Aquarium Pet Fish

Southern Barbel (Barbus meridionalis)

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The Southern Barbel is a smaller fish, which grows to a length of about 30 cm. This also lives close to the river bed amongst strong, clean currents. The large spine in the dorsal fin is smooth- edged, the anal-fin is high and when depressed it touches the tail-fin base.

It is confined to certain areas in the northern part of the Iberian peninsula (which is also inhabited by its subspecies B. meridionalis graellsi), southern France, northern Italy, Albania and Greece. Another subspecies B. meridionalis petenyi lives in the rivers Oder, Vistula, Danube, Dniester, Vardar, Strymon and Maritsa.

Maximunz size and weight: 30 cm, 500 g.

Identifying characteristics: Long spine in dorsal fin smooth. High anal fin reaches tail fin when depressed.

About normal Barbel Barbus (barbus)

Barbel Barbus (barbus)

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The Barbel grows up to 1 m in length and is a sturdy fish. It lives close to the river bed in strong currents and has a long, spindle-shaped body and a characteristically inferior-positioned mouth with four barbels. The long spine 'in the dorsal fin has a saw-like edge. The long rayed anal fin nearly reaches the tail fin. It spawns in May and June and migrates upstream to areas with a sandy or stony water bed. It is a schooling fish and feeds on the animals and plants of the water bed.

It inhabits western and central Europe, but is not found in Ireland, Denmark, Scandinavia and Italy. In the peripheral areas of its habitat it has produced numerous subspecies, for example in Spain, Dalmatia, eastern Bulgaria and the watersheds of the rivers Dniester, Dnieper and Bug.

Maximum size and weight: 1 m, 15 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Long spine of dorsal fin has serrated edge. Anal fin does not reach caudal fin. Mouth ventral, with four fleshy barbels.

Gudgeon (Gobio gobio)

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The Gudgeon resembles very much the Danube gudgeon, but the two barbels at the corners.of its mouth are much shorter and do not reach as far as the eyes. Also the.nape in this species is smooth and scaleless. It lives close to the bottom of all types of water. It breeds in May and June spawning in shallow waters on stones and plants. The young fry keep together in schools. It is indigenous to the whole of Europe with the exception of the Iberian peninsula, the southern parts of Italy (although it frequents the watershed of the Po), Greece, Norway, northern Sweden, Finland and Scotland. It is a favourite bait used by anglers for catching predatory fish.

Maximum size and weight: 20 cm, 100 g.

Identifying characteristics: Barbels relatively short, nape scaleless.

Danube Gudgeon (Gobio uranoscopus)

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The Danube gudgeon is a small fish with an elongated, spindle-shaped body, which is covered by quite large scales. It has short dorsal and anal fins and a brownish back with dark spots which become purple or.blue at the sides. The mouth is ventral or back behind the head and two long barbels at the sides extend far behind its eyes. The nape is covered with scales. It swims against strong currents and generally lives close to the river bed. It can be encountered in the trout zone and is native to the upper and central parts of the Danube and its tributaries, such as the Isar, and also in rivers of the Carpathian Ukraine and Romania.

Maximum size and weight: 12 cm, 50 g.

Identifying characteristics: Long barbels touch rear gill-cover bones. Nape covered with scales. Purple to blue spots on sides.

Asp Fish (Aspius aspius)

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The Asp has a long body and a wide mouth, which extends behind its eyes. Its upper jaw has a small depression into which the protruding lower jaw fits. It has a grey-blue back and silvery sides. Its dorsal fin is placed behind the imaginary vertical line projected from the base of the pelvic fins. Behind its pelvic fins it has a scale-covered keel.

The asp is a predatory fish, which inhabits the lower reaches of large rivers and sometimes also lives in oxbow lakes. It prefers upper water layers, where it feeds on small fish, which it often attacks noisily, sometimes even jumping out of the water. It also catches insects fallen onto the water surface. It spawns between April and June on the stony bed against the current. The fry at first cat plankton, small insect larvae, the fry of other fish, and later progress to a diet of small fish.

In Europe it inhabits rivers to the cast of the Elbe and those opening into the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. It is not found in France, Britain, Denmark, Switzerland, the Iberian peninsula or in the southern part of the Balkan peninsula. Its economic value grows proportionately as one moves eastwards through Europe, where it is also a favourite prey of anglers.

Maximum size and weight : 1.2 m, 14 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Upper jaw has depression into which slots protruding lower jaw. Large mouth reaches behind eyes. Scale-covered

Other freshwater fish similar like the asp with predatory instinct is the Oscar

Minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus)

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The Minnow is a small fish, which usually measures only 6 to 10 cm; it has very small scales and an incomplete lateral line. The dorsal fin is positioned well down its back. The back is brown- green and its light green sides often have a golden sheen, whilst its 'belly is white or pinkish. It has dark spots on its back and sides, which sometimes form a continuous lateral stripe or take the form of several transverse stripes. In the spawning season from April to June the males have an especially vivid colouring; the back is very dark, but the sides are golden and the belly, the edges of the lips and the base of their paired fins and anal fin are bright red. They also develop large spawning tubercles. The minnow lives in shoals in the trout zone, where it inhabits unpolluted brooks and mountain streams with a 'sandy or stony bed. It feeds on small invertebrates found on the river bed and also on insects.

The minnow is distributed all over Europe from northern Spain and northern Italy eastwards, but it is absent in northern Scotland, much of Ireland, southern Spain and Portugal, in central and southern Italy, in the Peloponnese and in the northern parts of the Scandinavian peninsula. Its relative Phoxinus percnurus lives in eastern Europe, near to Warsaw, Gdansk and in the watershed of the Oder.

Maximum size and weight: 10 cm, 10 g.

Identifying characteristics: Dorsal fin placed well down the back; lateral line incomplete. Very small scales.

Another examples: Mud-Minnow

Ide or Orfe Fish (Leuciscus idus)

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The Ide is a long fish with a comparatively deep, laterally flattened body. It has a relatively small, terminal mouth. The dorsal fin begins above the rear half of the pelvic fins. The back is grey-green as far as the lateral line, the lower half of the body is a lighter 'shade. The dorsal and caudal fins are a dirty green, whilst the paired fins and anal fin are reddish. Its length is usually about 50 cm and it often weighs over 2 kg. It does not inhabit the upper reaches of rivers but prefers small stretches of water, where it is often found swimming lazily close to the water surface. It spawns near the river banks on plants and stones and during this time the males have distinctive white spawning tubercles. It feeds on insects and river bottom animals, larger specimens catch fish.

In Europe its habitat stretches from the Rhine to the Urals, but it is foreign to England, France, Switzerland, Norway and in areas south of the Alps and the Danube. A small number of ide are caught by nets and it is also a favorite angling fish. The golden variety of the ide, usually called golden orfe, has an orange-red body and golden fins. It is bred as a decorative fish for parkland ponds and pools.

Maximum size and weight: 60 cm, 3 kg.

Identifying characteristics: A relatively deep body, small mouth. Back grey-green, lower parts under the lateral line silvery white. Paired fins and anal fin reddish.

Chub Fish (Leuciscus cephalus)

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The Chub is a large fish, often reaching 80 cm in length and over 3 kg in weight. It has a large, wide mouth and a long, cylindrical body with large scales, which are edged in grey or black. The dorsal and caudal fins are greyish-green, whilst the rounded anal fin and the pelvic fins are orange red. It lives in all types of running water from the lower reaches of the trout zone to the lowlands. It usually seeks out shallow waters with a hard bed but can also be found in stagnant waters. It feeds on small invertebrates, insects, small fish, frogs and crayfish, but also eats small fruit which has fallen into the water, and which is occasionally used as bait by anglers. It spawns from April to June on aquatic vegetation and stones. Young chub are gregarious creatures as opposed to older specimens, which are often loners. '

This fish can be found in an area stretching from southern Scotland, eastern Wales, and England to the Urals. However, it does not occur in Ireland, Denmark, northern Scandinavia and the Mediterranean islands. It has several subspecies in Europe and its local commercial value is quite substantial as it is caught in, all types of nets. Anglers catch it by using plugs, small fish, worms, bread and fruit.

Maximum size and weight: 80 cm, 4 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Mouth large and wide, anal fin edge rounded, scales with dark edging, forming web-like pattern on the body.

Brook Trout Tips

2009-09-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

Native Brook Trout are one of the most prized denizens of the Eastern forests of the United States. The mere presence of Brook Trout is an indication that a stream or lake is healthy and clean. While Brook Trout are not known for their size, some states, such as Virginia, actively stock a few trophy Brook Trout venues. Other states, such as Maryland, do not actively promote their Brook Trout habitats for fishing nor do much stocking. Maryland does promote one venue, though, the lower Savage River below Savage River Dam in Garrett County. Every state that has Brook Trout has a different set of regulations and fishery guidelines. It’s very important to know what your local rules and conditions dictate.

