Perch family (Percidae). Perch family: names, description

In perch fish, the anal fin contains 1-3 spines. The dorsal fin consists of two parts: prickly and soft, which are connected in some species, separate in others. On the jaws are bristle-like teeth, among which in some species fangs sit. Scales ctenoid.

The perch family includes 9 genera and over 100 species. Perches are common in fresh and brackish waters of the northern hemisphere. The most widespread groupers(North America, Europe and North Asia), followed by zander(North America and Europe) and ruffs(Europe and North Asia).

Chops, sculpin and percarina found only in the Azov-Black Sea basin; pepper, ammocrypt, eteostomy- only in North America.

Fish kind Okuni(Regsa) have two dorsal fins, their caudal fin is notched. The cheeks are completely covered with scales. The operculum has one flat spine, the preoperculum is serrated posteriorly, with hooked spines below.

Bristle-shaped teeth are located in several rows on the jaws, vomer, palatine, externary pterygoid, on the pharyngeal bones; there are no fangs.

The perch genus contains 3 species: common perch, yellow perch and Balkhash perch.

common perch(Regsa fluviatilis) is one of the most common fish. It is found in Europe (except Spain, Italy, Northern Scandinavia) and in Asia, on the territory of the USSR. (Not in Lake Balkhash, in the Amur basin and east of the Kolyma. In 1919, it was introduced into the upper reaches of the Amur basin, into Lake Kenon, near the city of Chita. The perch took root well there and became a commercial fish.) It lives in various types of water bodies: lakes, reservoirs, rivers, flowing ponds and brackish lakes, and even in some mountain lakes at an altitude of 1000 m.

The perch is beautifully and brightly colored: a dark green back, greenish-yellow sides are dotted with 5-9 dark transverse stripes, caudal, anal, ventral fins are bright red, pectoral fins are yellow. The first dorsal fin is gray with a large black spot in its rear part, the second is greenish-yellow. The eyes are orange. However, the color of perch changes in different water bodies, and in forest peat lakes it becomes completely dark.

In large lakes and reservoirs, perch forms ecological forms confined to different parts of the reservoir: one is small coastal, grassy perch; the other is deep. The grass perch grows slowly; zooplankton and insect larvae are of great importance in its nutrition. Deep perch is a predator, it grows quickly, reaches a considerable size. The largest perches reach a length of 40 cm and a weight of more than 2 kg (a perch of 55 cm and 3 kg has been noted). At the same time, they become humpbacked, as they grow more in height and thickness than in length.

Perches reach puberty early: males - at 1-2 years, females - at 3 years and later.

They spawn at temperatures from 7-8 to 15 ° C, in the reservoirs of the middle zone, following the pike. Caviar is laid on last year's vegetation, snags, roots, willow branches, and even just on the ground. The egg laying is a hollow mesh tube of gelatinous substance, the walls of which have a cellular structure. Eggs are arranged in 2-3 pieces on each side of the cell. The size of the developing egg is about 3.5 mm. The yolk contains a large fat droplet. The masonry, hung on various objects under water, resembles lace ribbons. The length and width of the masonry tape depends on the size of the female. In small ones, its length ranges from 12 to 40 cm, in large ones it reaches 1 m or more. In the coastal zone, there are often numerous short clutches, but sometimes in certain areas large clutches can also be found in a significant number. But more often large masonry is swept out at a depth. This can be judged by measuring the masonry laid on spruce brooms previously lowered to different depths, the so-called artificial spawning grounds. The gelatinous substance in which the eggs are enclosed probably protects them from saprolegnia (mold fungus) and enemies - various invertebrates and fish. In some lakes, which are not very deep and sufficiently transparent, it is possible to count the number of laid eggs and thus determine the absolute number of females of the spawning part of the herd.

Females, depending on their size, lay from 12 to 200-300 and even 900 thousand eggs.

In the first year, small perches - "ostrechenki" stay mainly in the coastal zone and consume the zooplankton of thickets. Perch can switch to predatory food early, already at a length of 4 cm; but usually it becomes a predator, having reached a length of 10 cm. The perch is especially predatory at the end of summer, when numerous grown-up fry of fish are plentiful, easily accessible food.

The perch makes small movements to the places of spawning and fattening. From large rivers or lakes, it often rises into tributaries and spawns on floods. After spawning, the perch makes feeding migrations. For example, in the lakes of the Meshcherskaya lowland, located in the floodplain of the Pra and Oka rivers, at the end of July, perch 10-14 cm long come to fatten numerous juvenile fish. The perch willingly feeds on its juveniles. It is more voracious than pike: 4.9 kg of other fish is spent per 1 kg of perch meat, and 3.5 kg per 1 kg of pike.

Due to its wide distribution and high abundance in water bodies, perch is an accessible prey for many fish. Catfish, pike, pike perch, burbot willingly feed on them. Seagulls, terns and osprey also attack him.

