Big river fish. The largest freshwater fish

Photos of the largest river fish often show catfish. And this is connected, most likely, with the same question, do real cannibal catfish exist in reality? These huge fish are too mysterious and there are so many tales about them. But still there is evidence of catfish attacks on people in our time, given that there are still giant individuals. According to a specialist in zoology from the United States, David Wheeler, there are catfish weighing half a ton and measuring more than six meters. Such facts are given in his book about catfish of unprecedented size, still living in large bodies of water.

And in our time, there are catfish attacks on animals, the victims of which are usually pets and young cows, sheep, goats, as well as adults. People also became targets of attacks by underwater predators, and most often they were children. In the middle of the summer of 1982, researchers and huntsmen of the Khopersky Reserve witnessed a catfish attack on a young deer and his death when a huge fish pulled him under water. Bears swimming across the river also became victims of catfish. This is still being told in the Siberian region.

So, the largest freshwater fish is catfish? Among other things, and a cannibal? Quite possible. Here are some more facts, moreover, from very recent history. It happened in the Voronezh region at the end of the summer season, in the 90s. Near the village of Kulakovo, a boy and a woman became victims of an attack by a huge killer catfish. They bathed in the evening in the hunting grounds of cannibal catfish.

Similar cases of people disappearing in the evening have been reported in China at a large reservoir. People went to swim and did not return from the water. The mystery of their disappearances was solved when a giant catfish, three meters in size, was caught with human remains in its stomach. One head of this catfish was a meter in size.

True or not, it is difficult to judge, but according to some sources, a five-meter catfish was found in a tugboat that sunk on the river on board the ship, punching a hole in the hull. In the stomach of the monster, the remains of three Polish tourists were found, who, after the disaster with a tugboat, moved to a small rescue ship, but never made it to the shore. It was on the Dnieper.

Beluga

The list, which includes the largest freshwater fish or river monsters, should also include the beluga. It would, of course, be in first place in terms of size among Russian fish. But this huge fish does not belong to the permanent and typical river inhabitant, since it is an anadromous species of fish and enters the rivers only for spawning. Meanwhile, in the local history museum of the Republic of Mari El, among the exhibits there is a beluga weighing a ton, once caught in the Volga. But this is not the limit of the weight and size of the beluga. According to unspecified and unofficial data, not so long ago there were individuals weighing up to 2 tons and up to 7-8 meters long. Confirmed data indicate the capture of the largest specimen of this fish weighing one and a half tons and 4.2 meters long. Some of the largest beluga are real centenarians, as they can be 100 years old.

The largest river fish in Russia, although they do not constantly live in rivers, but, nevertheless, spend a lot of time there. most own life. This is due to the characteristics of reproduction. Being inhabitants of the Caspian, Black, Azov and, according to some reports, the Adriatic seas, beluga go to spawn mostly in the Volga, as well as in the rivers: Ural, Terek and Kura. But if earlier these powerful and ancient fossil fish rose quite high along the Volga, to the middle reaches and higher, then with the emergence of the Volga cascade of dams and hydroelectric stations, the rise of the beluga stopped, at least to the previous levels.

Fish passage facilities did not help either. In addition, at some dams they either did not exist at all or they did not work at full capacity. For example, at the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station in the early years, instead of fish passage facilities, only an 8 cm grate was installed, on which the passing large fish were cut and died, falling to the bottom under the discharge of water from the dam.

The largest river fish in the world hardly reached the size of the Russian beluga, at least those individuals that entered our rivers in the 18th and 19th centuries. Meanwhile, in our time, these valuable sturgeon fish, which once supplied a lot of delicious meat and delicious black caviar, are on the verge of extinction, despite the prohibitions. And in the good old days, even a simple peasant could afford to taste the delicious beluga meat and the same delicious black caviar, moreover, in large quantities. It happened one fine day in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-one, when strong wind from the shore unexpectedly and quickly drove water from the Gulf of the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov near Taganrog. In a shallow bay, in a puddle, this lucky man found a beluga weighing 20 pounds (327 kg). There were almost 50 kilograms of black caviar in it. This is where you could eat plenty of real fish and black caviar, even with a tablespoon, simply! ..

Siberian taimen

The largest freshwater fish in Russia are also found in Siberian rivers. And the largest and most beautiful predator of icy waters is the taimen. This is the oldest fish of all salmon, since taimen lived about 18 million years ago. Most species and subspecies of taimen, including lenok and char, are predominantly freshwater, with the exception of the Sakhalin taimen, which adheres to the mouths of rivers and the desalinated part of the sea at certain times.

In our country, taimen live in the rivers of Siberia, as well as in the rivers of the Amur basin. These powerful and incredibly beautiful fish are the object of sport fishing on the principle of “catch and release”. This strict principle is a vital necessity, since the Siberian taimen is already an endangered fish species.

Among the fish of Russia, taimen are distinguished by their size and weight. The largest specimens reached not so long ago the weight of a centner and a length of two meters and a hook. Since 1993, the record has been held for the largest taimen caught on sports tackle and released back into the waters of the river. The weight of this trophy fish was 41.95 kg. However, no, no, and the information will pass, they say, they caught somewhere in a mountain river a taimen weighing 50 kg, or even all 80 kilograms. In a word, taimen is the largest freshwater fish in our country beyond the Ural ridge.

Taimen are real predators capable of swallowing large fish. Outwardly, this large fish is a living torpedo, for which a strong current and rapids of mountain rivers are not an obstacle. The usual coloring of the taimen consists of brown tones on the back and silver on the sides with dark spots. During the mating season, these fish become even more beautiful. Visibility and brightness are given to them by red, almost orange ventral fins, as well as juicy red with a copper tint - anal and caudal fins.

Taimen element - ice mountain rivers and the same lakes. Hunting places are pits immediately behind the rapids-rifts, where tired small fish roll down and become the prey of a predator. Taimen are also kept in small groups and in places with an uneven bottom on stretches and even in river bays. If only there was depth in such a bay.

Pike

The category - the largest freshwater fish includes pikes. According to Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneev, pikes weighing 48-64 kg were encountered not so long ago in northern and Siberian rivers. And pood and weighing 20 kg predators are not even now a special rarity in Russian waters, especially in the expanses of the Volga reservoirs. The pike is considered legendary, caught even under the German emperor Barbarossa, which was 5.7 meters long and weighed 140 kg. She was ringed and launched into the lake. The pike lived for more than 200 years in this lake and, when caught, was whitish in color, as if faded from old age. The skeleton and ring of this pike is still kept in one of the museums in Germany. True, there are doubts about the authenticity of these artifacts, since the age limit of the pike is estimated by leading ichthyologists at 33 years.