Once you’ve determined that you’re heading out to find the Brookies it’s worth taking some time to understand how they live their lives. Brook Trout need clean, well oxygenated water at an optimal temperature of 53 degrees or colder. As stream conditions change the trout will move up or downstream to find the cooler pools and rapids. For this reason it’s important to know a few things about the stream in which you’re fishing. Streams fed from natural lakes tend to warm up in the summer as warm water flows from the top of the lake. The trout will move downstream to cooler water, coming back in the fall. In the lake itself they will seek deep water, surfacing occasionally to feed. Where there is a dam present the trout will seek cold out-flows from sluice gates. If it’s a spillway the warm water problem will still apply. Be aware that the trout will move upstream from lakes to cold spring-fed headwaters in the summer, if such an option is available.

Brook Trout are voracious feeders and when hungry they will eat just about anything that comes their way. That being said, some conditioned responses still apply. In smaller streams or headwaters they will prefer aquatic insects (nymphs). In this case a sinking fly or lure bounced along the bottom may get them motivated to bite. During hatches it’s best to try to simulate the current hatch cycle. Other lure options are to dangle small crayfish, beetles, fake minnows, etc. Trout magnets are by far one of the most successful lures you can find for Brook Trout, as is Power Bait.

Be aware Brook Trout spawn in the fall with the peak of the spawn occurring in late October to early November. It’s important to respect their habitat during this critical time of year. Avoid wading in stream gravel, as this is where the female construct their nests (called redds) and deposit their eggs. As a matter of fact, avoid these areas throughout the Winter until after the frye hatch out in the early spring.

Most Brook Trout fisheries are catch and release, a practice I follow religiously. Never land the trout by lifting it out of the water with the fishing line, instead, use a net (cotton, not nylon) if at all possible. If you must land the trout by hand bring it in slowly and cup it with one hand while stabilizing its tail with the other. Make sure to pre-wet your hands so as not to damage its delicate protective coating.

A note on hooks: I always make sure to bend down the barbs on my hooks. Barbs don’t add appreciably to the ability to catch fish, but do add to the damage of removal. Remove the hook carefully, use hemostats if necessary. If the hook just wont come out then clip it off and let the trout go with it, he’ll get rid of it eventually. Finally, try not to keep the trout out of the water for more than 45 to 50 seconds. When you place him back revive him by holding him in the water gently until he kicks away with force. This way the trout will continue to grow and flourish and be there for you when you come back next year.

As always, leave no trace and if you see litter pick it up. Learn also on other Trout Species.

TroutWorld.com has been helping trout fishermen find their way to new and different fishing venues via the internet since 1999.

Source: ezinearticles.com

Trout Species

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Rainbow Trout: Few freshwater fish can match the fighting spirit and beauty of a Rainbow Trout.

The Rainbow Trout is a well-traveled species of fish. Originally, the Rainbow Trout was found in the coastal rivers in the United States on the west coast but today, Rainbow Trout are found throughout the United States, as well as in the cold-water streams of South America, Europe, New Zealand and even Australia.

The reason for the wide range of Rainbow Trout in the U.S. is that Rainbow Trout are relatively easy to transplant. Virtually all areas that Rainbow Trout now inhabit are due to environmental transplants – both intentionally or unintentionally.

Regardless, Rainbow Trout are the most popular types of trout found in the world today, and are also the most sought after trout by fly fishermen.

The Rainbow Trout is equally famous for it’s acrobatic aerial displays and very long runs to avoid being caught.

Rainbow Trout are also well-known for being highly selective in what they eat. While at other times, they seemingly gorge themselves on just about everything in sight.

Rainbow Trout are easily distinguished by the red stripe that travels the length of the fish, from the gill plates to the tail. Rainbow Trout also have hundreds of black spots that cover the dorsal of the body (the dorsal part of the body of a trout refers to the “back side” of the fish).

Brown Trout : Brown Trout are the "smartest" of the trout family, frequently frustrating beginners and professionals alike.

The Brown Trout, which is similar to the Rainbow Trout, is also found extensively throughout the world. The Brown Trout was originally a European and Asian fish, but has made its way to North America, New Zealand and South America. In the United States, Brown Trout are found extensively in the Rocky Mountains and also in Midwestern and Eastern U.S. trout streams.

The Brown Trout is famous for its intelligence and cunning ability to avoid being caught. Simple fly fishing tactics that work for other types of trout often times fail miserably when fly fishing for Brown Trout and often lead anglers to frustration – especially beginning anglers. Yet this same intelligence makes catching Brown Trout all the more challenging and rewarding, especially since Brown Trout are generally a little bit larger than their Rainbow Trout cousins. This is due primarily to their ability to live in warmer water (which usually has higher nutrients than colder water).

Brown Trout are sometimes hatchery raised, although not nearly on the same scale as the Rainbow Trout. The difficulties in raising Brown Trout in hatcheries, combined with the desire of anglers to fly fish for the easier to catch Rainbow Trout, have limited the numbers of Brown Trout raised in hatcheries.

Brown Trout are notorious for ruining many fly fishing trips for anglers. The high degree of intelligence displayed by Brown Trout makes them very difficult to even hook. Once hooked, the real intelligence of the Brown Trout really becomes evident. Instead of putting on acrobatic displays like the Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout almost always head for every obstacle in the river – in hopes of entangling and snapping the line. Failing that, it will make monstrous runs, and even take to the air like the Rainbow Trout as a last resort. In short, a Brown Trout will truly exhaust itself trying to break free from your fishing line, using every trick they know to escape. All to often, the trout ends up getting away since light tippets and tackle are often usually used when fly fishing for Brown Trout - leading to many ‘the big one that got away’ stories at dinnertime.

The Brown Trout is recognized by its butter colored sides and has black and red spots following the lateral line of its body. To many people, the Brown Trout is rather ugly, especially when stacked up against a more colorful rainbow or Brook Trout. However, the minute you hook a 20-inch Brown Trout – you’ll think it ‘s the most beautiful fish in the world.

If you’re an avid Rainbow Trout angler, be warned that the Brown Trout could very well be the primary trout species of the future, so it’s best to brush up on your tactics for this wily fish. Brown Trout are remarkably resilient and have a strong instinct to survive. Their ability to live in warmer waters than other trout, along with their resistance to Whirling Disease, allows Brown Trout to thrive in areas where Rainbow Trout often struggle to survive. In the years to come, especially if drought conditions continue in the Rocky Mountains and the climate continues to warm, it is quite possible that Brown Trout will become the primary trout species in most of the United States.

To get your hands on these amazing insider secrets, http://www.fly-fishing-secrets.com
Source: ezinearticles.com

Care of Goldfish - An Overview

2009-09-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

As with any other type of pet, there are some basic considerations involved in the care of goldfish. Before you purchase any type of pet for the first time, you need to do a little research to find out about its behavioral characteristics, required living conditions, and feeding requirements. Goldfish are no different.

In the past, the care of goldfish often consisted of putting one or two of them in a small bowl and feeding them once a day. Under this kind of care, goldfish generally didn't live terribly long, certainly not the 10 years or more one could expect of them. Some of the more exotic, and more fragile types, wouldn't live long at all. Goldfish like clean, cold water, and prefer life in an outdoor pond more so than in an aquarium, and certainly much more so than in a small bowl. While goldfish are happier having a companion or several companions, they require more space than do tropical fish. Figure between 10 and 20 gallons per goldfish, bearing in mind that the common types are generally larger than the exotic types, and need closer to 20 gallons per fish.

Although you can mix common types and exotic types of goldfish together, you should exercise a bit of caution. Some exotic types, particularly those with telescopic or bubble eyes, are susceptible to injury in crowded conditions. Also, though goldfish are generally not very aggressive, there can be pecking orders established during feeding, and sometimes more timid types can lose out. If you do mix several types together it won't hurt to check from time to time to see if anyone is being picked upon.

Goldfish are also curious, and more intelligent than commonly believed. They like to have a variety of things in the water that they can swim around and through. Initially then, take into account that where you are planning to keep a goldfish could be its home for many years, and you want to do what you can to make it a good home. Once you have a good home, whether it's a pond or an aquarium, you should add a small air pump to keep the oxygen level high and, if an aquarium, put some clean washed gravel on the bottom, preferably gravel intended for just that purpose. Add a filter to help keep the water clean, a few plants, some structures to make life a little interesting, and you're ready to add the fish.

To avoid disease and illness the water must be kept clean. It's best to change the water, but not all at once, unless the existing water is really harmful to the fish. Existing water normally contains some bacteria that is actually helpful. The gravel will need to be taken out and washed on occasion, as it will normally get dirty fairly quickly.

As far as feeding is concerned, the key is to avoid overfeeding. The fish will often eat as long as there is food available, and if fed too much will sometimes get fat, but more often than not become ill. Overfeeding is a major cause of illness in goldfish. Also, if you overfeed fish that are in an aquarium, some of the food that is not eaten will settle to the bottom and become a breeding ground for bacteria.

As far as what kind of food to feed a goldfish is concerned, there are several choices, and there is nothing wrong at all with giving your fish a little variety. Dry goldfish food, the kind you find in the pet store or supermarket, is a good source of nutrition, and comes in flakes which float on the surface, or pellets which sink to the bottom. You can also have plants in the aquarium or pond that they can nibble at, and goldfish also like live food, brine shrimp and certain types of worms being examples. One needs to be a little bit cautious with live food so that undesirable agents, such as bacteria or worms, are not introduced into the container. Goldfish will also eat vegetable matter such as small bits of lettuce. In the wild, goldfish eat a variety of vegetation and insects, including mosquitoes and mosquito larvae.