Perch are caught in significant numbers, accounting for half of the fish catch in some lakes. It is readily consumed by the local population. Due to the huge voracity and behavioral characteristics of perch, amateur fishermen easily catch it throughout the year with a variety of gear: float rods, mugs, spinning, track, mormyshka, sheer luster. Perch takes willingly; often, having fallen off the hook, he grabs the nozzle again and again until he is completely hooked. There are cases when a perch, breaking off one hook, sits down on another in a few minutes. The perch is insensitive to pain. Anglers have seen how a perch, having hooked its eye on a hook and thus losing it, soon fell on the same hook, seduced by its own eye. Often, large perches grab small fish caught in nets and go to fishermen as an unforeseen catch. Perch is not afraid of noise. In the Neman delta, even a special method of commercial winter fishing is used, in which the perch is lured by blows on an oak board, lowered at one end into the hole. To catch large perch, fishermen on the lakes in the Gatchina district of the Leningrad region make a noise with their rods, slightly reminiscent of the noise of a jumping fish. Perch often keeps among the piles of destroyed mill dams, near large stones, hiding near flooded snags. Small perches climb inside dark glass jars and even into bottles placed on the bottom. Thus they are caught by small anglers.

In lakes, reservoirs and ponds rich in valuable commercial species (whitefish, trout, bream, carp, pike perch), perch is a weedy fish: it feeds on the same food and eats the eggs laid by these fish. In such reservoirs, it is necessary to strive to reduce the number of perch - to increase its catch, and most importantly, to limit reproduction. For this purpose, artificial spawning grounds are placed in the reservoir, which are then removed along with the perch caviar deposited on them.

Balkhash perch(P. schrenki) distributed in the system of lakes Balkhash and Alakul, in the river. Or the lakes of its floodplain. It differs from the common one in a more elongated body, the absence of a black spot on the dorsal fin and transverse dark stripes in adult fish, a lower first dorsal fin, and a protruding lower jaw. It lives in a variety of conditions, it is found both in fast rivers of a semi-mountain type, for example, in the Ili River below the city of Iliysk, and in heavily overgrown lakes, where it sometimes has an almost black color. Spawning in April, for spawning from Balkhash goes to Ili. The Balkhash perch is a predator, it feeds on chars, juveniles of other species, but especially often eats its own juveniles. It grows slowly, reaches a length of 50 cm and a weight of 1.5 kg. In Balkhash, perch is a commercial species, it is harvested in salted, dried and frozen form. The meat of the Balkhash perch tastes like pike perch.

yellow perch(P. flavescens) in structure and lifestyle is very close to the common one. Perhaps it should be considered as a subspecies of the common. It is distributed in eastern North America and is an important sport fishery in the Great Lakes. In some lakes it is specially bred for this purpose.

Rod Sudaki(Stizostedion, or Lucioregsa). In zander, the body is elongated, the pelvic fins are wider apart than in perches, the lateral line is extended to the caudal fin, and there are usually fangs on the jaws and palatine bones.

There are 5 species in the genus pike perch: common zander, bersh, sea zander- in the waters of Europe, Canadian walleye and lightfin walleye in eastern North America.

common zander(S. lucioperca) is distinguished by the fact that in the second dorsal fin it has 19-24, and in the anal fin 11-13 branched rays, the cheeks (preoperculum) are bare or only partly covered with scales, the fangs on the jaws are strong. This is the largest representative of the perch family, reaching 120 cm in length and 12 kg in weight. The usual size of pike perch is 60-70 cm, weight 2-4 kg. The back of the walleye is greenish-gray, with 8-12 brown-black stripes on the sides. The dorsal and caudal fins have dark spots, the rest are pale yellow. Pike perch is common in the basins of the Baltic, Black, Azov, Caspian and Aral Seas, in the river. Maritsa, flowing into the Aegean Sea. The range of pike perch is expanding due to active human activity. At the end of the XIX century. it has been introduced to some lakes in England. In the 50s of the XX century, pike perch was transplanted into Issyk-Kul and Balkhash lakes, Biylikul lake and Ust-Kamenogorsk reservoir, Chebarkul lake (Chelyabinsk region). Within the natural range, it is settled in reservoirs where it was previously absent: in some lakes of Karelia, the Latvian SSR, in the reservoirs of the Moscow Canal, the Mozhaisk reservoir.

According to the way of life, two biological forms of pike perch are distinguished: residential, or non-water, and semi-anadromous. Residential zander inhabits rivers and clean lakes. In lakes and reservoirs, it lives in the pelagic zone, where it stays at different depths depending on the location of the main food, oxygen content and water temperature. Pike perch prefers a water temperature of 14-18°C. He avoids water bodies with an unfavorable oxygen regime.

