says that the common English name is Striped Snake-head and the Latin name is Ophicephalus Striatus. I'm told that the price is around twice that of Pla-dook but that they take MUCH longer to grow. Wife tells me they are egg layers.

Rgds

Khonwan

[frikkiedeboer]

can anybody know the scientific name for pla-chon? the thais tell me it cant be raised in tanks (but then,they said the same about catfish!)

frikkie

I didn't read this but I think it will give you some of the info you are looking for.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AC238E/AC238E00.htm

thank you,both tim and khonwan for the prompt and informative replies. the link made very interesting reading, and provided most of what i wanted to know. seems it may be relatively easy to artificially spawn these guys, and could be a viable species for high density tank culture. fcr they quote scared me,though.5+:1 and this on 45%+ protien? (wonder where they found a trashfish ,minced it and diluted it with rice-bran and came up with that high a protien content) the farms producing them all seemed to make a decent profit,too! wonder how they did it ...... will still give it a go, just for interest sake.

long grow-out period seems to be the same as for the catfish the thais rear on non-formulated feed (eg rotten chicken,etc-up to one year to reach 200g,where intensive tank cultured fish reach 1kg in 6 to 8 months, so i will ignore that as being a problem area and do some trials myself

regards

frikkie

[Tim207]

thank you,both tim and khonwan for the prompt and informative replies. the link made very interesting reading, and provided most of what i wanted to know.

frikkie

I went back and read it later out of curiosity. I noticed that these studies were in 1982 so keep that in mind. I am sure they have improved methods in 25 years. I was a little confused by the term trash fish. I have seen very few species that Thais would not eat, which would be my definition of trash fish in Thailand. Glad the link helped.

Tim207

[Gary A]

thank you,both tim and khonwan for the prompt and informative replies. the link made very interesting reading, and provided most of what i wanted to know.

frikkie

I went back and read it later out of curiosity. I noticed that these studies were in 1982 so keep that in mind. I am sure they have improved methods in 25 years. I was a little confused by the term trash fish. I have seen very few species that Thais would not eat, which would be my definition of trash fish in Thailand. Glad the link helped.

Tim207

My wife says there is no such thing as trash fish, at least in Issan. She also says that pla chon bigger than a kilo are hard to sell.

[Khonwan]

... I was a little confused by the term trash fish. I have seen very few species that Thais would not eat, which would be my definition of trash fish in Thailand. Glad the link helped.

Tim207

I wondered if it just meant fishmeal, but no. I found this site useful in understanding it: http://elib.fisheries.go.th/LIBCAB/DRAWERS...03/00003719.PDF

Amongst other definitions, the document indicates the "true trash fish" to be the fish identified in this site: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=4449

Rgds

Khonwan

[chownah]

My wife calls the long snake like fish a pla lai....and there is another fish she calls a pla chon. She says they are both available at the market and when I asked her if they farm these fish she said she thinks so which often means "I don't know"....but it seems like if they are commonly available that they would be farmed.....so.....is this a northern Thai thing about pla chon being a fish like fish and a pla lai being a snake like fish? We have both of these in our ponds (which we are not farming). When I looked in the dictionary it called a pla chon (pronounced like "chawn") as the snakehead...so I'm confused....nothing new.

Chownah

[Khonwan]

My wife calls the long snake like fish a pla lai....and there is another fish she calls a pla chon. She says they are both available at the market and when I asked her if they farm these fish she said she thinks so which often means "I don't know"....but it seems like if they are commonly available that they would be farmed.....so.....is this a northern Thai thing about pla chon being a fish like fish and a pla lai being a snake like fish? We have both of these in our ponds (which we are not farming). When I looked in the dictionary it called a pla chon (pronounced like "chawn") as the snakehead...so I'm confused....nothing new.

Chownah

Both very common in ponds everywhere - often as unwelcome guests. Plah Rai (Lai) are eels - quite tasty.