Given good quality water, sufficient room, food (but not too much), and perhaps a companion or two, you've off to a good start as far as the proper care of goldfish is concerned. About the only things remaining are to monitor the fish often enough to be able to detect if there are any problems developing, and finally, bring yourself up to speed regarding symptoms and treatments should disease or illness enter the picture.

Get tips from the Interesting Animals website at http://www.interestinganimals.net

Source: ezinearticles.com

Secrets About Goldfish Care

2009-09-16T19:05:00.000-07:00

One of the most important aspects of keeping goldfish is being fully adept in the area of goldfish care. Unfortunately these fish are well known for their ability to catch a multitude of diseases such as Ick and fin rot, which are two of the most common. It's highly important that you familiarize yourself in the area of goldfish care before you decide to purchase your own fish.

So many people are constantly asking me why they have to keep buying new goldfish all the time and I always ask them what their dedication to goldfish care is. What I find is this, most people don't actually follow the 3 simple rules of goldfish care and they are:

Rule Number One Of Goldfish Care

Keep your tank clean at all times. If you can't afford to by a high powered filter, which is most people, than you must make sure you are cleaning your tank ever week. If you aren't doing this now than you better start because this is one of the major reasons why goldfish become infected with deadly diseases. Fin rot is one of the most common results of an unclean tank. If you are one of those people who doesn't clean your tank weekly than go take a look at the tails on your goldfish. More than likely you will notice there are many holes and parturition on the ends of the tails.

Rule Number Two Of Goldfish Care

Feed your goldfish once daily. Again most people tend to feed their goldfish too often. This is one of the worst things you can do to your goldfish. Unfortunately goldfish will eat until they kill themselves and many people ask me why their fish suddenly pass even though they seemed completely healthy. More than likely overeating was the cause. Just take a look at them, unless you have a pregnant fish, there's no reason why you should have a fat fish unless you’re feeding them more than once a day. Understanding your goldfish is also important so you might want to learn about different types of goldfish.

Rule Number Three of Goldfish Care

Always clean any external object you plan to place in your tank. You may think you're doing everything right, you clean your tank weekly, you're feeding your fish once daily, but then suddenly after you place a new object inside the tank, one of your goldfish dies. What more than likely has happened is that with the object, came a certain disease from the outside air that unfortunately was deadly for your goldfish. To prevent this from occurring, always make sure you disinfect and clean any new object you add to the tank. That way you'll be reducing the risk of your goldfish catching any unwanted diseases.

Follow the three rules of goldfish care and you'll have happy healthy goldfish for quite some time to come.

If you want to know more about Goldfish everything you need to know to keep them happily swimming then please visit http://www.secretsofgoldfish.com/goldfish

Source: ezinearticles.com

Different Types of Goldfish

2009-09-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

The types of goldfish vary, and the characteristics that make this diversity evident are recognized in their scale colouring, the shape and size of the goldfish, the look of their tails, and of course, by their different names.

Nevertheless, regardless of how one goldfish may look, or if it has a different title from the next, all goldfish come from the same family, originating from the gibel carp found in the streams of China.

The only reason why there are so many unique looking types of goldfish is because they have been purposely bread to look different.

Why? It may or may not come as a surprise to you but appearance matters to goldfish enthusiasts, and may be something you will want to consider yourself when looking at the types of goldfish that are available on the market.

For instance, did you know that goldfish are available in more colours than just gold? In fact, there are goldfish that are coloured yellow, red, bronze, blue and even black! What's more is there are some goldfish that have a mixture of colours in their scales. However, although goldfish scales can come in more than one shade, hue, or splash of colour, many types of goldfish are also categorized by their tails.

There are four types of goldfish tail categories that you can consider when selecting your goldfish. The four categories include the single tailed, double tailed, double tailed without dorsal fin, and the double tailed with dorsal fin. While each type of goldfish in these categories has differences within their own groups based on their colour, body and fin size, the one feature which remains constant within their grouping is their shape. Take for example the single tailed goldfish, which has three goldfish within its category: Comets, Commons and Shubunkins. Although each of these types of goldfish has a slender body shape, Comets generally have gold scales and a long single fin tail, whereas the Shubunkins is bigger in size, and has calico coloured (a mix of violet, orange red and black) scales.

Aside from these noted differences, you will discover that the single tailed goldfish, as well as the double tailed goldfish, share the same slender body shape characteristic; while both the double tailed goldfish with the dorsal fin and those without, feature an egg shaped body. Moreover, the double tailed with the dorsal fin, and those double tailed without the dorsal fin are unique types of goldfish that have exotic characteristics. Some of these characteristics include a wen (head growth) seen in the Oranda and Pearlscale goldfish, and telescope eyes, as seen in the Telescope and Moors goldfish.

As you can see, there are many aspects to consider when it comes to choosing from the different available types of goldfish. Just remember, depending on the fish you want, certain care methods will be required that are based on different characteristics for each of the goldfish types.

www.famousbymorning.com/goldfish.htm A site for people who love their Goldfish

Source: ezinearticles.com

Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus)

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The Dace is a small yet slender member of the carp family, whose body is almost circular in cross-section. It has a dark back with a blue sheen and silvery sides. It can be distinguished from the very similar chub by its small mouth and concave edge to the anal fin. It lives in clear waters of sub mountainous and lowland rivers and streams and feeds on insects and their larvae, which it collects from the river bed as well as from the surface. From March to May it spawns on aquatic vegetation. It is found in the whole of Europe with the exception of all three south European peninsulas (i. e. Spain, Italy and Greece), Scotland and the northern parts of Scandinavia.

Maximum size and weight: 35 cm, 250 g.

Identifying characteristics : Mouth small, anal fin edge concave. Lower part of body, behind ventral fins, rounded and covered with scales.

Souffia (Leuciscus souffia)

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The Souffia is a small fish with a long cylindrical body and an inferior-positioned mouth. A dark wide stripe extends along the whole length of its sides from the mouth to the caudal peduncle, the scales of its lateral line are orange. It is a schooling fish in rivers of the grayling zone and some lakes. It spawns in places with a stony bed and a fresh current of water. During the spawning season both sexes develop white tubercles on head and body. It feeds on small water invertebrates and insects which have fallen into the water. It lives in the watershed of the rivers Rhone and Po (Leuciscus sonjia soffia), whilst a subspecies, Leuciscus souffle agassizi, inhabits the tributaries of the upper Rhine and the Danube and rivers associated with the watershed of the Tisza.

Maximum size and weight: 20 cm, 100 g.

Identifying characteristics Wick dark stripe along the sides from mouth to caudal peduncle. Lateral lint scales orange. Mouth in inferior position.

Bitterling Fish (Rhodeus sericeus amarus)

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The Bitterling is a small fish with a high-backed body. On its sides it has a blue-green stripe, which widens out towards the tail. It is quite abundant in the stagnant waters of the lower reaches of rivers, in shallow creeks, in old river backwaters and pools. However, it lives only in waters inhabited by the freshwater mussel, into which the bitterling lays its eggs between April and June. During this period the male becomes reddish-purple at the sides and the female develops a pink ovipositor by means of which she places the eggs within the mantle cavity of the mussel.

It is found all over Europe from north-eastern France as far as the Caspian Sea, but is not present in Denmark, Scandinavia, or the Mediterranean countries. It has been introduced into a number of waters in north-west England. It lives on planktonic crustaceans, insect larvae and worms.

Maximum size and weight: 8 cm, 15 g.

Identifying characteristics: A blue-green stripe on the sides, widening towards the back. During mating female with long ovipositor, male reddish-purple on sides. Mouth in semi-inferior position; lateral line extends to only 5-6 scales.

Moderlieschen (Leucaspius delineatus)

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Moderlieschen has a slender body, flattened at the sides and with easily detached scales. The lateral line is visible only on the first scales towards the front of the body. Its back is greenish, the belly and sides arc silvery. It may reach a length of between 7 and 9 cm, although it is usually much shorter. It lives in large schools in stagnant or slow- flowing waters which have become overgrown with vegetation. It spawns in April and May, when the female lays her eggs in strips around the stems of water plants and the male fertilizes and subsequently guards them. Its main diet consists of plankton.

Moderlieschen is indigenous to the whole of central and eastern Europe, from the Rhine as far as the watershed of the Volga; it can be found as far north as the rivers of southern Sweden.

Maximum size and weight: 9 cm, 10 g.

Identifying characteristics: Mouth slants upwards, scales large and easily shed. Lateral line developed only on the first 7-13 scales.

Grayling Freshwater Fish

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The Grayling is a schooling fish which inhabits the submountain regions of rivers with sandy or stony beds. It spawns in spring, when it leaves its home territory and migrates upstream to the areas with a more gravelly river bed. The spawning grounds arc prepared by the males, which often chase and attract several females onto them. By comparison with members of the salmon family, the grayling has a relatively small head, which has a small mouth with a fleshy, overhanging snout. It has impressively large scales and a high, long and vivid dorsal fin. It measures up to 50 cm and can weigh 1 kg or sometimes even more. The young fish are a light silvery green and often have bluish spots on the sides.