Even in forest peat lakes there were giant pikes. The pre-war newspapers of the Mari Volga region wrote about 30-kilogram pikes from Lake Luzher. Large in area, but only 2-3 meters deep, this peaty interdune lake still remains a haven for large pikes. The tenants of the lake, who set themselves the goal of completely catching predators and releasing domesticated fish species, did not cope with this task. The lake seemed to have a second and a bottom where predators hid. And in the process of catching with a net, fishermen saw exits and jumps through a network of giant fish, and also observed live logs in shallow areas. Pike-logs went out to the shallows, escaping from the net. And the fishermen simply did not dare to catch them, despite the reach of prey. A similar giant pike, which can be judged not only by descriptions and stories, was caught in Lake Ilmen. She weighed 34 kilograms. And the reliability of the capture large predator confirms the black-and-white picture, which can be safely attributed to the series - a photo of the largest river fish.

Predators weighing 12-16 kg and now often become the prey of winter pike fishermen.

carp and carp

According to the information presented in the books of L.P. Sabaneev, carp and its cultivated variety carp were in ancient times truly gigantic in size and weight. The record holder of that time can be called a carp weighing more than three pounds, or rather, 55.6 kg. This fish was caught with hooks, tackle, which in our time is poached. There were rumors about a carp weighing 68.5 kg, caught in the net. Nowadays, these fish also come in large sizes and heavy weights. At least carp weighing 20-30 kg are considered not very rare prey, especially in the lower reaches of the Volga, and are called trophy fish that every angler dreams of catching.

These powerful and large fish, chained in strong silver-golden scales, are also included in the category - the largest freshwater fish, only among relatively peaceful underwater inhabitants. Why is it conditional? Any even the most herbivorous and peaceful-looking fish, having reached a certain age and size, becomes to some extent a predator and is not averse to swallowing the fry.

In addition to the Volga delta, large carps are caught in paid reservoirs, where, with proper feeding and with regulated catch, they quickly reach large sizes and weight, since a feature of these fish is their rapid growth.

The largest river fish in the world

The largest freshwater fish or river monsters are also widely represented in the rivers of other continents. Moreover, some of them are related to our Russian predators, for example, the American maskinong pike. It is also called the giant pike.

pike masquening

Maskinong outwardly almost does not differ from our pike, but in size this predator is comparable to our pike of previous centuries and ancient years. Only a specialist or a person who knows these differences in advance will find external differences. Firstly, the masquenong does not have scales on the lower part of the gill covers and the edges of the caudal fin are sharper than those of our common pike. Distinguish masking and sensory points that the lower jaw of the fish has. This pike has more of them than the Russian predator, most often over seven. The pike of our waters - no more than six. The color and stripes that turn into spots often coincide, especially if the conditions, that is, when the color of the water and the soil also match american predator with the living conditions of our pikes.

Muskinongs are up to 1.8 meters long and sometimes weigh 30-32 kg. But most often they come across to anglers on sports tackle, so to speak, in the middle weight categories - 2.5 m long and weighing 16 kg.

Like our pikes, maskonongs prefer bays of rivers with weak currents or stagnant water. The objects of hunting of these predatory fish are also similar. Like the pikes of our rivers and lakes, masconongs hunt fish and all living things that fit into their mouths: chicks, birds, frogs, crayfish, snakes, mice, muskrats.

The armored pike is also a relative of the above pikes, but rather distant relative. It is also a serious fish that falls under the definition - the largest freshwater fish.

bull shark

But this is a real monster, which cannot be called a good fish, because, like all sharks, this predator is a real aggressor. The bull shark is found both in the oceanic vast expanses and in the coastal zone. But the same shark can be found in the most ordinary freshwater reservoir: a river or even in a stream, if only the depth of this stream would allow this powerful fish to be placed in it, which often reaches a size of more than 2.5 meters and a weight of 312 kilograms. The insidious feature of such a shark lies in the fact that it often stays on coastal shallow waters of beaches and can be dangerous, as it is an aggressive and ruthless predator. This shark easily falls into the category of one of the largest fish in the world and can often be found in a series of photos of the largest river fish.

white sturgeon

White sturgeon is also giant fish and among the sturgeon family North America- this is its largest representative. Moreover, this fish can be called the largest in general among freshwater fish of this continent. The largest individuals of this species reach a length of about 4 meters and weigh almost half a ton. These fish differ in life expectancy, which is 100 years and even more. Therefore, the old fish, it can be said without exaggeration, have seen a lot in their lifetime.

Nile perch

This is another relative of our domestic fish, or rather, perch, familiar to all "sailors". Only the size of the overseas brother is impressive and in awe. As the name implies, this "perch", reaching a length of 1.8 meters and weighing more than 180 kg, lives in the ever-muddy Nile River, and also in the rivers - Niger, Congo, Senegal. Like our perches, the Nile perch has yellow eyes with black dotted pupils. But the coloring of this perch is somewhat different, without stripes, instead of which the sides shine with silver with some bluish tints, which makes this seasoned predator very beautiful.

Alligator garfish

The largest river fish in the world are represented by another species that is really a monster. This is an alligator garfish. The appearance of this monster is almost a copy of the alligator crocodile, at least that's what the fish's head looks like. But, despite such a picturesque and violently aggressive appearance, these fish have never attacked people, in any case, such information has not been received. The size of these inhabitants water depths also not offended. Garfish alligators can weigh up to 140 kilograms with a length of 3 meters.

Arapaima giant

This is a fish that really deserves to be on the list - the largest freshwater fish. Instances 3 meters long and weighing more than 68 kilograms are not uncommon in the waters of the Amazon. Confirmed data speak of arapaima weighing up to 200 kg. This is a swift and furious predator, which manages not only to catch up and swallow fish, but also to get birds and small animals sitting on trees in a jump.

Arapaima can live in the most impassable swamps, where the water is very poor in oxygen. But this cunning fish has adapted to breathe and atmospheric air, for which she needs to rise to the surface of the reservoir at certain intervals, which are about 20 minutes. Arapaima giant is protected by very dense and strong scales, but this did not save it from extermination by local native tribes, who from time immemorial hunted this fish for food. Now these fish are protected and are likely to become an object of breeding.

Tiger goliath fish

The largest freshwater fish will be horrified at the appearance of another real monster that will frighten even any predator with the sight of its terrible teeth, since tiger goliath fish is a giant piranha. In addition to being one of the largest fish and reaching a length of 180 cm with a weight of 50 kilograms, this fish is also the most dangerous among all types of predatory fish.