The semi-anadromous pike perch is common in the southern seas of the USSR in brackish water and rises into rivers for spawning. From the Black Sea it goes to the Dnieper, from the Azov Sea to the Don and Kuban, from the Caspian Sea to the Volga, to the floodplain flooded with spring floods. About 90% of the total pike perch catch comes from the semi-anadromous form.

Pike perch caviar is small and fecundity is high: in the Kuban, for example, from 200,000 eggs to 1,000,000. Spawning occurs at dawn, caviar is spawned within 1-2 hours. The place for laying eggs is chosen by the male and clears it of silt.

For spawning, pike perch uses a variety of substrates. In the Don, Kuban, Volga, he lays eggs on vegetation, in a large number of lakes and reservoirs - on sand, and in the Curonian Lagoon of the Baltic Sea - on stones. Such plasticity of zander in relation to the substrate contributes to the fact that zander successfully lays eggs on artificial spawning grounds (spruce branches; bast; synthetic fibers sewn to burlap stretched over a frame; on sheets of slate imitating a flat stone).

The rate of development of eggs depends on temperature: at 9-11°C, the larvae hatch in 10-11 days, at 18-22°C - after 3-4. After sucking the yolk sac, the larvae feed on zooplankton. In the second month, pike perch switches to feeding on large invertebrates - mysids, cumaceans, as well as juvenile fish. If juvenile pike perch is provided with suitable food all the time, it grows rapidly and reaches 10-15 cm by autumn. Pike perch feeds on relatively small prey, the main size of the prey of large pike perch is 8-10 cm. northern lakes are smelt, roach, in the middle lane - ruff, perch, bleak, roach, in the southern seas - sprat, gobies. Thus, pike perch feeds on low-value fish. For 1 kg of its weight, pike perch consumes 3.3 kg of other fish. This is less than what is required for pike and even more so for perch. Therefore, it is readily bred in different water bodies.

The Kuban pike perch grows faster than others, reaching puberty at 3-5 years. In the northern reservoirs, pike perch grows more slowly and reaches puberty later - at the age of 5-7 years.

The zander also has enemies. Its larvae feed on invertebrates, especially cyclops. Juvenile pike perch, pike, eel, catfish consume.

Pike perch is a very valuable commercial fish. Fishing enthusiasts also catch it, and it is caught only in the morning, in the evening or at night.

After regulation of the flow of rivers in the southern seas of the USSR, the natural conditions for spawning of zander deteriorated. Currently, most of the pike perch is reproduced in special fish farms. At the same time, zander is becoming an important commercial fish in reservoirs of temperate latitudes in the European part of the USSR.

Bersh(S. volgensis) differs from zander in that it has no fangs on the lower jaw and the preoperculum is completely covered with scales. Bersh is smaller than pike perch: it reaches a length of 45 cm and a weight of 1.2-1.4 kg. Bersh lives in the rivers of the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas, mainly in the lower and middle reaches. This is mainly freshwater fish of the lower reaches of the rivers, but also enters the Caspian Sea. It rises quite high along the Volga, there is in Sheksna, Beloozero, Kama.

Bersh is quite common in the southern reservoirs: Tsimlyansk, Volgograd, Kuibyshev. As you move north, the timing of spawning shifts to a later time. In the Volga delta, spawning occurs in April - May, and in the Kuibyshev reservoir - in May - June. After hatching, the larvae feed on small zooplankton, and when they reach a length of 40 mm or more, they switch to feeding on benthos. The transition to carnivorous feeding is observed in the Bersh in the second year of life. Its main food: underyearlings of carp and perch fish. Bersh more than 15 cm feeds exclusively on fish. Bersh is not able to capture (due to the lack of fangs) and swallow (narrow throat) large prey. The size of the prey ranges from 0.5 to 7.5 cm. Fish 6.0-7.5 cm are rare even in large ber-sheys (30-40 cm). The usual size of the prey is 3-5 cm. Bersh is intensively fattened in the spring with overwintered yearlings and in the autumn with grown-up yearlings of fish, in summer the feeding intensity decreases.

sea ​​zander(S. marinus) differs from zander and bersh in having smaller eyes and a smaller number of branched rays in the dorsal fin. Distributed in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, in the middle and southern Caspian. Sea pike perch of the Caspian Sea does not enter the rivers and avoids desalinated areas. From the Dnieper-Bug estuary it singly enters the mouths of the Dnieper and the Bug. Reaches a length of 60 cm. The Caspian pike perch prefers dense soils. Sexual maturity is partially reached at the age of two. Spawns in spring on rocky areas. The caviar is larger than that of the common zander. Depending on the size, fertility ranges from 13,000 to 126,000 eggs. Sea pike-perch guards caviar, which gobies are especially hungry for. The main food of pike perch is gobies, sprats, slats, herring fry, shrimps. Its commercial value is small.