[btate]

My wife calls the long snake like fish a pla lai....and there is another fish she calls a pla chon. She says they are both available at the market and when I asked her if they farm these fish she said she thinks so which often means "I don't know"....but it seems like if they are commonly available that they would be farmed.....so.....is this a northern Thai thing about pla chon being a fish like fish and a pla lai being a snake like fish? We have both of these in our ponds (which we are not farming). When I looked in the dictionary it called a pla chon (pronounced like "chawn") as the snakehead...so I'm confused....nothing new.

Chownah

Both very common in ponds everywhere - often as unwelcome guests. Plah Rai (Lai) are eels - quite tasty.

Pla Chon is a snakehead, 3 different varieties here in Thailand. The other possibility is a 'Featherback', (have no idea what the Thai name is) shaped like a snakehead but the fin runs from head through the tail.

Bt

[chownah]

Thanks guys...all is clear now...a pla chon is a snake head fish and a pla lai is not a fish at all but is an eel (they are tastey but really boney) but if it was a fish maybe they would call it a snake body fish....

[jasreeve17]

Snakehead fish go for good money at the market (compared to other fish like catfish), taste great and should be about half a kilo for best eating and selling.

They are not easy to fishfarm, and like to eat all the other fish including their own. I thought about farming these, but the economics didn't look good.

[Gary A]

Thanks guys...all is clear now...a pla chon is a snake head fish and a pla lai is not a fish at all but is an eel (they are tastey but really boney) but if it was a fish maybe they would call it a snake body fish....

My wife eats bugs, and a lot of other strange things but she won't eat eels or snakes. ???

[Tilapia]

Snakehead fish go for good money at the market (compared to other fish like catfish), taste great and should be about half a kilo for best eating and selling.

They are not easy to fishfarm, and like to eat all the other fish including their own. I thought about farming these, but the economics didn't look good.

Snake-head is a predator, and it never gets full, it is a hard fish to farm and the fry is not easy to get, they are expensive and they require "live-feed" when they are small. They are very common in the rice season and they often travel from pond to pond when it's raining, just like the catfish.

Tilapia

[plachon]

Sombody call my name?

Most biodata given has a semblance of truth, but just to recap and correct a few misunderstandings......

I am indeed a predatory, air-breathing fish (with auxillary organ to prove it), who likes hanging out in stillwaters and slow-moving rivers all over Thailand.

My scientific name is Channa striata, and I have several close cousins in the same genus, including the popular gamefish, Channa micropeltes, otherwise known as pla chado which can grow up to . Both of us tend to be very protective of our young and occasionally forget ourselves when guarding the kids and end up grabbing a plug or spinner tweaked past our noses. We will put a severe bend in your rod if hooked and fight to the very end. We'll also do our best to bite the hand that catches us, as some fishermen have learned to their cost.

As most of you know, we taste great, with our white, firm flesh being highly prized in tomyam, steamed with veggies and nam prik or deep-fried with pae-sa (. The price fresh can vary between 60 - 100 Baht / kg depending on scarcity and location.

While we are commonly farmed in central Thailand, the economics are not great as our FCR is not as good as that of catfish or other fish high up the foodchain. We also prefer our food live if possible. Hence, we make a great predator in a mixed-species polyculture, helping to mop up small "trash" fish and keep the pond balanced. Hence, we can provide the farmer with a nice bonus on top of the main crop of herbivorous and omnivorous fish, without him having to feed us specifically.

We can be raised in cages on trash fish and some pellets, but the sale price may not make it worthwhile, unless you're sellling direct to a restaurant or have one of your own. Fish traders can be pretty predatory themselves when you need to sell, so I wouldn't recommend getting into plachon raising commercially. Added to which, the young can be very seasonal and of uncertain availability when you need them.

Lastly, because we are able to survive out of water for long periods, thanks to our ability to breathe air, you will occasionally see us going walkabouts during heavy rainfall when the air is moist, but less commonly than the wee pla mor (pa keng if you live in Isaan) or Anabas testudineus. If you do see us stranded on some road struggling to get across, don't panic as we generally know where we're headed, but if we look totally and utterly lost or in danger of being run over, then kindly pick us up and transport us to the nearest body of water. We promise we won't bite you!

Cheers!