And this danger threatens weak man, and no less bloodthirsty strong crocodile. And the teeth of the goliath fish bite even metal leashes, if the metal for them is not the most durable. In addition to the Congo River, these fish are not found anywhere else.

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For millions of years our planet has been inhabited by a large number of a variety of fish. Numerous lakes, rivers, seas and oceans became their habitat. Both river and sea inhabitants of the underwater kingdom since ancient times have been a source of food for people, rich in a huge amount of useful substances such as a variety of amino acids, protein and various vitamins. Widely used fish products in the manufacture medicines and nutrient fertilizers for agriculture, as well as raw materials in light industry.

Features of the inhabitants of the rivers

We all know that fishing on the rivers is an exciting and varied activity. Therefore, any fisherman, before proceeding with the equipment for fishing gear, needs to accurately answer the question of what kind of fish are found in the river. And of course every angler should know physiological features hunting object:

Depending on the nature of the food taken, river fish can be classified as:

predatory;
herbivores;
omnivores.

river predators

Predatory individuals feed on other fish, some may eat animals or birds. Large-mouthed species swallow so much prey at a time that it lasts for several days. active life, but fish with a small mouth need to hunt constantly, since their prey is small.

The most common predatory river fish in the waters of Russia. The maximum size of a pike reaches up to 1.5 m with a weight of up to 30-35 kg, but specimens weighing up to 60 kg and longer than human height are known. The average life expectancy is up to 25 years, although there are individuals with an age limit of 35 years.

The fish is very strong, tireless and agile thanks to its slippery cylindrical body.. The shape resembles an underwater torpedo with a long flattened head and a huge mouth filled with a large number of sharp teeth.

The pike is so predatory that sometimes it even rushes at its relatives. True, he prefers more often cyprinid fish for food: crucian carp, bleak, roach, rudd. But he treats prickly species (perch, ruff) with great caution, even if he catches such a fish, he does not immediately swallow it, but keeps it in his mouth until it stops moving. During the hunt, it misses very rarely, but if it fails, it returns to ambush and waits for other prey.

The spotty coloration of the body of the pike allows it to perfectly camouflage among the vegetation of the reservoir. In the rivers keeps on not very deep places, with a weak current and grassy shores.

Pike meat contains little fat, therefore it is considered dietary.. It contains a lot of protein, which is easily absorbed by the human body.

spiny perch

This predatory fish, like the pike, is widespread in the waters of Russia and almost all European countries. It has a laterally compressed body, which has a kind of hump with dark stripes. The tail fin and eyes are highlighted with an orange tint. The color of the perch depends entirely on the transparency of the water. Individuals living in a dark environment with a muddy bottom have a more saturated color than fish living in light water.

The fish is quite large in size, there is evidence that perch can reach a weight of up to five kilograms and a length of up to half a meter. The average life expectancy is about 17 years.

By extraordinary gluttony and predatory greed, it is not inferior to a pike. Having swallowed one fish, it can immediately continue hunting for another. There are cases when a perch caught in the stomach had several fry. It feeds on any fish of a suitable size, while being active both in summer and in winter.

Prefers to stay at depth, but not at the very bottom. During the hunt, it easily rushes to the prey located in the upper layers of the reservoir.

The largest predator - catfish

It is the largest fish living in the rivers. Its body length can reach five meters, and its weight is over 300 kg. According to scientists, such specimens are 80-100 years old. In most cases, the color is brown with a brownish-green tint, the belly is white. Color change can be almost to light yellow depending on the place of permanent habitation.

Catfish is considered an active nocturnal predator, which prefers to rest in snags or holes during the daytime.

The diet of this large predator is very diverse. Easily eats frogs, shellfish or large fish. Sometimes geese, ducks, water rats and other animals and birds can be in the mouth of a catfish.

The meat of this inhabitant of the river depths contains some bones and fat. It is very nutritious and beneficial for the human body.

A predator reaching a length of up to one meter and a weight of up to 10 kg. There is pike perch in clear water big rivers and lakes. Life expectancy up to 15 years. It is a relative of the perch, has the same vertical stripes on both sides.

An adult tries to stay near stones at a depth or in pits, but young animals, on the contrary, prefer shallow sections of rivers. The fry mainly feed at the beginning of life on zooplankton, insect larvae and small things of other fish.

Pike perch actively hunts for prey, while trying to avoid areas with thickets, where he himself can become food for pike. However, its location is very unstable. Where pike perch was well caught the day before, the next day it may not be found.

Among freshwater fish, burbot is the only representative of the cod family. It is sharply distinguished from other fish by the peculiar shape of the body. The body is strongly elongated and compressed on the sides, especially in the tail. The head is flattened, similar to a catfish. The back is grayish-green in color with stripes and spots of dark color, but the belly is whitish.

Burbot is a voracious and extremely greedy predator whose diet includes insect larvae, frogs, molluscs and small fish. Sometimes, when an adult is opened, a large number of small perches, minnows or ruffs are found in the stomach. Despite his lethargic and lazy appearance, he swims dexterously and quickly. At the same time, it is especially active in winter, when other fish are more sleepy and motionless.

Burbot can reach a length of up to one meter and a mass of up to five kilograms, although there are also specimens weighing up to 24 kg. Life expectancy is quite high - up to 22 years.

There are also predatory fish of smaller sizes, such as:

Bersh - very similar to pike perch, however, reaches a size of up to 50 cm.
Chop - less common, in the Danube or Dnieper rivers.
Ruff is a widespread fish, often called a thorn by fishermen, because it has sharp, prickly fins.

herbivorous fish

This species includes fish that spend most of their time looking for plant foods and various river plankton. Grows in ponds and rivers different kinds algae, especially in warm summer time, which are an excellent haven for various mollusks and crustaceans. They are the perfect delicacy for herbivorous fish.

Common fish - crucian

It is the most common fish in almost all reservoirs and rivers of Russia. The fish is quite unpretentious, preferring shallow sections of the river, warmed by the rays of the sun and overgrown with vegetation of all kinds. Poorly reacts to lack of oxygen and water quality in habitats. AT winter time year, crucian carp is able to freeze into ice and not even die at the same time.

It belongs to the family of carp fish, in appearance it is very similar to carp, but does not have antennae. Weighs approximately 0.5 kg. It feeds mainly on zooplankton, various aquatic plants, worms and larvae.

Allocate silver and gold carp. It is most active during the warm season.

Carp and its types

Belongs to the carp fish family and is the most desirable prey for anglers. middle lane Russia. There are individuals of a rather large size, weighing up to 10 kg. According to scientists, life expectancy can reach 100 years.