American zander are closer to sea zander than to ordinary and bersh.

Canadian walleye(S. canadense) resembles the color of the dorsal fins of an ordinary pike perch. It is distributed from Hudson Bay to Virginia, Oklahoma and Kansas. lightfin zander(S. vitreum) reaches 90 cm in length. Its dorsal fins do not have rounded dark spots, but at the end of the first dorsal fin there is a large black spot (like our perch). Its range extends much further north, including the Mackenzie River system, which flows into the Arctic Ocean.

Rod Ershi(Acerina) is characterized by the fact that the spiny and soft parts of the dorsal fin are fused together, there are large cavities of sensory canals on the head, and the teeth on the jaws are bristle-shaped.

There are three types of ruffs in the genus: common ruff, ruff, striped ruff.

common ruff(A. cernua) is distributed in Europe west to France and in northern Asia. It is not found in Spain, Italy, Greece, the Transcaucasus and the Amur basin.

In its vast range, it inhabits large rivers and small tributaries, lakes, flowing ponds. Avoids fast-flowing northern rivers. The back is gray-green with blackish spots and dots, the sides are somewhat yellowish, the belly is whitish. Dorsal and caudal fins with black dots. The color of the fish depends on the habitat: the ruff is lighter in rivers and lakes with a sandy bottom than with a muddy one. The eyes of the ruff are large, protruding, with a dull purple, sometimes even bluish iris. The usual size is 10-15 cm, weight 20-25 g, sometimes reaches a length of 25-30 cm and a weight of 200 g. Larger specimens, as a rarity, are found in Siberian rivers and Ural lakes. Numerous in reservoirs, especially in the middle zone of the European part of the USSR (Rybinsk, reservoirs of the Moscow Canal, etc.).

Ruff spawns in spring, in southern rivers - from April. In the Moscow region, spawning begins in the second half of May and ends in early July. Caviar about 1 mm in diameter, with a large fat drop. The female lays eggs several times. Individuals 8-10 cm long spawn 4-6 thousand eggs, and 15-18 cm - up to 100 thousand eggs.

The ruff feeds very intensively. At the same time, it consumes 14.4 g of chironomid larvae per 1 kg of weight, 6 times more than bream. Ruff is very voracious, he does not stop eating throughout the year.

Ruff ripens early, in two years it already spawns. Early maturation, high fecundity provide a rapid increase in its numbers in the reservoir. Ruff has a detrimental effect on the conditions for fattening valuable commercial fish, especially bream. In addition, ruff is a very active consumer of caviar of other fish species.

Immediately after hatching, the ruffe feeds on zooplankton, but soon switches to feeding on benthos.

The activity of the ruff increases at night, when it goes to smaller places and intensively fattens. It is difficult to observe a ruff in natural conditions. Observed ruffs in the aquarium in winter. About a dozen ruffs were released into a large aquarium. They hid in the corners, two or three hid in a shelter that was arranged in one of the corners. Soon a struggle began between them for possession of the shelter. They drove each other out, hitting the enemy with their snouts, pulling the fins, tearing off the scales. They were joined by other ruffs, sometimes all ten fish found themselves in a shelter. After several days of struggle, one of the ruffs firmly took possession of the shelter and did not let any of his relatives close, who huddled in the corners of the aquarium. Soon they all died. The ruff remaining in the aquarium almost did not leave the shelter, jumping out only for a moment to grab food. The perch, which lived for some time in the aquarium, climbed from time to time to his shelter, and they peacefully, side by side, spent the whole day. Other fish in the aquarium - verkhovka, minnows, silver bream - did not notice the ruff. With the onset of spring, the ruff perked up, began to show aggressive tendencies towards other fish. As soon as food was given, the ruff with splayed fins jumped out of the shelter, drove away all the fish and did not let anyone near the food until it had eaten itself. Possibly, in the reservoir the ruff also drives other fish away from their feeding grounds. It is known from fishing practice that in places rich in ruff, no other fish, except perch, is found.

Ruff grows slowly. The maximum age of a ruff in the reservoirs near Moscow is 7-8 years, in the Gulf of Finland the ruff lives up to 10 years. An increase in the number of ruff in water bodies is very undesirable. To combat it, it is necessary to maintain a high number of predatory fish, especially pike perch, and also to actively catch ruff in spawning grounds.