The grayling inhabits the submountain rivers of Europe from Wales and France, across Europe southwards to northern Italy and the watershed of the River Po. However, it is not normally found in southern Europe or the northern parts of Scandinavia and Ireland. In the Alps it swims upriver to a height of 1,500 metres above sea level and in the Carpathians up to about 1,000 metres.

The grayling subspecies Thymallus arcticus baicalensis, which is a native of Lake Baikal and its tributaries, has been introduced relatively successfully in some European valley reservoirs. It is distinguished by an overall darker colouring and a larger mouth. Another subspecies is found in North America.

Maximum size and weight: 60 cm, 1.5 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Fish with large scales, small mouth and adipose fin; dorsal fin strikingly high and brightly coloured.

Other fish species:

Freshwater Flouting (Coregonus lavaretus maraena)

Smelt (Osmerus eperlanus)

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The smelt migrates to the upper reaches of rivers to spawn, although it 'lives generally close to the European coastline from Scandinavia to the English Channel. It is slender with a transparent body, large eyes and a mouth with large teeth. It grows to a maximum length of 30 cm. Its lateral line terminates behind the pectoral fins. The back is green-grey, the sides are a silvery colour and the belly is white. It spawns in March and April in the river. The eggs at first rest on the gravel, but later the outer membrane bursts and the eggs float freely in the river. The larval stage of the smelt is fairly long; only after it has reached a length of 4 to 5 cm, does it develop scales and swim into the sea. Here it lives on plankton, crustaceans and small fish. In certain areas of its habitat it is fished for commercially; its flesh smells of cucumbers.

Maximum size and weight: 30 cm, 0.5 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Transparent body, large toothed mouth and large eyes. Lateral line terminates behind pectoral fins. Back green-grey, sides and belly silvery white.

Houting (Coregonus oxyrinchus)

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The Houting is a sea fish which lives close to the shores of the eastern North Sea and in the south Baltic. Its body is up to 50 cm long, the snout is pointed and long and the mouth is in the inferior position. The back is blue-green or grey-blue, whilst the sides and the belly arc white and the fins a light grey. When about to spawn it migrates into freshwater, where it breeds in November and December on the sandy and gravelly beds of shallow waters. It feeds mainly on plankton and small animals on the river bed. In the southern North Sea the houting is on the verge of extinction. Rivers such as the Rhine, in which it formerly bred, have become so polluted that no fish can survive.

Maximum size and weight: 50 cm, 1.5 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Snout long and pointed, mouth in infbrior position. Back blue-green or grey-blue, belly and sides white, fins greyish.

Freshwater Flouting (Coregonus lavaretus maraena)

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The freshwater houting is a large fish, which in Europe measures up to 130 cm in length and weighs up to 10 kg. It has a dark green back, silvery white sides and belly, and a short snout. It originally came from Lake Madu in Pomerania. As early as 1882 it was introduced into some ponds and since then, it has become an important breeding fish in some areas. It is a deep-water species, which only swims to shallow waters in November, which is its spawning time. It generally lives on plankton but large specimens also catch insects and small fish. A form of C. lavarelus occurs in the English Lake District (where it is known as the skelly or schelly), others such as the gwyniad and powan occur in North Wales and south-west Scotland. These fishes never grow to a great size.

Similar whitefishes, also known as ciscoes, are found in North American high altitude lakes.

Coregonus lavaretus maraena

Maximum size and weight: 130 cm, 10 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Back dark green, sides and belly silvery white. Snout short and rounded, mouth in inferior position

Vendace (Coregonus albula)

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The vendace has a relatively short life, usually reaching an age of only five years. It lives in large shoals in lakes and matures sexually in the second or third year of its existence. Its main source of food is plankton. Two subspecies are known, one of which inhabits the watershed of Lake Onega and the other the upper reaches of the Volga. It breeds in November and December and deposits its spawn on the gravelly river bottom at a depth of 2 to 10 meters.

This fish is found in great numbers in the northern lakes around the watershed of the Baltic Sea, whilst in some areas it is also artificially introduced into large reservoirs. It also occurs in a few natural lakes in the Lake District, Scotland and Ireland (where it is known as pollan).

Maximum size and weight: 30 cm, 300 g.

Identifying characteristics: Relatively slender body, lower jaw longer than upper jaw, mouth in superior position. Caudal fin deeply curved.

Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marines)

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Sea Lamprey fish is the largest of the lampreys. Adult specimens, often up to one metre in length, migrate in spring from seas into rivers, where they can be seen from March to June. Between May and July they gather in the shallow parts of the river, where the water current is strong and the bottom covered with stones. With the help of their sucking mouth the females remove stones from the water bed and prepare the spawning ground. The digestive system of adult lampreys degenerates during their journey upriver, so that they cannot eat and die soon after spawning.

The lamprey larvae have eyes covered with skin and their mouth is toothless but has distinctive fringed lips. They live in freshwaters in river bottom mud for about four years and then change into adult fish and migrate back to the sea. The mouth of the adult lamprey is funnel-shaped and covered with fine horny teeth; in addition it has a large fleshy tongue, which works in and out like a piston rod. In the sea lamprey live parasitically on various species of fish, sucking their body juices and crushing their muscles, so that they often leave deep circular wounds on the bodies of their prey.

The basic colour of the sea lamprey's body is grey-green with a striking marble-like pattern, whilst the belly is white. It lives close to the European coastline from Scandinavia as far as the eastern shores of Italy. It also inhabits the western Atlantic ranging from Nova Scotia to Florida. It is this lamprey which entered the Great Lakes (through the Welland Canal) and which became a serious pest to the native fishes.

Maximum size and weight: 100 cm, 1 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Typical teeth coverage of the whole mouth funnel; dorsal fin divided into two parts, the back part of it joined to the caudal fin.

Danube & Brook Lamprey

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The Danube lamprey (Eudontomyzon danfordi), which is about 20 cm long, inhabits both mountain streams and larger rivers. Prior to spawning both partners dig circular hollows in the sandy bed and into these the female lays her eggs. The male gyrates around her and fertilizes the spawn. The larvae live between four and five years in the sandy, humus deposits and feed on any organic remnants and diatoms. The adult lamprey attacks other fish, at first cutting their skin with its sharp teeth and then feeding on their blood. In contrast to other related species, it usually lives another two to three years after spawning. It lives in the tributaries of the Danube and the rivers flowing into the Black Sea south of the Danube; however, it is not found in the upper reaches of that river.

The small, non-parasitic freshwater Brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) is about 15 cm long and spawns from May to June in mountain streams. It can be distinguished from the Danube lamprey by a different teeth arrangement in the funnel-shaped mouth. As in the previous species, the larvae are larger than the adult fish. After reaching adulthood, they develop a sucker disc, their digestive tract is reduced and they mature sexually. Adult brook lampreys die after spawning. The species inhabits the rivers flowing into the North and Baltic Seas and those of north-eastern Italy and Albania.

A similar non-parasitic species, the American brook lamprey (L. lamothenii), lives in the eastern United States.

Petronyzonidae

Eudontomyzon danfordi

Maximum size and weight: 20 cm, 100 g.

Identifying characteristics:

Characteristic arrangement of horny teeth in funnel-shaped mouth. Lives permanently in freshwaters.

Lampetra planeri

Maximum size and weight: 15 cm, 50 g.

Identifying characteristics: Horny teeth characteristically arranged in the funnel-shaped mouth. Both parts of the dorsal fin connected. Non-migratory

Lampern (Lampetra fluviatilis)

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The lampern is about 40 cm long, has a dark blue to grey-green back and sides and a silvery white belly. It enters the rivers from the sea between September and November and swims against the current well into the upper reaches of the river. It spawns between February and May. During migration the lampern's body acquires a bronze sheen, it stops eating and dies soon after spawning.

The larval stage develops over a period of three to four years; the blind larvae, called prides, lack the suctorial organ and live in the silt deposits on the river bed in quiet backwaters. They feed on any decaying organic matter. When about 15 cm long, they change into typical lampern equipped with eyes and the characteristic funnel-shaped mouth. In March they migrate downstream to the sea and often spawn in the same year that they left freshwaters. They live parasitically on small sea fish.

The lampern is abundant along the European coast from southern Norway to the coasts of Britain and in the Baltic Sea. Its freshwater variety inhabits the Lakes of Ladoga and Onega. In the Mediterranean it lives in the area extending from Spain to Italy. The lampern is economically important in some localities. It is caught during the mass migration period especially in those rivers which flow into the Baltic Sea.

Maximum size and weight: 40 cm, 350 g.

Identifying characteristics: Funnel-shaped mouth contains characteristic array of large horny teeth. The dorsal fins close together, in the spawning season connected.

Huchen Fish (Hucho hucho)

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The Huchen is a large and heavy member of the salmon family, and is a permanent inhabitant of the mountain and submountain reaches of the Danube and its tributaries. It has a long head, slightly flattened on top, and a jaw which extends far behind its eyes. Its back is brownish red or brownish green, often with a purple shade, whilst its sides have a reddish sheen. The belly is white and its sides are dotted with dark spots.