There are the following types of carps:

mirror;
scaly;
naked;
framed carp and others.

Among themselves, all these representatives differ in the shape of the body, the type of scales and habits. It can eat bread crumb, undercooked potatoes or oilcake.

The fish is very strong, so experienced fishermen are more likely to catch it, using reliable and powerful gear.

The main types of carps

Bream and its use in cooking

This schooling, inconspicuous fish lives more often in places with a calm current and a muddy bottom. Life expectancy is up to 20 years, but the growth of bream is very slow. Only by the age of ten is he able to gain weight up to 4 kg.

It feeds mainly on crustaceans, mollusks, insect larvae, worms and algae. The coloring of the bream is dominated by a dark silver hue. Spawns at a water temperature of 13 degrees.

The meat of this fish is characterized by excellent taste. It is used boiled, salted, fried, dried or smoked.

Small representative - roach

This fish is found in almost all rivers and lakes. It leads a flocking lifestyle and prefers to hide from predators in quiet sections of rivers overgrown with grass and algae.

In appearance, it is very similar to the redfin. The color of the body depends on the composition of the water in its habitat. The fish is small in size (15-20 cm), however, there were also specimens up to half a meter in length and weighing up to two kilograms.

Roach spawns at a temperature of plus ten degrees, and after this period it is particularly active. The best time to catch this fish is early morning or late evening.

Of course, within the framework of one article, it is very difficult to describe all representatives of the water world. There are also a huge number of species of river fish:

Rudd - beautiful fish, similar to a roach.
Gustera is a distant relative of the bream, silver in color with reddish fins.
Carp - is considered a freshwater fish, but is also found in the Caspian Sea basin.
Tench is a royal fish with excellent taste characteristics.
The chub is a freshwater fish found exclusively in fast-flowing rivers.
Bleak is a ubiquitous fish known to almost any angler.

Other types of river fish

Unfortunately, many river systems are adversely affected by unfavorable ecological situation, which is caused by various emissions from industrial enterprises and factories. The victims of this attitude of man to environment become inhabitants of many rivers and reservoirs.

Asking the question, what is the largest fish in the world, you can not find an exact answer to it. After all, sometimes they diverge from the information that fishermen own. If we take into account the overall statistics, we can confidently identify the main contenders for this position. Perhaps it would be wrong to classify all the inhabitants of the underwater bottom according to one characteristic, so it is also worth deciding which is the largest freshwater fish that lives in the world.

The biggest fish in the ocean

According to official data, the whale shark is the largest fish living in the ocean depths.

Appearance

What does the biggest fish in the world look like? The average size of a whale shark is 9.7 meters. The weight of individuals is 9 tons. There are also larger individuals, in particular, a case of catching a whale shark weighing 22 tons and measuring 12.6 meters was recorded.

Outwardly, the whale shark is very different from representatives of this species. The thick skin in placoid scales on the back has a dark gray-brown color, and on the belly it is gray-white. Her back is painted with a pattern of light stripes and spots, which create a unique individual pattern that does not change throughout life, like human fingerprints.

The huge mouth of the whale shark is 1.5 meters wide. There are 300-350 small teeth in the mouth.

Habitat

This large fish lives throughout the oceans, but its population is not the same in different areas. Individuals prefer warm temperate and tropical waters. You can meet representatives of the species in Florida, California. It lives in the Indian Ocean and swims to the coast of Africa. Not found in Japan, south of Brazil and northern Australia, does not swim in the Mediterranean.

Whale sharks move in a small group, rarely individuals stay alone. If the habitat is rich in food, then they can form colonies of hundreds of representatives.

Food

Despite the status of big fish in the world, the whale shark is not a big prey hunter. Her diet is:

krill;
shrimps;
small fish;
jellyfish;
plankton, etc.

In general, she eats everything that she can suck into her huge mouth.

While feeding, the shark moves very slowly, often positioning itself almost vertically to the surface of the water. After taking a sip, the fish closes its mouth and passes water through the gill slits. Filtered food enters the stomach, and water exits through the gills. The shark takes about 10-16 sips per minute. It takes quite a long time to get enough - about 7 hours a day.

reproduction

Whale sharks reach sexual maturity at 30 years of age. Moreover, females become ready for breeding earlier than males.

This large fish is ovoviviparous. Fry about half a meter in size hatch immediately from the shell. The number of babies can reach up to 300 individuals. For the first couple of weeks, they feed on the internal reserves of their body.

The whale shark is long-lived - its average age is about 80 years.

The ocean is not the only habitat for huge fish. Now we will try to find out what the world's largest fish that lives in fresh water. Based on statistics, this is the beluga.

Appearance

This fish belongs to the sturgeon family and is listed in the Red Book. Beluga is considered an endangered species, as it is hunted for its meat and caviar.

Outwardly, it differs from other sturgeons in its large mouth. Flattened antennae grow on the face of the fish. Her body is thick, cylindrical, with growths on the back, which are called bugs. Like most freshwater fish, the color of the beluga on the back is dark gray, while the belly is much lighter.

The weight of an adult individual reaches 1500 kg or more, with a total length of about 6 meters.

Habitat

Beluga is not only a freshwater fish, as adults also live in sea water. Only there can a large beluga find enough food. Anadromous fish for spawning goes to fresh water bodies of rivers, where it gets from the sea depths of the Caspian, Black and Seas of Azov. It also lives in the Adriatic and mediterranean seas. Fish from the Caspian Sea most often breed in the Volga, Azov returns to spawn in the Don River, and Black Sea individuals visit the Dnieper, Danube, and Dniester.

Food

Due to its large size, the beluga consumes a lot of food. It is for this that adults go to sea. There, her diet is animal food - the beluga is a predator. Most often, she eats herring, sprat, goby and juveniles. In addition to fish, the beluga can catch ducklings and seal pups (white seals).

reproduction

Like other long-lived fish, beluga become sexually mature at a fairly adult age - at 12-14 years old males, and at 16-18 years old females. The fish, ready for breeding, returns from the sea to the river. Migration takes place upstream. One individual can spawn once every few years. For spawning, the beluga chooses a rocky bottom at a depth. Caviar glued to stones and pebbles is fertilized by males swimming nearby. If, for some reason, the female failed to lay eggs, then it resolves inside her.

About 90% of the eggs die, the rest hatch into fry in a week, which behave like predators from birth. Gradually they descend downstream to the sea.

Beluga nature is intended long life- up to 100 years or more. But rare individuals survive to this age, since the beluga, listed in the Red Book, is constantly hunted.