Nosar, or biryuchok(A. acerina), differs from the ruff in its long snout and smaller scales. Found only in fast flowing rivers. In such areas, it is much more numerous than the common ruff, which prefers lakes and flowing ponds. The general coloration of the body is yellowish, the back is mostly olive green, the belly is silvery white, and on the sides of the body and dorsal fin there are several rows of dark spots, which makes the fish seem very colorful. The ruff is somewhat larger than the ruff, its usual dimensions are 8-13 cm, 16-20 cm in length are quite common. Caviar bottom, sticky, with a large fat drop. Development is slow due to low temperatures. At a water temperature of 14 ° C, hatching occurs in 7-8 days. The size of hatched larvae is 4.3 mm. They spend most of their time in the bottom layers. The yolk dissolves after 9-10 days, during this period the larvae are photophilous, lead a pelagic lifestyle and are carried downstream down the river. It feeds on various benthic invertebrates and small fish. The meat of the biryuchka is tender. Anglers highly value privet fish soup.

striped ruff(A. schraetser) lives in the Danube, from Bavaria up to the delta, and comes across in the Black Sea before the mouth of the Danube. It has 3-4 black longitudinal stripes on the sides of the body. The length of the striped ruff reaches 20-24 cm.

Chops(Aspro) differ from ruffs in the fusiform-cylindrical body shape, the presence of two markedly spaced dorsal fins, and the smooth lower margin of the preoperculum.

Chop family includes 3 types: ordinary chop, small chop and French chop.

ordinary chop(A. zingel) has a grayish-yellow color, on the sides - 4 oblique dark brown stripes. It is distributed in the Danube and its tributaries from Bavaria to the delta. Reaches a length of 30-40 cm, sometimes up to 48 cm. Chop keeps near the bottom, in deep places, feeds on benthic invertebrates and small fish. Spawns caviar in March - April in the river bed, on pebbles. Caviar small, sticky.

small chop(A. streber) is common in the Danube and in the Vardar River, which flows into the Aegean Sea. french chop(A.asper) lives in the Rhone basin.

Perkarina(Percarina, one species of P. demidoffi) is close to ruffs, but differs in that there are two dorsal fins, although they are in contact. The prelid is provided with spikes along the edge. The posterior edge of the operculum rests on a spine located on the upper part of the clavicle. The scales are thin, easily falling off. Perkarina lives in the northern, slightly saline parts of the Black and Azov Seas. This is a small fish (about 10 cm), the body color is yellowish with a pinkish-purple tinge on the back, the sides and belly are silvery. There are several dark spots on the back at the base of the dorsal fin, all fins are transparent, without spots.

Perkarina begins to breed in the second year of life, spawns in portions, and spawning continues throughout the summer, from June to August. Caviar is small, sticks to the substrate at the bottom. The hatched larvae first lie on the bottom, then from time to time begin to float up, and after two days they rise to the surface and switch to a pelagic way of life. Juveniles feed on small invertebrates, then exclusively on crustaceans calanipeda and mysids, and upon reaching a length of 4 cm - on juvenile gobies and sprats. At different times of the day, percarina feeds on different organisms: during the daytime it consumes crustaceans, and at night it mainly consumes sprat. Probably, the kilka, which has good eyesight, is more accessible to perkarina at night. Perkarina hunts for kilka, guided by the organs of the lateral line, which are very well developed in her. Percarina feeds on pike perch. Perkarina is a weedy fish, it secretes a lot of mucus, and therefore, when it is caught along with sprat, the value of the catch is sharply reduced.

perch sculpin(Komanichthys, one species of K. valsanicola) was first described in 1957 from small mountain streams in Romania. Its preoperculum has a smooth edge. There are two dorsal fins. The pectoral and pelvic fins are long. It is remarkable that the sculpin perch has a well-developed genital papilla (genital papilla), as in small American perches - darters. The sculpin reaches a length of 12.5 cm. It usually keeps under stones.

Three peculiar genera of American perches - peppercorn(Percina, 20 species), ammocrypt(Ammocrypta, 5 species), eteostomy(Etheostoma, about 74 species) are called darters. Darters are small fish, their usual length is 3-10 cm, only a few reach 15-18 cm.

The preoperculum of darters is completely smooth or weakly serrated in some, the mouth is small, the posterior margin of the maxilla is hidden under the preorbital. In connection with the bottom way of life, the reduction of the swim bladder is observed; it is completely absent in species of the genus Eteostoma (Etheostoma). Females have a genital papilla, which is especially well developed in large individuals. In males of many species, during spawning, epithelial tubercles develop in the lower part of the sides and on the belly, the so-called nuptial attire. Darters are found in various types of water bodies, but many of them prefer streams and small rivers with a fast current. They stay near the bottom, hide under stones or, if the ground is sandy, burrow into it. When danger approaches, they quickly, like an arrow from a bow (hence their English name darter), break away, move a short distance and, just as suddenly stopping, hide again under stones or in the ground. Some species stick to rocky areas with developed vegetation. They feed mainly on insect larvae: chironomids, mayflies and stoneflies.

Among the darters there are species that take care of their offspring, guarding the laid eggs. Others do not directly protect the eggs, but are located near the spawning ground, as if protecting the spawning area from other individuals of their species. But there are species that, having buried their eggs to a depth of several millimeters, leave these areas and never visit them again. Many species are characterized by the formation of pairs, peculiar spawning games, and fights between males.