Young huchen are silvery in colour and resemble young trout. The huchen spawns in spring at a water temperature of between 6Â° and 8Â°C. Its spawning habits are similar to other members of the salmon family. Young huchen grow very fast; they feed on the larvae of water insects and begin to cat fish already when they arc 5 to 6 cm long. In the adult stage huchen catch only fish and other- invertebrates. In the River Kama in the European part of the USSR a close relative, the taimen (Hucho taimen), can be found, which achieves an even bigger size.

The huchen is sensitive to water pollution and any oxygen deficiency and therefore in recent years has become extinct in many areas. It is a highly prized angling fish, as specimens weighing up to 10 kg are not exceptional.

Maximum size and weight: 120 cm, 50 kg. Identifying characteristics: Long head, slightly flattened from above, jaw reaching behind eyes. Back brownish red or grey-green, sides with reddish sheen and numerous dark spots.

Eastern Pikeperela Or Eastern Zander (Stizostedion volgense)

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The Eastern Pikeperch is very similar to the sander, but is generally smaller and its first dorsal fin is very high. Its jaws do not contain the strikingly large teeth of the sander and the whole of its front gill cover is covered with scales. It has similar colouring, but its transverse stripes are usually more distinctive and do not disintegrate into a series of spots. It is smaller in size and rarely exceeds a length of 50 cm or a weight of about 2 kg. It inhabits the deeper, sandy or stony stretches of rivers, where it likes to hide in the irregularities of the river bed and under the banks. It spawns in April and May in the shallows and, as with the sander, the male guards the nest. The Eastern pikeperch catches its food, which consists predominantly of fish, mainly in the evening and at night. It feeds even during the coldest season.

It inhabits the tributaries of the Black and Caspian Seas, from the Danube as far as the River Ural. It can easily be mistaken for the sander and therefore it is sometimes mistakenly regarded as being very rare. In fact it lives in large numbers along with the sander in the River Danube (close to Bratislava) and in its backwaters.

Maximum size and weight: 50 cm, 2 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Smaller than sander; the conspicuous stripes do not disintegrate into series of spots. Strikingly large teeth missing.

Sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus)

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This relatively small member of the sturgeon family permanently inhabits freshwaters. It has a long and pointed snout and branched barbels. Like other members of this family, it also lives close to the river bed. It spawns in May in strong currents on a gravelly base, whilst in autumn and spring it congregates in the deep hollows of the river bed. It reaches a length of 125 cm and a weight of 6 to 7 kg. Its diet consists of the larvae of the mayfly, caddis fly and other insects. It has a regional economic importance as it is also reared in carp ponds, where crossbred varieties usually grow faster than the parent species.

It lives in the tributaries of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas and the Arctic Ocean from the River Ob to the Kolyma. It can also be found in the river estuaries of the Baltic Sea, such as that of the Dvina. In the Danube it reaches as far as the Passau and on rare occasions the rivers Isar and Salzach. Along the coastline and estuaries of the Arctic Ocean it has evolved into an independent species, which differs significantly from the other types of sturgeon found in the river tributaries of the Baltic, Black, Caspian and Azov Seas.

Sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus)

Maximum size and weight: 150 cm, 16 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Long and pointed snout; long, branched barbels. Back has 11-17 bony plates with long, sharp, hook-like thorns

Allis Shad (Alosa alosa)

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The allis shad, belonging to the herring family, has a blue-green back and silvery white sides and belly. The top edge of its gill cover has a black spot, which is usually followed by another one or two less conspicuous spots. It has no lateral line on its sides. In May and June it journeys upriver to spawn, often traveling great distances against the current. Its eggs float above the river bed and the embryos hatch in 3 to 4 days. When the fish is about 8 to 12 cm long, it migrates from the river to the sea. Here it lives several years and feeds on crustaceans. Reaching a length of 30 to 40 cm, it migrates for the first time to spawn in freshwaters. It lives close to the European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and in the western part of the Mediterranean.

The twaite shad is a migratory herring species, which enters the lower reaches of rivers to spawn in June and July. Its reproductive process and way of life is similar to the former species, although this fish is smaller. It also has a number of black blotches in a line along the sides. During migration it is most numerous in the lower reaches of European rivers. It lives close to the European shoreline in the Mediterranean, in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Baltic Sea as far as the shores of southern Norway, Sweden and Finland. The allis shad and the twaite shad used to be economically important fishes, but today are usually very rare in the majority of European rivers, the allis shad being especially rare.

Similar shads occur on the American Atlantic coast, namely the alewife (A. pseudoharengus) and the American shad (A. sapidissima) which has been introduced to the Pacific coast.

Alosa alosa

Maximum size and weight: 70 cm, 2.5 kg.

Identifying characteristics: A black spot behind the upper edge of the gill cover, sometimes another one or two less conspicuous spots

Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

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Brook Trout was imported into Europe from North America with other fish species at the end of the last century. In the American populations both permanently freshwater as well as migratory forms are known. The brook trout has an olive back with light marbling pattern and the body covered with red, yellow and blue spots. The fins are pale yellow to reddish, whilst the first rays of its pelvic, pectoral and anal fins are white and black. The biology of the brook trout is similar to that of the brown trout and the charr and thus it can easily be crossbred with them. The hybrids are known as zebra-trout, when crossbred with the trout. It will also hybridize with the Arctic charr. The progeny of both crosses are infertile. It habitually spawns during the winter months when the female excavates a suitable spawning be. It has a very similar diet to that of the brown rout and the charr.

It has been introduced into some British lakes and in Europe to several Alpine lakes, but has disappeared from many of them. It has only become effectively acclimatized in a few lakes and in some streams high up in the mountains. Generally in Europe it reaches a length of about 50 cm and weighs about 1 kg. However, in North America the brook trout is much larger and heavier and is a popular angling fish. Maximum size and weight: 65 cm, 3 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Olive-coloured back with light marbling, reel, yellow and blue spots on the sides. Fins pale yellow to reddish; first rays of pectoral, pelvic and anal

Other trout species: Lake Trout

European Weatherfish

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The weatherfish is a long-bodied fish with the body compressed at the sides and with ten barbels at the sides of its mouth. It lives in muddy, stagnant waters, in river backwaters and also in ponds. In any sudden change of air pressure it will swim close to the water surface and move about briskly. If oxygen is sparse in the water, it will gulp in air and absorb the oxygen through the mucous membrane of its gut. It spawns in May and the embryos have special external, web-like gills which soon disappear. In Europe it can be found from the Seine to the Neva and from the Danube to the Volga. However, it does not live in rivers flowing into the Arctic Ocean or in rivers in England, Scandinavia, Finland and southern Europe.

The stone loach is a small, 10 to 18 cm icing fish with a cylindrical, dark-marbled body and wkh six barbels at the mouth. The back is greenish or brownish, the sides are yellowish with irregular black-brown spots. The belly is whitish grey, sometimes with a pinkish tint. The fish keeps close to the bottom in rivers as well as in ponds and lakes, and usually hides under stones and roots. It spawns in spring during the month of May on sandy or stony shallows. Its diet consists chiefly of the larvae of water insects, such as the red midge. It is most active at night or in the half- light. It occurs all over Europe with the exception of northern Scotland, northern Scandinavia, southern and central Italy and Greece.

Misgurnus fossilis Maximum size and weight: 35 cm, 150 g.

Identifying characteristics: Long body, compressed on the sides. Ten barbels at the mouth. Lateral longitudinal stripes.

Noemacheilus barbatulus Maximum size and weight: 18 cm, 80 g.

Identifying characteristics: Elongated, cylindrical body with dark marbling. Six barbels at the mouth. Scales very small.

Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinu)

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The charr has a blue-green back, gray blue or greenish sides with small red or orange spots and a glowing red belly. The dorsal and caudal fins are bluish, whilst the others are red. The first rays of the paired fins and the anal fin are white.

This member of the salmon family, is of medium size and in the north migrates to sp in freshwater. However, many mountain lake; including some in the British Isles) are inhabit by non-migratory freshwater forms. Breeding tees place either during the late autumn or early sling and the young fish, after hatching, stay in freshwater for three to four years. They migrate to the sea during winter, often swimming under the ice of frozen rivers. Their migration journey can extend into June. During its freshwater existence the charr lives on small fish and insect larvae, but also jumps out of the water to catch flying insects. In the sea it feeds on fish and has a special lilting for young herring. It has matured sexually b, the time it is six or seven years old.

It inhabits the Arctic seas of Europe, Asia aid North America, and the coastal waters of Iceland Spitsbergen and the northern parts of Norway. However, large numbers of local varieties live in the lakes of England, Ireland and Scotland, in Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian lakes, as well as in the Alps. For example in Lake Constance and other lakes in the Alps a small form with strikingly large eyes can be found in deep waters. The charr is of considerable economic value in the Arctic waters, whilst the lake forms are popular angling fish.

Maximum size and weight:

60 cm, 2.5 kg. Identifying characteristics: Blue-green back, gray-blue or greenish sides with small red or orange spots, belly glowing red. First rays of pectoral, pelvic and anal fins white.

Lake Trout (Salmo trutta)

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The large variety of the trout is especially abundant in mountain lakes and reservoirs. Even today it can be observed that the small brown trout grows into this large lake form when put in such waters. This transformation is accompanied by a change in clotting; this trout acquires a pervasive silvery sheen and has a scattering of black flecks, whilst the red spots, characteristic of the brown trout, disappear.