So, the answer to the question, what is the largest fish in the world, will be the whale shark. Beluga is rightfully the first among freshwater fish.

There are a huge number of rivers on the territory of the countries of the former CIS - only in Russia there are 78 largest of them. The number of freshwater fish species living in them is more than 60. We list only their most significant species.

Distinctive features of freshwater fish

Unlike marine, freshwater (river) fish can only live in a fresh environment with a low degree of mineralization. Suitable for its habitation are flowing waters, the waters of most types of lakes and even some swamps.

Some river fish are predators, but they are dangerous only for the inhabitants of water bodies - their diet includes small fish or fry. Carnivorous freshwater include burbot, catfish, pike, perch, grayling, etc. Carp, crucian carp, roach, gobies, carp, minnows, bream and many other freshwater feed on plant foods.

List of fish - names, description, features of fishing

Sturgeon (Acipenser)

In Russia, they are found in the Pechera and the basins of the Ob, Amur and Yenisei. The body of this royal fish is elongated and resembles a spindle, and the head is small, with an elongated snout. Distinctive feature are a skeleton consisting only of cartilaginous tissue, without vertebrae and a complete absence of scales.

The sturgeon, which always keeps closer to the bottom, does not bite on the bait. It is allowed to extract its Siberian and Russian species only in paid reservoirs using bottom or float tackle or a float fishing rod. Sturgeon prefers steamed millet, corn porridge or dough. He also pecks at nozzles of animal origin: fry or pickled herring.

Perch (Perca fluviatilis)

This predatory fish lives throughout Eurasia and in the north of Russia - it is found even in the Kolyma region. Perch size, number and color of fins can vary depending on the species. A distinctive feature is the shape and structure of the dorsal fin, prickly in the anterior part, pinkish pelvic fins, small scales and small stripes throughout the body, which in some species may be hardly noticeable.

Although the perch hunts during the day, it bites best in the evening or in the early morning hours in cool weather - it does not like the heat and hides from it. You can catch it only at a depth of maggot, bloodworm, mosquito larvae and the traditional dung worm.

Ruff (Gymnocephalus cernuus)

Another fish of the perch family. Found in rivers Baltic Sea, and the Trans-Urals and in the north of Russia at a depth or near the coast with a sandy bottom or gravel. Its food is mainly benthic invertebrates, small animals and plants, but it readily bites on bloodworms, maggots, fish eyes, and dung worms. They catch it with fishing rods with thin - up to 0.2 mm in diameter - fishing line with a small hook and a small float, so that small twitches are better visible.

Roach (Rutilus rutilus)

A small schooling fish of the carp family in the Urals is called a chebak, on Baikal, the Yenisei, in Siberia, Nenets Okrug, Vologda, Arkhangelsk - sorogoy. Roach subspecies have their own names - for example, roach and ram.

This species differs from the rudd in larger scales, eye color - they are not blood red, but orange, with a small red speck at the top. The back of the roach is dark, with a slight greenish or blue tint. Caudal fins reddish-gray-green, pectoral yellow, ventral red.

The roach refuses to peck only in the dead of winter and during spawning, in the rest of the year it can be safely caught with a bait. In summer, in the heat, it is more difficult to catch it, you need to look for it only at a depth, but in autumn the bite improves. Best time for fishing - spring, when it comes to the shore in flocks. At this time, the roach is fattening. Active biting occurs during periods of first ice and during the last ice - at this time it lives at a depth or in thickets.

In winter, roach prefer animal baits, in summer worms, bread, corn and peas. In the spring, she is more shy and fastidious, and the nozzle has to be selected empirically.

Pike family (Esox lucius)

The pike genus combines 5 species of fish with small scales, a dorsal fin shifted back, a large mouth and an elongated snout. Another characteristic feature is the slightly protruding lower jaw. Pike activity varies depending on the season - at least it bites all year round, more actively looking for food after wintering, in March-April, and from mid-September until frost. It is better to catch it at night, in the morning a couple of hours before sunrise and in the afternoon before sunset.

In early spring, pike are not particularly cautious and rush to most baits: spinners, twisters, blanks, Urals, etc. In April, it is better to use noise baits, and in May, turntables and wobblers with a bright game. In winter, it bites mainly on live bait.

Bream (Abramis brama)

A fish from the carp family, which in the south of Russia is called chebak and kilak, has a characteristic high body, a small head and a mouth ending in a retractable tube. The back of an adult has a gray or brown tint, the abdomen is yellow. Between it and the anus is a scaleless keel.

Breams keep in groups at a depth overgrown with plants. In winter, on the Volga, they can go to sea. Experienced fishermen know that a good bait for bream is steamed barley, brand, corn or peas. Suitable and standard bait - dung worm. The bloodworm is very effective in the spring - at this time it simply does not go for another bait. Although a lot depends on the habitat - perhaps it is better to replace it with dragonfly larvae, caddis flies, clepsin leeches, pieces of bacon or cut toothless.

Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

You can find this freshwater fish in the Aral, Black and Caspian Seas, Far East, Kamchatka, Amur and rivers flowing into the Pacific Ocean. Especially a lot of it in the lower reaches. It has a massive head with short whiskers on the upper lip, a thick, slightly elongated body with large scales. The back is slightly darker, and the sides are golden, although their color may vary from habitat. Each of the scales at the base has a darker spot, and along the edges it is outlined by a dark stripe.

They catch carp on a "running" tackle with a reel and rings. This fish is omnivorous, and due to the lack of a stomach, it feeds without interruption. It goes like aquatic plants, and caviar of frogs and fish, mollusks, insects, worms, leeches, etc. As a nozzle, you can use potatoes boiled with a strong-smelling bay leaf and dill, millet, dough, peas and corn, bread, berries. If there is nothing at hand, you can even use the core of the reed. In spring or on clear, fine days, it is better to catch maggots, worms, wasp and bee larvae or artificial baits imitating small fish. Active zhor carp begins from the first days of spring and lasts until early July. She bites well in August and September. The best time is morning, evening or night.

Carp (Cyprinus)

Carp is a domesticated subspecies of carp. Thanks to selection, it is distinguished by its large size - among the carps there are larger individuals. The head of this species of carp is much smaller. A naked carp may not have scales at all, a mirror carp has it only on the body and near the dorsal fin, but a scaly carp is covered with it, just like carp, evenly.