The species diversity of darters is huge (about 100 species!), they inhabit such peculiar water bodies that there are probably still species that are still unknown to science. Until recently, new species have been described and the systematic names of already known species have been put in order.

Animal life: in 6 volumes. - M.: Enlightenment. Edited by professors N.A. Gladkov, A.V. Mikheev. - List of species listed in the Red Book of the Yaroslavl Region, published in 2004. 14 species of mushrooms, 173 species of plants and 172 species of animals were included in the Red Book of the Yaroslavl Region. The classification is given according to the edition. Contents 1 Kingdom Mushrooms ... ... Wikipedia

Below is a list of animals listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Mordovia. In square brackets after the name of each species, a numerical code indicating the rarity category is indicated: 0 probably disappeared on the territory of the Republic ... ... Wikipedia

common perch- (Perca fluviatilis) see also PERCIDAE FAMILY The common perch has an oval body compressed laterally, covered with small rough scales. Completely covered with scales and cheeks. There are two dorsal fins: the first consists only of spines, and in the second ... ... Fish of Russia. Directory

Perch Yellow perch Scientific classification Kingdom: Animals Type: Chordates ... Wikipedia

"Perch" redirects here; see also other meanings. River perch ... Wikipedia

Yellow perch Scientific ... Wikipedia

stoneflies

stoneflies – small gray insects that look like butterflies are also called their larvae that live in water bodies. Adult insects can be found along the banks of rivers, where they often perch on coastal vegetation. Stonefly larvae live in running water, under stones. Larvae can be obtained by winding a bunch of grass or algae on a stick with a flyer. There is another way, when a net is set vertically on a rocky bottom, and then, turning over the stones, they frighten away the larvae, which the current blows right into the prepared tackle. Some large specimens can reach a length of 2 cm. They should be put on thin small hooks, several pieces can be used at once.

Motyl is a larva of a fiber mosquito, a small red worm 10–12 mm long, living in the bottom silt of ponds, lakes, and backwaters of rivers. The lifespan in the reservoir is about a year, after which the larva pupates, emerges and turns into a mosquito. Adult insects are not used as bait, but the bloodworm itself is one of the most popular baits, especially in winter fishing. Used less often in summer. Small bloodworms are mainly used as bait, and large ones as bait.

The bloodworm lives in the silt deposits of river creeks, lakes, ponds, from where it is mined by scooping up the bottom soil, and then washing it in a special sieve or gauze bag. Usually, a net with a minimum mesh diameter is used, and then bloodworms are sorted by size using a sieve system. Floating larvae from the surface of the water are selected with a special scoop.

In summer, bloodworms can be harvested from the shore or from a boat, and in winter - from ice. When mining from ice, an ice hole is made about 1 cubic meter in size. m, so that you can turn the pole in different directions, as well as wash the sludge on the spot. In winter, other methods are also used to simply and quickly get a small amount of bloodworms. Pieces of fish and meat waste are lowered with a load on a rope and left on a muddy bottom, and the next morning they take out and select the crowded larvae.

A particular theme is keeping bloodworms alive and attractive to fish. For short-term fishing, this is quite simple. The caught bloodworm is poured onto a newspaper and after a short drying, when the worms become mobile and bright, they are transferred to a box with small holes. In the box you need to put a piece of smooth, damp cloth. It is best, especially for ice fishing, to use boxes made of foam, in which temperature fluctuations are not too sharp, since bloodworms are very susceptible to both hypothermia and overheating.

The easiest way to store bloodworms for a long time is to store them in running water. Bloodworms are poured into a small wire frame, covered with a frequent brass mesh, or into a tin can with large holes, covered with two layers of gauze, and lowered into the water. From the jar, they take the amount of bloodworm necessary for catching. During the week, bloodworms can be kept in large tubers, fruits, such as potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini. The top is cut off from the fruit, the middle is taken out and the larvae are placed in the resulting cavity. For better preservation, a little sleeping tea is usually added. The top of the fetus is attached to the main part with the help of matches. Bloodworms can also be stored in potato pomace. For 50 g of larvae, one medium-sized potato is required, peeled and grated on a coarse grater. The resulting mass is squeezed out, removing the remainder of the starch liquid, and laid out on a thin clean rag. Bloodworms are covered with a thin layer on top and covered with another layer of pomace. The rag should be folded in a bag and placed in a cool dark place.

Also, within 7 - 10 days, the bloodworm can be preserved if it is wrapped in a flap of damp burlap or canvas. The flap is moistened and squeezed, then the larvae are placed on one half of it, along with the sleeping tea and scraps of wet paper. You can put the bloodworm in several layers, then each thin layer must be laid with a damp paper sheet. This whole structure is covered with the second half of a piece of burlap and in this form is placed in the cold (lower shelf of the refrigerator, in the underground, etc.), every 3-4 days the burlap must be rinsed, and the bloodworm should be dried.