The lake trout grows much faster than the brown trout, it has a high-backed body and is generally more robust. It spawns in the tributaries of lakes and reservoirs together with the brown trout. That part of the trout population which stays in streams, develops into die brown trout, whilst those which move into a lake grow into the larger lake trout. The lake trout usually weighs between 3 and 6 kilograms, but specimens weighing over 30 kg are also known. The young trout live on invertebrates and larger lake trout feed on fish.

Maximum size and weight: 130 cm, 40 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Body coloured a monotonous silver with black spots; red spots lacking.

Other Trout Species: Rainbow Trout

Rudd Fish

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The characteristic feature of this fish is its scale-covered, sharp keel on the belly, behind the pelvic fins. In some respects it resembles the roach, but is distinguished by the position of its dorsal fin, the origin of which is behind the pelvic fin base. The body is flattened at the sides and its small mouth is oblique.

The back is blue-green and the belly a silvery white. Apart from the reddish-grey dorsal and pectoral fins, all other fins are a deep red, whilst the eyes are yellow to yellowish-red. It lives in backwaters in the lower river reaches and in enclosed pools, often those which are profusely overgrown with aquatic vegetation, where it swims about in small shoals. It spawns in May and ,June on submerged water vegetation. The young rudd, up to 7 cm long, feed on plankton, whereas the larger fish feed mainly on aquatic vegetation, insects and aquatic vertebrates.

With the exception of the Iberian peninsula, Scotland, western Norway, northern and central Sweden and the Crimea, this fish lives all over Europe. A subspecies, S. erythrophthalmus scardafa, can also be found in central and southern Italy and Dalmatia. However, its value as a food fish is relatively insignificant although it is popular with anglers.

Maximum size and weight: 30 cm, 1 kg.

Identifying characteristics: A sharp, scale-covered keel behind pelvic fins.

Mouth moderate and strongly oblique (tilted upwards).

Dorsal fin starts behind imaginary vertical line

Mud-Minnow

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The mud-minnow is a small, reddish-brown, irregularly flecked fish with a rounded caudal fin and a lateral line which takes the form of a light stripe along the sides. The head is covered with scales both on the top and sides. It reaches a length of 13 cm at the most and inhabits the basin of the Danube between Vienna and the river's estuary, the lower reaches of the Dniester and Prut, and the lakes Blatenske and Ncziderske. It prefers waters overgrown with vegetation and therefore especially frequents irrigation canals, pools, and old river courses. It usually lives for only two years or so, during which time it feeds on small planktonic crustaceans and benthic organisms. Similar mud-minnows are found in silt- bottomed lakes, pools, and even swamps, in North America.

Common Freshwater Bream

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The Common Bream is a prolific fish living in great numbers in the lower reaches of slow-flowing, large rivers, lowland reservoirs and lakes. It has a high, laterally flattened body with lead-blue back and silvery or sometimes, in older fish, golden sides. Its eyes are quite small and its fins are a dark to dirty grey ; the paired fins arc lighter in colour.

It is a typical representative of river-bed fish, fond of undergrowths of water vegetation. It even survives in brackish waters, but such types migrate to spawn in clear river waters. Spawning takes place mainly in the evening and during the night towards the end of April and in May on submerged aquatic plants or other suitable objects, such as the foliage of fallen trees. During this period the common bream congregates in large shoals close to the river banks and the males have conspicuous spawning tubercles covering their body and head. Its mouth can be protruded forward during the search for food along the soft river bed. The common bream when young feeds on planktonic animals, but as it becomes larger feeds on benthic organisms. It usually grows to a length of 30 cm and on rare occasions even reaches 75 cm and a weight of over 6 kg.

It inhabits the whole of Europe to the north of the Pyrenees and the Alps, but does not exist in the western and southern parts of the Balkan peninsula or in the western and northern regions of Scandinavia. Its subspecies Abramis brama orientalis lives in the watershed of the Caspian Sea and another subspecies, Abramis brama danubii, has been found in the mouth of the Danube.

Maximum size and weight: 75 cm, 11 kg.

Identifying characteristics: A deep, laterally flattened body, with silvery or golden sides. Fins dark, dirty grey. Eyes relatively small. Mouth protrusible.

Other types of Bream Fish: Silver Bream

Silver Bream Fish

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The Silver Bream has a very deep body, which is flattened at the sides; the mouth is in a semi- inferior position and the eyes are relatively large. Its back is scaleless towards the front of its body, as is also its keel behind the pelvic fins. Older specimens have dark, grey-green back, silvery sides and a white belly. The fin edges are grey and the bases of the pectoral and pelvic fins are red or orange. Occasionally the silver bream reaches a length of 35 cm. It is a generally prolific inhabitant of the river bed in the lower reaches of large rivers, in old river backwaters and pools, in creeks and even in some lowland ponds. It spawns from the end of April to June on aquatic plants.

Its food consists of planktonic organisms, algae and the larvae of water insects. It is found in Europe to the north of the Alps and the Pyrenees as far as southern Scandinavia. It also inhabits the eastern parts of England and the northern Danubian tributaries of the Black Sea. It crossbreeds in some localities with other fish such as the bream and the roach, but these hybrids are sterile. Economically it is relatively unimportant and is only caught in large quantities in a few rivers and ponds. In terms of fishery management it represents an undesirable fish species, as it sometimes multiplies excessively, although it grows relatively slowly.

Maximum size and weight: 35 cm, 1 kg.

Identifying characteristics: A high, laterally flattened body; eyes relatively large. Sides strikingly silvery and bases of paired fins reddish.

Nase Fish (Chondrostoma nasus)

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The Nase is a medium-sized fish with a large body, which is slightly flattened at the sides, and a typical inferior-positioned mouth. Its lips are covered with a horny skin and therefore its mouth has sharp edges. The nase has a grey-blue to grey-green back, silvery sides and belly. All fins except the dorsal fin are red. It usually reaches a length of 40 cm and a weight of 1 kg. It lives gregariously in the middle reaches of rivers and lakes and from these it migrates in shoals upriver to the upper reaches. The nase feeds on algal growths, scraped from stones with their horny lips, leaving characteristic scratch marks on the surface of such submerged stones.

The nase inhabits those rivers which from mainland Europe open into the North and Baltic Seas, and from the north and west into the Black Sea. It can also be found in tributaries of the Caspian Sea. Besides Chondrostoma nasus, there are in Europe another seven species of the nase. In northern Italy it is C. soetta, in the Iberian peninsula C. polylepsis, in northern and central Italy C. genei and in the watershed of the river RhOne, Loire and rivers of northern Spain C. toxostoma.

Maximum size and weight: 50 cm, 2.5 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Typical inferior-positioned mouth with sharp edges. Body slightly flattened at sides; sides.

Wels Or European Catfish

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The Wels is a large fish with a long, scaleless body, a very small dorsal and a rounded caudal fin, which touches the long anal fin. Its mouth is equipped with three pairs of barbels; the one located on the upper jaw is very long. The back is plain, either olive-green or blue-grey, but the sides often have a marble-like pattern. The wels lives close to the bottom in the deep waters of large rivers, reservoirs and lakes. It spawns from May to July in the shallows, where the female constructs a kind of nest.

After mating the male guards the spawn and later the fry. During the day the wels usually hides close to the bottom, but is active at night, when it seeks its food on the water surface. It feeds on various types of small fish, small mammals and water birds. It groin's, very quickly and in Europe achieves a length of about 2 in and a weight of over 50 kg, although in some regions, for example in the Danube basin, it grows still much larger. Young wels often live in schools and only become solitary when adult.

In Europe it can he found to the east of the upper reaches of the River Rhine, in the River Elbe and in rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea and in the tributaries of the Black and Caspian Seas; it is localized in Sweden, and has been introduced to England. Its relative, Silurus aristotelis, lives in Greece.

Maximum. size and weight: 3 In, 300 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Scaleless body with small dorsal fin; rounded caudal fin touches anal fin. Three pairs of barbels; pair on upper jaw very long. Mouth wide, head depressed from above.

Goldfish as Pet

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The goldfish is similar in appearance to the crucian carp, but has only a few relatively large teeth on the long spiny ray of the dorsal fin and also has black-pigmented body tissue in the ventral cavity. Additionally, its colouring is slightly different as it has a black-grLy back and silvery, sometimes also dark or golden sides. The dorsal and caudal fins are black-grey, whilst the paired fins and the anal fin are much lighter. It lives together with the crucian carp and spawns between May and July.

The goldfish living on the boundaries of its habitat arc characterized by the following phenomena: in such places only females can usually be found, and their eggs are fertilized by other members of the carp family, especially by the carp and the crucian carp. The offspring are generally females again, and are genetically identical with the goldfish parent. The diet of the goldfish has the usual animal component with the addition of large quantities of aquatic vegetation.

Originally it came from eastern Asia and Siberia but today is distributed throughout eastern, central and northern Europe and continues to spread westwards. The exact boundaries to its range are not as yet known because of the difficulties of distinguishing it from the crucian carp. Finally the goldfish which is so common in ponds and aquaria is simply a selectively bred variety of a subspecies found in China, Korea and Japan.