Carp is the most voracious fish that can grow up to huge size. But, if the carp grows only in length, then the carp also increases in width. The tackle used for carp fishing is also different - he needs not a “running” tackle, but a float rod.az

Carp (Carassius)

Common fish of the genus Cyprinidae. Common (golden) crucian carp is found in the European part of Russia and the CIS countries up to the Lena River basin. In Belarus, his name is crucian zalaty. Silver carp is found both in Europe and Siberia. Outwardly, both of these species are similar, except for the shade of the scales and the shape of the head - in gold it is more rounded, and in silver it is pointed.

For fishing at any time of the year, a dung worm is suitable, which attracts fish with a rich color, maggots (they can be used together with a worm). By the way, fishermen often paint fly larvae to make them brighter and more noticeable. In spring and summer, the crucian becomes more capricious, so it is better to offer him a bloodworm, and use it as a bait.

Tench (Cyprinidae)

Another fish of the carp family. It differs from crucian carp in a thicker body, thick skin, small mucous scales, rounded fins and a shortened tail. At the corners of a small mouth is a short antennae.

Tench does not like silted water bodies - the bottom must be solid. If crucian carp goes aground only for spawning, then tench stays at the boundaries of vegetation at a depth only during the period of ice melting until May. In summer, it prefers the shallows and the thickest grass. Fishermen often even mow it down to get to the tench habitat.

Strong individuals can easily break telescopic rods - it is better to take a short match rod with a thick fishing line and a short leash. In order to lift this fish out of the thicket, you need a constant movement of bait in order for it to notice it. Only after that they throw a fishing rod with bait from snails, worms, leeches and insect larvae. The tench is very attracted to red maggot.

Walleye (Sander lucioperca)

This large fish with large fang-shaped teeth of the perch family lives in Eastern Europe, the rivers of the Baltic, Azov, Aral, Black and Caspian seas. It is a typical predator and feeds on fish and invertebrates. Since it is sensitive to the oxygen content in the water, it lives only in swampy water bodies.

At night, it is best to look for it in shallow water or near the surface of the water. During the day it goes to the depth under snags and stones. For fishing, bait is used in the form of fish with a narrow body - gobies, bleaks, minnows - these are the species that are their main food.

More than 400 species of freshwater fish have been registered in Russia. Even experienced fishermen sometimes do not know the name of the prey, but the qualifications of the main freshwater fish are determined quite accurately. Each species has distinctive features of behavior, nutrition and reproduction.

The behavior of freshwater individuals differs little from marine life. The basic principle of their presence in water is simple: bigger fish, the deeper the horizon of the reservoir on which it spends most of its existence.

River fish often migrate in search of food, with temperature fluctuations and atmospheric pressure. The habitats of river fish largely depend on the time of year. In spring, they usually go to the mouths of rivers or to areas overgrown with grass for spawning.

In summer, when the water warms up, many individuals come out to open areas reservoirs with clear water. And with the onset of cold weather, especially in the dead of winter, many freshwater go to the depths, into the pits, where they almost fall into suspended animation and become inactive.

The main feature of river fish: they are predatory and peaceful. Carnivores feed on their own kind, only smaller in size. Peaceful prefer vegetable food. But this division is conditional.

For example, ruff does not eat plant food, but it cannot hunt anyone because of its small size, so its main diet is insects and small larvae.

Freshwater fish species

Zander

One of the most common and active predators of Russian fresh waters. Lives in bodies of water of Eastern Europe, Asia, in the basins of the Black, Baltic, Aral, Caspian and Azov Seas.

Large river fish, can grow to a length of more than a meter. Weight with such dimensions reaches 15 kg.

Pike perch is a solitary fish, although it belongs to the perch family, whose representatives love to live in flocks. At a young age, some individuals stray into small flocks for the sake of a successful hunt. Active around the clock and all year round. At night, it goes hunting on the shallows, during the day it stays in the pits.

This predator is fast. For a long time it can swim at a speed of up to a meter per second, in case of danger or detection of prey, jerks accelerate to 2 m / s.

It feeds on small species of fish, as its throat is relatively narrow. Sometimes it stuns a flock of fry by jumping out of the water and hitting it with its tail. Pike perch does not live in dirty water.

Lives an average of 15-16 years, but the population is declining today, as the fish is considered commercial because of its taste.

Bersh

Fish are often confused with pike perch due to their external similarity. Plus, flocks of young bersh usually feed next to walleye, when it stuns fry with its powerful throws, these fish are often caught together.

Bersh is smaller than pike perch, it is not distributed throughout Russia, but in the Volga, Don, Donets and Dnieper. It never occurs in lakes, sometimes it settles in large Volga reservoirs.

The main differences between bersh and zander:

scales are clearly visible on the gills, the zander does not have it there;
the size of the bersh is much smaller;
the muzzle is shorter and wider;
pike perch have fewer scales;
the stripes of the bersh are clearer and more symmetrical;
the color gives off more yellowness;
there is no hump characteristic of pike perch.

The fish are kept in schools and at depth. The greatest hunting activity is shown in the early morning and in the late afternoon. Bersh lives on average for about 8 years, but some individuals in favorable conditions can reach up to 12, reaching a height of 60 cm.

Perch

One of the most common fish. It is not only in Spain. Feels comfortable in fresh rivers and lakes, in brackish waters of Kyrgyzstan and the Caspian.

Perch is the most annoying fish for fishermen, especially if it is small. It belongs to predatory, but does not shun any animal protein food, including worms, which it swallows immediately on the hook deeply.

This fish is shoaling. Especially before spawning, large flocks gather, and the smaller the age of the gathered individuals, the larger the flock.

It hunts small roach and other fish, which fishermen call weedy and of little value. Because of this, it is sometimes specially launched into reservoirs to destroy such trifles.

It feeds actively almost the whole year, going to the depths only in the very wilderness, and is also actively caught. Fans of ice fishing say that you can always catch this striped one, it is so greedy and insatiable.

Despite the mobility and aggressiveness, the perch has many enemies. They are not averse to eating burbot and pike, even slow-witted catfish finds the energy to attack a flock of striped individuals if it is nearby.

The perch is often snatched from the water, even by birds, when it hunts for the next fry near the surface. Its coloration is clearly visible from above. Usually, an adult individual reaches a weight of 800-1200 g. But on large lakes, cases of catching trophy specimens weighing 3 kg and even heavier are described. The average life expectancy is 10 years.

One of the most numerous inhabitants of reservoirs, repeatedly described in literature and fishing studies. In the Russian regions, it lives almost everywhere - from the European part to the Kolyma.

It is unpretentious, can settle even in heavily polluted waters, therefore it is often found near cities. Prefers rivers with a strong current: the ruff needs a lot of oxygen in the water. In winter, they die out en masse, when the lack of air in small lakes is felt especially strongly.

