What Kind of Fish Is the Snakehead? A Complete Guide to the Snakehead

The snakehead, also known as the black fish, live fish, cai fish, snakehead fish, filial fish, and so on, belongs taxonomically to the order Perciformes, the family Channidae, and the genus Channa. It is widely distributed in all kinds of waters north and south of the Yangtze River in China. It has few bones, tender flesh, a delicious taste, and is very rich in nutrients. According to measurements, every 100 grams of snakehead flesh contains 19.8 grams of protein and 1.49 grams of fat, and is rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and other nutrients needed by the human body, making it a good tonic for those recovering from illness and for the weak, whether young or old. People like to eat snakehead after surgery to remove blood stasis and generate new tissue, nourish the blood and promote contraction, accelerate the growth of tender granulation tissue, and promote wound healing. Guangzhou's famous "live fish and ge chai soup" has the effects of promoting salivation and quenching thirst, clearing heat and detoxifying, and drawing out toxins and promoting tissue regeneration. The "cai fish slices" of the central-southern region, with their white tender flesh and delicious taste, have become a favorite delicacy. It has long been welcomed by the markets of various Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong, China and Macao, China, and is one of China's important exported aquatic products. The snakehead has strong adaptability to the environment, is easy to farm, has few diseases, a high survival rate, and is convenient for live transport, and sells well on the market, so it is a farming target with great development prospects. Among the fish of the genus Channa, three species are currently artificially farmed in China, namely the northern snakehead, the spotted snakehead and the Chinese snakehead, and they are often commonly referred to collectively as snakehead. In natural waters, the northern snakehead is distributed from the Yangtze River basin to the Heilongjiang River basin, the spotted snakehead is mainly distributed south of the Yangtze River basin, and the Chinese snakehead is mainly distributed in the Yangtze River basin.