Maximum size and weight: 35 cm, 1.2 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Black-pigmented body tissue in ventral cavity; spiny fin ray of dorsal fin with a small number of medium- teeth (10-15)size.

Related information: Introduction to Goldfish

Crucian Carp

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The crucian carp at first sight looks like the carp, but differs from it in the absence of barbels at the corners of its mouth. Its basic colouring is golden or a dirty green with darker colours predominating on the back and turning to yellow on the sides. The dorsal and caudal fins are brown, whilst the paired fins are yellow-brown or often reddish. The unbranchcd spiny ray in the dorsal fin has a dense serration of fine teeth.

The crucian carp reaches a length of 40 cm and a weight of over 1 kg. Usually it lives in old waterways and pools in the lower reaches of rivers or in swamps and hollows. It stays close to the bottom, where it feeds on small invertebrates. It can withstand low oxygen levels and sometimes hibernates in places which lack oxygen completely. It spawns in May and June on aquatic vegetation.

The most inappropriate places arc frequented by a dwarf form (the humilis form) of the crucian carp, which grows very slowly and is characterized by a lower body than that of the well fed crucian carp. This dwarf form has a dark spot on its caudal peduncle, which only characterizes young specimens of the crucian carp.

The crucian carp lives in an area stretching from England across to north-eastern France and to the river systems opening into the North and Baltic Seas. Formerly it was also artificially reared in carp ponds.

Cyprinidae

Maximum size and weight: 40 cm, 1 kg. Identifying characteristics: No barbels around mouth. Body cavity coloured light internally, without pigmentation. Long spine in dorsal fin densely serrated with fine teeth.

Carp Habitat

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The original home of the carp is the watershed of the Black and Caspian Seas, but as it has become a most popular pond fish, it has slowly been dispersed all over Europe. During the past century it has also been introduced to the United States, as well as parts of Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In the warmer parts of the USA it has multiplied exceedingly, often to the detriment of native fishes and aquatic vegetation. It can be as much as 120 cm long and can weigh over 30 kg. It has large scales, a long dorsal and a short anal fin. At the corners of the mouth it has four barbels.

The original wild form of the carp (Cyprinus carpio) has a long, cylindrical, scaly body. This lives in the Danube and some of its tributaries. Spawning takes place between May and June and the spawn sticks to water plants or to the flooded grass of the river banks. The fry lives on zooplankton and when 2 cm long, progresses to a diet of bottom- living invertebrates, whilst in thickly overgrown waters the carp also lives on water plants. In Europe, it is by far the most commercially important freshwater fish and a number of varieties of carp are pond-bred and then transplanted to rivers, reservoirs and warm lakes. The carp easily crossbreeds with the crucian carp and such hybrids have two pairs of very short barbels, grow more slowly than the carp and are usually sterile.

In recent decades, the wild form of the carp has been used in crossbreeding experiments with the cultivated forms. Such hybrids are more resistant to various infectious diseases and grow very well indeed. Crucian Carp

Care Of Carp Ponds

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The care of carp ponds resembles in many respects common agricultural practice used in the management of arable fields and pastures. Such ponds are from time to time left dry and fallow in summer or in winter. In summer the pond bed is ploughed up, fertilized and used for the cultivation of various specialized plants, such as clover and lucerne. These areas are then often flooded in the autumn and the plants in decaying enrich the water.

Throughout the carp breeders' aim is to achieve the highest possible fish production. Thus by appropriate fertilization they increase the amount of small water organisms, which then become the carp food. From time to time the ponds are cultivated with the assistance of heavy machinery, which breaks up the hard, overgrown edges and increases the productive area of the pond. In summer also the fishermen cut down rushes and other offshore vegetation by using special purpose-built boats.

In winter a range of machinery is installed in the ponds to prevent the formation of ice and to guarantee a continuous supply of oxygen in the water. During the autumn fish harvest, the pond managers first of all let the water out and at the same time prevent the fish from escaping by constructing a compact fencing near the water outlet. Then the carp, which have become concentrated in the deepest part of the pond, are caught in nets. The fish are then sorted, placed in wooden tanks and transported by lorries to storage tanks.

Carp cousin: Goldfish

Carp Breeding

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Carp breeding in ponds is a very old tradition in Europe. It requires a series of ponds each serving a different purpose. For example breeding ponds axe usually small artificial pools often overgrown with grass, which house female fish during the spawning period. After spawning the mother fish are removed and when the larvae have absorbed the egg yolk, they are taken out by fine nets and transferred to fry ponds.

There they stay until autumn, when they are again transferred to deep ponds, to overwinter. In spring the carp are transplanted yet again to another type of growing pond and in the autumn of the second year, when the carp weighs 200 to 500 g, it is relocated in deeper ponds. In the third year the young are put into the large, main ponds, in which by autumn they have reached the correct size for consumption, namely 1.5 to 3 kg.

During this process the carp is given extra food, which includes natural foodstuffs, such as peas and grain, as well as special feed additives. Female carp which weigh about 5 to 10 kg and have the desired features, are then used for breeding purposes. In this way the breeding stock is kept pure in the carp-farm.

Black Sea Roach

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The Black Sea roach has a long cylindrical body, a small mouth and a round protruding snout. Its back is dark brown with a green sheen, its sides are a lighter colour turning to white on the belly. The fins are greyish and transparent. It is a migratory fish, which lives in schools in spme German and Austrian lakes within the system of the upper Danube in the Chiemsee, Traunsee, Attersee and Mondsee and their tributaries. It spawns in April and May in the lake tributaries where it feeds on molluscs, worms, insect larvae, plants and small fish. It is often netted during such migrations and is also a popular angling fish. A similar roach (Rutilus frisii frisii) is quite, plentiful in the north-western river tributaries of the Black Sea.

The Danube roach is a deep-water fish, which can be distinguished from the roach by the higher number of scales in its lateral line and the dark- coloured body tissue in the abdominal cavity. Its scales are relatively large, its mouth occupies a low position on the underside of the head. The dorsal fin is reddish and the caudal fin is a yellow-red. It grows to a larger size than the roach, up to 50 cm in length and about 2 kg in weight. It lives in large north Italian lakes, for example Lakes Maggiore, Lugano, Como and Garda, and is also found in the watershed of the River Po. In the upper and middle reaches of the Danube and its tributaries a subspecies is found, named Rutilus pigus virgo.

Rutilus frisii meidingeri

Maximum size and weight: 40 cm, 1.5 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Body slender and cylindrical; mouth small. Fins greyish and transparent.

Rutilus pigus

Maximum size and weight: 50 cm, 2 kg.

Identifying characteristics: An opalescent sheen on the sides, dorsal fin reddish, caudal fin red. The body tissue in the abdominal cavity dark

Silver Carp & Grass Carp

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The Silver Carp has its eyes in an unusually low position on the head. Its belly from its throat to the anal opening has a sharp, scaleless keel. Its eggs are pelagic and are carried by the current. The adult fish feed almost exclusively on plant plankton and grow very quickly.

It inhabits the vast area of eastern Asia stretching from the River Amur in the USSR as far as the rivers of the Canton province in southern China. In China this fish has been bred in ponds for a long time. In recent years it has been acclimatized even in Europe, where it sometimes escapes from ponds to open waters, such as the Danube.

The Grass Carp has a long, scaly body, which is slightly flattened at the sides. Its head is very wide and the mouth is in a semi-inferior position. In colouring it resembles the carp, but its sides are somewhat lighter and have a golden sheen. All its fins arc dark grey and there are conspicuous ridges on its gill covers. This species often grows to more than 1 m in length and weighs up to 32 kg. It spawns in spring and its eggs are pelagic. It feeds predominantly on vegetation. In ponds it is given a supplementary diet of clover and lucerne.

Originally it came from the middle and lower reaches of the River Amur and its tributaries. In China it is bred in ponds to the south of Canton, and several decades ago it was also acclimatized for the first time in the European part of the USSR and in some other European countries. Experimentally, it has been introduced to England and the United States; in both it has been released to help control growths of aquatic plants.

Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

Maximum size and weight:

1 m, 10 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Belly forms sharp, scaleless keel, extending from throat to anus. Eyes located very low on head, mouth tilts upwards. Protrusion in lower jaw slots into hollow in upper jaw.

Ctenopharyngodon idella

Maximum size and weight:130 cm, 32 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Large terminal mouth and elongated, cylindrical body. Gills have conspicuous radial dents.

Learn more on carp breeding

European eel

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The European eel has a long, snake-like body without pelvic fins. It has small scales, which are deeply embedded in the skin so much so as to be virtually invisible. Its extremely long dorsal and anal fins merge with the caudal fin and thus form a continuous edging to the whole of its body. It spawns in the Atlantic Ocean in the region of the Sargasso Sea, cast of the Bermudas and Bahamas. The larvae differ considerably from the adult fish as they look like transparent willow leaves.

For about three years they are slowly carried by the Gulf Stream towards the European continent, where they change into minute, snake-like elvers. Young eels have dark green or brown-black backs and their bellies and sides arc yellowish or white. The females then travel upriver, while the males remain in the river estuaries. At the start of their. breeding migration the adult fish have large eyes, shiny, metal-coloured sides and a silvery white belly. The females live in freshwater for twelve years or more and then return to the Atlantic Ocean, where after spawning they are believed to die.