He doesn't like warm water. Cold - just right, and in the summer he prefers to go to the depths, into the pits, where the temperature is lower.

The ruffe feeds all year round, and can hunt even at night. His eyesight is not very good, but he catches the movements of prey by fluctuations in water and soil. It feeds on small larvae, caviar of other fish, if you're lucky - small fry.

Despite the spines on the body, both pike and catfish willingly eat it. Waterfowl also like to feast on them, so, despite the fact that the ruff can grow up to 12 cm and live 11 years, most individuals die much earlier: from natural enemies, oxygen starvation and high temperature water.

chop

This perch species is common in Transcarpathia, especially in the Danube and its tributaries. The French type of chop is known. Fish prefer to settle in rivers with a strong current, with clean water. It stays in the depths, going out to hunt only at dusk, and then it is caught.

However, it is rarely caught on ordinary or spinning tackle, it is more catchy on chop bottom tackle. It feeds on shells, larvae, small fish, does not disdain someone else's caviar. As the water cools, it loses activity.

As a self-defense, it has a prickly front fin and spikes on the gills, so catfish and pike do not touch it, but they willingly eat chop caviar and fry. Waterfowl also actively feed on the fry of this fish, so the chop population in last years is greatly reduced.

It came to the point that in Ukraine this type of perch is listed in the Red Book. Life expectancy is about 12 years.

Pike

The most famous inhabitant of Russian reservoirs, even a character in fairy tales. It is distinguished by great voracity, in Canadian lakes there is a species that eats its own relatives, which are smaller in size.

The average size of the common pike, which is found in countries with a temperate climate, is up to 1 m with a weight of 5-8 kg. But sometimes individuals up to 1.8 m long and weighing more than 30 kg are also caught.

At depth, it tries to stay only in winter. At this time, it sharply reduces its activity, but does not stop eating. In the warm season, it goes to small areas, hiding behind snags or in the grass.

From there, from an ambush, she attacks her victim. It's not just small fish. It can easily grab a gaping frog or a small rodent swimming across the river. There are known cases of pike attacks on medium-sized waterfowl.

She does not like running water, but she also hunts on riffles. Spinners are well aware of how swift and sharp its throw is in such places. They argue that, having broken off the lure, the pike will never fit this particular gear, as it has a good visual memory.

There are legends about long-lived pikes, but the average life expectancy is 25-30 years.

The fish, the juveniles of which get the most from the predatory inhabitants of the reservoirs. However, this does not mean at all that the adult roach is shy, nondescript and defenseless. The average length of this inhabitant of almost all fresh water bodies of Europe is 20–25 cm, but fishermen also caught half a meter specimens.

Average weight roach is also not very impressive - a few tens of grams, but the largest caught weighed about 3 kg.

Fish in different localities and among different nationalities has completely different names: somewhere it is called a path, somewhere it is a ram, in the Far East it is a chebak, and closer to the south it is a vobla. All varieties have common features:

the body is markedly elongated;
scales are large;
the back is dark, the sides are silvery, the fins are red;
red or yellow eyes;
pointed mouth.

Roach feeds on plant food, insects and larvae. In summer, it can feed exclusively on algae. It lives among vegetation, hiding from numerous predators. The age to which she can live in favorable conditions is about 10 years.

Not only is it delicious fried, salted, and dried. Catching it is an art. It is very important to correctly determine the habitat.

When the water warms up well, even a large bream comes closer to the shore in search of food. Food is everything that he can find in the mud: larvae, shells, mollusks, aquatic insects. Thoroughly saturated with animal protein, a large bream usually does not finish the meal, but is taken for algae.

Sometimes these fish, usually of medium size, gather in flocks and literally comb the bottom of the reservoir in some area. After such a collective "walk" in search of food, the flock leaves a noticeable trace of literally plowed silt at the bottom.

Large bream weighing about 4-5 kg do not gather in flocks and live alone in pits. In winter, they even descend to great depths of more than 8 m, where they survive the cold.

Even a big bream in the water has its enemies. Predatory fish of the reservoir hunt for its caviar and fry. And the adult individual itself can be attacked by helminths, they are often found in bream.

Average age The life of a steep-sided is about 10 years. By this time, he is able to gain weight up to 6 kg with a body length of 75-80 cm.

The body is flat and high. The scales are large. The back has a slight bluish tint, the sides are silvery. Similar to bream, they are from the same family of cyprinids, but the size of the bream is smaller. The weight of the largest specimens rarely exceeds 800 g.

In most Russian reservoirs with average conditions, a large bream is 300 g. Trophy specimens weighing up to 1.5 kg are known.

However, the differences between these fish and in another:

in the bream, the eyes are slightly downcast, in the silver bream they are noticeably bulging;
the scales of the bream are noticeably larger;
the bream has a longer anal fin;
in the white bream, the teeth are arranged in 2 rows, in the bream - in 1;
the pectoral fins of the bream have a reddish tint; in bream, these fins are absolutely always gray.

But their habitats and diet are the same. The maximum age of the bream is 15 years.

Carp

Another representative of the carp family. The fish is able to make long seasonal migrations in search of food. When bad weather sets in, it lies in the pits where it likes to live. On the Volga, carp are caught in depressions up to 20-25 m deep, which he rarely leaves, and feeds there.

Sometimes in the same hole, carp calmly get along with catfish. They are even caught one after another, but the catfish, as a rule, reacts to the bait first.

The carp are most active in search of food at night, somewhere in the region of 2-3 hours. It lives in most deep water bodies of Russia, prefers rivers. It eats plant and animal food, which it looks for in algae or soil.

Leeches, dragonfly or caddis larvae, mollusks, crustaceans - this is his favorite food.

In the early morning or warm evenings, it likes to relax in shallow water or feed near the shore. However, it avoids proximity to pike. Carp lives by fish standards for a long time: 30-35 years. The largest caught specimen of about this age weighed 55 kg.

For fishermen, this is one of the most desirable fish. Its meat is very tasty, and its appearance is impressive. And hunting for trophy specimens on feeder fishing (when the feeder with bait is thrown with the same tackle along with the hook and serves as a sinker for it) is a whole science and great entertainment.

Carp grow quickly and impressively: one-year-old specimens reach a length of 20 cm, and adults grow to 1 m or more. In 1997, a carp was caught in Romania, weighing 37 kg. But this is a record. Usually in stores you can buy fish that will pull from 1 to 5-6 kg.

It lives in stagnant water bodies with a quiet current near snags, stones or dense vegetation. Winters in holes. Large individuals prefer loneliness, the rest huddle in flocks to search for food. It eats literally everything: larvae, beetles, insects, in the hungry season it even collects mucus from algae.