Perciformes are the largest with more than 10,000 species distributed in different water bodies of the planet. Among the most common is the family of perch fish. Some species have ventral fins that are located under the pectoral or in front of them. The fins of perciformes, as a rule, are with spines. The number of rays is not more than six. The bases of the pectoral fins are placed obliquely or perpendicular to the body axis. Perciformes lack an adipose fin. unrelated to the gut or absent altogether. The order includes 160 families and 20 suborders.

What fish belong to the perch family

In the fresh and salt waters of the Northern Hemisphere, the perch family is found:

• in European countries, with the exception of Northern Scotland, Spain and Italy;
• in Norway, Greece;
• in Northern Asia, not counting Kamchatka and Chukotka;
• in North America.

The dorsal fin is divided into a soft and spiny part, in some individuals they are combined, while in others they are located separately. The bristle-like teeth on the jaws are placed in several rows, and some even have fangs. The gill membranes are free from the intergill space. The scales consist of thin, rounded, translucent plates with a serrated outer edge. The family of perch fish includes ten genera and more than a hundred species, 7 of which inhabit the water bodies of Russia. Perch are more widely distributed, followed by pike perch, brushes and chops.

In the Azov-Black Sea basin, sculpin perch and percarina, as well as chop, are caught. Eteostomy, peppercorn, and ammocrypt can be found in North America.

Rod Okuni

There are three types of perch: river (ordinary), yellow and Balkhash.

River perch is one of the most popular types of fish. It lives in most reservoirs, as well as in mountain lakes, which are at an altitude of several thousand meters.

The perch has a catchy color - a rich green back, and sides with dark stripes of a yellowish-green hue. The pectoral fins are yellow and the pelvic fins are reddish. Orange tint round eyes. The color of the common perch depends on the environment, for example, in forest lakes it becomes dark.

Females become sexually mature after three years, and males already at one or two years. Females lay eggs on silt, driftwood. There are 200-300 thousand eggs, the number depends on the size of the female.

Newly born perches live in the coastal zone, trying to stick together, and feed on zooplankton. A young perch becomes a predator when its body grows up to 10 cm in length, and then it begins to eat small fish.

For pike, walleye, perch are considered easy and tasty prey.

Common perch make up the bulk of the total catch in some reservoirs. It is eaten with pleasure. The perch is very voracious, so anglers catch it throughout the year with various gear.

Perca flavescens, Perca schrenkii

Yellow perch in all respects is very similar to the river.

It lives in the east of North America and is considered a significant object of sport fishing.

The Balkhash perch, unlike the river perch, has an elongated body. It has no dark spots on its dorsal fin. The Balkhash perch is a predatory fish that devours small fish with pleasure, but does not disdain its own fry. The perch grows slowly, grows up to 50 cm in length and weighs up to one and a half kilograms.

Perch is considered a commercial fish. It is dried, smoked, frozen.

Genus zander

The genus of zander has a long body, the lateral line captures the caudal fin. The pelvic fins are widely spaced, and the jaws usually have fangs.

There are the following types:

• ordinary;
• bersh;
• nautical;
• light feather;
• Canadian.

The zander has about 20 branched rays that are located on the dorsal fin. Strong fangs are on the jaws. There is a very large fish, weighing 11 kg and 115 cm long. Mostly zander with a body length of 60 cm and a weight of 3 kg. Pike perch - the largest species of the perch fish family - is widely known and popular in the waters of the Baltic, Azov and Caspian Seas. The back is grayish in color, black stripes are located on the sides.

Residential and semi-anadromous pike perch are two biological forms. The first prefers clean lakes and rivers. Feels comfortable at a water temperature of 16-17 degrees. The walker prefers brackish water. Approximately 90% of the total catch falls on semi-anadromous pike perch. The eggs are small and prolific. Enemies: perch, eel, pike. River zander is considered a valuable commercial fish.

sander volgensis

The Volga pike perch (bersh), unlike the common one, does not have fangs, the preoperculum is completely covered with scales. The weight of pike perch is 1.3 kg, and the length is 45 cm. It is popular in the rivers of the Azov and Black Seas, as a rule, in the middle reaches.