The European eel lives close to the river bed under roots and in other hideouts, only becoming active at night. Many travel short distances overland (usually on wet nights) to get to isolated ponds. They arc usually 100 to 150 cm long and weigh up.to 4 kg, although in exceptional cases they grow to 2 m in length and achieve a weight of 7 kg. Maximum size and weight: 2 m, 7 kg.

Identifying characteristics: Snake-like body; no pelvic fins. Dorsal, caudal and anal fins form a continuous fin edging. Minute scales deeply embedded in skin

Salmon Fish Study

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The Salmon is a large grey sea fish with black spots shaped like crosses or stars. Its adipose fin is a plain grey. It migrates in the summer and autumn months high upstream against the current to spawn. During migration the males become darker and their sides are decorated with red and orange spots, whilst the belly becomes pink. The females do not change their appearance when they migrate and remain a silvery grey.

During their journey they have to overcome strong currents, rapids, weirs and other obstacles as the spawning grounds are located in the upper reaches of rivers in clean and well oxygenated waters. Here the females excavate large hollows (called redds) in which they deposit their eggs which the males fertilize; after which they are covered with gravel. During migration they do not.eat and therefore many die after spawning through sheer exhaustion. The young salmon stay in the river for two to three years and only then migrate to sea. They live in the sea one to three years and grow very fast. In freshwaters they feed on small invertebrates, but in the sea solely on fish.

Salmon migrate en masse to spawn in the European rivers extending from the mouth of the Pechora to the rivers of north-western Spain. They are also very numerous in the rivers of Iceland, Greenland and along the Atlantic coast of North America, southwards to the Hudson River. However, during the last century they have become scarcer in a number of European and North American rivers as a result of the construction of irrigation and dam installations and the progressive pollution in the lower rivers and have even disappeared in some.

The body of the salmon is spindle-shaped, its head is relatively small, its caudal peduncle is quite thin and longer than the anal fin. The caudal fin is slightly curved. Young salmon, which hatch in spawning grounds in the upper reaches of rivers, usually depart for the sea after two to three years as smolts. Some, however, stay permanently in the river, where they mature sexually, but differ from the sea salmon in their colouring, which resembles that of the trout. They also have 9 to 10 large blue-grey spots on the sides, the parr-marks.

At the final stages of their return journey from the sea to the rivers, salmon are guided by the chemical composition of the water. Every river has for them its individual taste and smell, so that they never make a mistake and always go back to the river where they were born. In recent years artificial breeding of salmon has been developed in an attempt to counter the losses due to pollution and other factors. Now salmon fertilized eggs and young salmon arc put into the rivers in large quantities and so the stock of the salmon is constantly being replaced.

Maximum size and weight: 150 cm, 50 kg. Identifying characteristics: Gross- or star-shaped black spots scattered on the sides. Adipose fin plain grey. Upper jaw bone reaches only to the rear of the eye, section of the body in front of tail fin narrow.

Different Salmon species: Arctic Charr

Sturgeon Species

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The sturgeon is a large, migratory fish, weighing sometimes more than three hundred kilograms. It enters the rivers in April and May. Its sides are covered with about 30 plates, the number of the dorsal plates varies from 9 to 13. It spawns between June and July in deep hollows in fast running water. It lays a large number of eggs, which can rise to as much as two and a half million. The adult fish and the embryos stay in freshwater for only a short time. They live on various marine invertebrates, such as crustaceans, worms and molluscs, whilst large sturgeon even hunt fish that live near the sea bed.

It lives along the whole of the European coast from the North Cape as far as the Black Sea. It used to migrate up the Rhine to Basle, up the Elbe and into the Vltava as far as Prague, also up the Oder to Wroclaw and up the Vistula to Cracow. It also lives in the Danube delta but only rarely any higher up that river.

Its economic importance in Europe is negligible, although at the end of the last century itused to be abundant in all large rivers. Its gradual disappearance has been the result of intensive fishing and river pollution, as well as the result of an increasing number of large water constructions, which have made it impossible for the fish to migrate upstream. Its importance at the present time is confined to the area around the Black Sea. A closely similar species (A. oxyrinchus) lives along the American Atlantic coastline from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. It too is now relatively rare.

Maximum size and weight: 300 cm, 300 kg. Identifying characteristics: About 30 lateral plates, 9-13 dorsal plates. Barbels not branched, semicircular in cross-section. Snout relatively flat.

Rainbow Trout Fish Information

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Rainbow Trout is a member of the salmon family that comes from the western parts of the USA. It was introduced to Europe in the 1890s and has thrived in some trout waters up to the present day. It is stocked in streams and small rivers, in reservoirs and cold ponds. It spawns mainly in the winter months, but few populations are self-maintaining in Britain. This fish grows very fast where there is plenty of food and sometimes reaches a weight of 1 kg as early as its third year of life. In Europe it can exceed a length of 50 cm and weighs between 4 and 5 kg.

It has a bluish or olive-green back and silvery sides with a wide pink or red lateral stripe. The sides, back, dorsal and caudal fins are densely covered with dark spots. Young rainbow trout feed on a range of invertebrates, especially insects both larval and adult, whilst older specimens prey continuously on other fish. North America as well as Europe is inhabited by non-migratory populations, which live permanently in freshwater. In contrast, other populations of the rainbow trout, called steelheads, have left freshwaters for the sea and only return to the rivers to spawn.

Maximum size and weight: 60 cm, 5 kg. Identifying characteristics: Lateral pink or red stripe along silvery sides. Sides, back, dorsal and caudal fins densely

Other related species: Salmo trutta or Brown Trout

Freshwater Brown Trout Fish

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The Brown Trout is a typical fish of the salmon family inhabiting mountain streams, rivers and lakes, characterized by its vivid and variable coloring. Immature fish have large, conspicuous grey-blue spots on their sides, while the maturer specimens have small, red flecks, often edged with light shades. The belly is yellow-white to yellow. In autumn and winter it migrates upstream to spawn. The fertilized eggs are deposited by the female into a bowl-shaped depression on the river bed.

The size of this trout is closely related to its habitat; in the fast-flowing waters of mountain streams they can reach a length of about 20 cm and weigh about 100 g; however, in lowland rivers rich in food they grow to a length of 60 cm and a weight of about 2 kg. It lives predominantly on water insects and their larvae, as well as other small water animals, whilst the larger specimens often hunt for other fish, including members of their own species.

The brown trout lives in mountain and sub- mountain waters all over Europe, but is differentiated according to the river of its origin. North and Baltic Sea river types arc classified as a different subspecies to those originating in the rivers flowing into the Black Sea. However, differences can only be detected after a close anatomical analysis and are not noticeable externally. The brown trout has been introduced to many parts of the world, North America, South America, New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere, on account of its sporting qualities. Maximum size and weight: 60 cm, 2 kg. Identifying characteristics: Back dotted with numerous dark spots; spots on the sides reddish, with lighter edges. Adipose fin light with dark edging and sometimes red at end.

Introduction to Goldfish

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Goldfish and carp belong to similar species, with the same scientific name (Carassius auratus). Goldfish which is also known as the "golden carp," evolved from the carp ornamental fish. Many varieties of goldfish can be found with different colors such as red, orange, purple, blue, silver and they are truly unique!

History
Goldfish was believed to have originated from China and ever since the 12th century it is subjected to genetic research and after a long period of cultivation, numerous varieties were created. The goldfish is now spread throughout every country in the world.

It was believed that the fish is domesticated as early as the Sung Dynasty. During those days, wild goldfish found in rivers originally exist in green brown or gray body. Today, after centuries of selective breeding this has created in more than 125 varieties of goldfish. According to a Japanese scholar named Matsui, the first record of Chinese bred goldfish started appearing in Japan around the year 1502. Goldfish were then brought to as far as the United Kingdom during the 17 century and after than it spread to the United States in 1874.

Care and Feeding
Goldfish are omnivorous meaning that it will eat both plants and small animals for food. Other hobbyist even offer varieties including smaller crustaceans, while some even use larvae of mosquitoes, cereals and other foods as a supplementary diet for their pets. Spring and summer is the best time when goldfish will lay their eggs. During this delicate period, the females will become brightly colored with the abdominal region becoming enlarged. Once the eggs are released with presence of male goldfish, which will released their sperm at the same time, the eggs will attach to aquatic plants and in about a week, it should hatch. Goldfish are known to live more than 25 years.

Why Goldfish is popular
Goldfish is said to be living work of art, which is why people love. According to historical and modern records, the relationship between the fish and human are very close.

The Science behind the magnificent color
According to scientific studies, the color of Goldfish is mainly due to presence of pigmented cells in the dermis layer. The color of a goldfish is contributed by distribution of black, orange yellow and light blue pigment cells and different color which you can see with goldfish is due to the re-arrangement, intensity, density, or either presence of lacking of either one of the components.

Discoloration and maybe change of color is mainly affected by the nervous system and health of the endocrine system, thus, when the fish is injured, sick or when the water quality deteriorate, the fish body color will start to become dull.

Read more.... about Goldfish as Pet & Goldfish Varieties