Volzhsky is a freshwater fish, but sometimes it enters the Caspian Sea. Volga pike perch lives in Sheksna, Kama, and can also be found in southern reservoirs. The farther from the south of the habitat of pike perch, the later spawning is postponed. When born, pike perch begins to feed on small zooplankton, and as soon as it grows up to 40 mm, it begins to eat benthos. In the second year, it switches to predatory food - perch fish. Pike perch, which are longer than 15 cm, consume only fish. They don't have fangs, so they can't catch big fish. Pike perch swallows fish from 0.5 to 7 cm. In the spring, it begins to feed on yearlings, in the summer the saturation of feeding decreases, in the autumn it feeds on grown fish.

sander marinus

Sea pike perch, in contrast to the Volga, has smaller eyes. The length of the pike perch is 600 mm. This fish is especially popular in the middle and southern Caspian, in the west

Pike perch, living in the Caspian Sea, practically does not enter the rivers. Spring is the time for spawning. The eggs are larger than those of the river zander. Fertility depends on the size of the female and varies from 13 to 126 thousand eggs. At two years old, pike perch is ready for breeding. Sea pike prefers to eat young herring, gobies, sprats, shrimps. The commercial role is small.

Rod Ershi

In the genus of ruffs, the fins on the back, consisting of a prickly and soft part, are interconnected, there are cavities of receptive canals on the head, and bristle-like teeth on the jaws. There are the following types: ordinary, privet and striped ruff.

Gymnocephalus cernuus

Common ruff is popular in large rivers, inland lakes and flowing ponds. Beware of rivers with fast flowing water. The body of the fish is covered with scales and mucus, compressed from the sides. The back is gray-green with dark, almost black spots, the belly is white and the sides are yellowish. Black dots on dorsal and caudal fin. The eyes are large, the iris is cloudy purple. The color of the ruff depends on the habitat. In water bodies with a muddy bottom, the color shade is darker than in waters with a sandy bottom.

The fish is from 10 to 15 cm in length, weighing 20-25 g. There are individuals up to 30 cm in length, weighing up to 200 g, mainly in the reservoirs of Siberia and the Urals. In the spring comes the spawning season. At this time, females are able to lay eggs repeatedly. The ability to reproduce occurs at two years. Rapid maturation, excellent fecundity contribute to the rapid increase in the population.

After birth, the common ruff feasts on zooplankton, but after a while it switches to feeding on organisms that live at the bottom of the reservoir. Ruffs have a peak of activity at night, and they begin to feed intensively. The maximum age of a ruff has been fixed, which is 10 years.

The biryuchok, unlike the ruff, has a longer body and small scales. It can only be found in fast flowing waters. The color of the body is yellow, the back is greenish-yellow, the abdomen is white, slightly silvery, several dark spots are visible on the sides. It spawns in the spring. It eats mainly benthic invertebrates and small fish. A very noble ear is obtained from the privet.

The striped ruff lives in fresh waters with a sandy bottom and saturated with oxygen. Feeds on crustaceans, caviar, worms. The body shape is elongated, the head is large, the dorsal fin has a small notch. The fish is slippery to the touch. On the sides of the body are black longitudinal stripes. The body is pale yellow, the belly is whitish-silver, the sides are golden yellow. Spawns in early spring.

Chop family

Chops also belong to the family of perch fish, but, unlike ruffs, they have a fusiform-cylindrical body shape, two parted dorsal fins, and a smooth lower edge of the preoperculum.

There are the following types of chops: ordinary, small, French.

Chop ordinary has a cylindrical, slightly flattened yellowish-gray body. On the sides there are visible stripes of brown color. Popular in the Danube and its tributaries. The size of the fish can reach 48 cm. Mostly there are specimens 25 cm long. Chop prefers to be at the very bottom, feeds on small fish and benthic invertebrates. It spawns in March-April. The eggs are mostly small and sticky.

Zingel streber

Small chop is popular in the Danube and in the Vardar River, which flows into the Aegean Sea. Chop prefers twilight.

It feeds, as a rule, at night on larvae, worms, mollusks and crustaceans. The body length is 20 cm, and the weight is approximately 200 g. It spawns in April-May. Fertility can reach 10 thousand eggs. The caviar is small, sticks to the substrate.

Zingel asper

The French chop is mostly nightlife. Lives at the bottom of ponds. It feeds mainly on various benthic animals. The length varies from 15 to 20 cm.

The body of the fish is grayish-yellow. The belly is white, and on the sides there are three brown stripes. Spawning occurs from March to April. The life expectancy of a French chop is approximately 3.5 years. Chop - a small perch family fish common in the pool

Family Scad

Horse mackerels have two dorsal fins: the first is spiny, small in size, with small spiny rays, and the second is long. Some species have bony shields on the lateral line. This species of fish has a thin caudal stalk. Scad live in warm waters. Most fish are of great importance in fishing. The family includes about 20 genera with two hundred species of marine fish.

The most popular species is the genus Scad. perch family has an elongated body, which is slightly compressed on the sides. The head is covered with scales, and there are fatty eyelids on the eyes. Horse mackerel has small teeth, feeds on zooplankton, small fish.

Perch have spread almost all over the globe. They have the highest value when consumed fresh, frozen or canned.