Good for breeding in ponds. The Chinese were the first to use it, then it became popular in Europe and America, where it lives safely in wild reservoirs - mainly lakes.

There are several types of carp: golden, naked. But the mirror carp meat is considered the most delicious. He lives on average up to 30 years, but there were specimens that floated in the water for almost a century.

It is found in almost any body of water, but prefers a muddy bottom. It grows no more than 50 cm in length, the maximum weight is about 5 kg.

It lives in schools, is omnivorous, eats both algae and larvae, some anglers in the season even catch it on pieces of reeds.

Able to withstand large temperature fluctuations and low oxygen levels by simply burrowing into silt. There are several types of carp. The most common are silver and gold. They can peacefully exist in the same reservoir.

It feeds actively in the early morning and late evening. In the heat it becomes inert and goes to the depths or to the silt.

The same Chinese were actively engaged in breeding crucian carp, they managed to breed goldfish for keeping in aquariums. Lives up to 12 years.

Tench

The fish has a greenish color and is found in the same place as crucian carp and carp. The length rarely exceeds 40 cm, by weight it usually reaches 700 g. There is a case when one English fisherman caught an individual for 7 kg, but this fact raises great doubts among ichthyologists.

It feeds on algae and water lilies, so it likes to stand in places with dense vegetation. It can also eat animal protein foods, fry. Unlike crucian carp, tench is very cautious, it is difficult to catch him with a bait.

INTERESTING! In folk medicine, the mucus of this fish is believed to have antiseptic properties. It has been recorded how other fish, having received a wound, try to rub against the tench.

Most fish die from diseases and predators before reaching the age of 4 years. But if this milestone can be overcome, the tench lives up to 15 years.

Chub

A fish that prefers good currents and rocky bottoms. The chub does not like silt, mud, whirlpools and backwaters. Small individuals feed near the shore, grabbing insects that have fallen into the water, especially small dragonflies.

They try to catch almost everything that falls into the water near the shore. But if they notice a falling object somewhere in the middle of the river, they will definitely swim away.

timidity - distinguishing feature chub, therefore, seeing a person on the shore, he usually leaves, but not for long. These fish are also very curious. They will certainly come back to see if the fisherman has dropped anything in the water, and they are caught on that.

Large individuals move closer to the middle of the reservoir, but like to stay near the piles of bridges or near dams. The chub is an active predator, eating not only small fish, but also rodents swimming across the river. There are cases when he attacked waterfowl. Lives 15-16 years.

Lives in almost all water bodies of Russia and Europe, avoiding only southern regions and Yakutia. Very reminiscent of roach, but the scales are much smaller, the eyes are pure yellow, without orange shade. The average length of an adult is about 50 cm, and the weight is 1 kg. But meter-long specimens with a weight of more than 5 kg are also caught.

This fish is one of the few freshwater fish that can adapt to sea salt water and live in bays. On rivers, it prefers pits and clay bottoms.

Hunts in the currents. After rain, it often comes to the shore, looking for insects, larvae and worms washed away by water. He feeds on them, but adults chase juveniles and small frogs. Lives 15-20 years.

People call it grip. The asp is extremely active in search of food, which for him is small fish. Moreover, even fry that have not reached 1 cm can grab even smaller fish without fear.

The growth limit is 75–80 cm. With a weight of 3–4 kg, the asp behaves so arrogantly when hunting that it also attacks large roaches, but most often such an attack ends in failure - the asp has a small mouth. It lives only in flowing clean waters, stagnant water ignores. Lives up to 12 years.

Chekhon

The nimble fish is found in many reservoirs of Europe, prefers the basins of the Baltic, the Azov and Aral Seas, the Caspian.

It has a characteristic appearance - an absolutely straight back with a curved abdomen, for this feature it is also called a saber fish. It almost never occurs in shallow and narrow reservoirs; it loves space.

Food (insects, plankton, algae) is obtained during the day, and at night it rests on the bottom of the river. The size is 20-30 cm in length, weight is about 200 g. Trophy length is half a meter. Lives up to 10 years, but active growth stops in the first half of life.

rudd

It is very reminiscent of roach, and not only externally, but also habits, habitats, food. Often these species interbreed, it is difficult to determine their belonging to a particular group.

Rudd - schooling fish, which prefers to live in thickets of vegetation. It also eats, plant foods are quite suitable for it. However, in the spring before spawning and immediately after it, the fish are actively gaining calories.

The diet of the rudd can include not only larvae or bugs, but also small tadpoles. Weight rarely exceeds 2 kg. Life expectancy is 19-20 years. Long-livers have not been recorded.

In the 19th century, podust was very common in the waters of Russia. Now it is much less common due to the deterioration of the ecological situation and the mixing of species.

Usually grows up to 25-30 cm with a weight of 400-500 g. There are also kilogram trophies, in recent years less and less. And before, whole flocks of podusta accompanied barges with grain, from where it sometimes spilled out and served as food.

Podust lives only in clean water with a moderate current, so any pollution of the reservoir is detrimental to it. It feeds on green deposits on snags and piles, loves small algae. Life expectancy - up to 15 years.

Bleak

It is distributed almost everywhere in Europe. Nimble, gluttonous, constantly in motion. With a length of 20-25 cm, the weight rarely exceeds 50 g.

The size and mobility were appreciated by fishermen who catch predators on live bait. The bleak feeds on plant and animal food, often jumping out of the water, catching small insects. Lives 7-8 years, but often dies due to attacks by other fish.

One of the smallest Russian fish. The length does not exceed 10 cm, the maximum weight is 15 g. It resembles a bleak, but the head is noticeably wider.

Habits, habitats, even hunting for flying insects - everything is like a bleak. Life expectancy is 5-6 years.

Gudgeon

A common fish, but will never be found in dirty water and where there is industrial waste. It lives in flocks in flowing places with water saturated with oxygen.

For commercial purposes, minnows are not caught or bred. Its meat is tasty, especially when fried, but bony. Individuals of this species rarely grow in length more than 10-12 cm, so there is not much to eat there.

The gudgeon feeds on small midges and larvae. But predatory fish even of small sizes actively feast on them. Because of this, at a biologically possible age of 7-8 years, it rarely lives to 4.

It is found in the Amur and the nearest rivers of China and Russia, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

In the 60s of the last century, fish was successfully bred in the European part of Russia, and now grass carp is found in the lower reaches of the Don and Volga. Length reaches 120 cm, weight can reach up to 40 kg. Despite its impressive size, it does not belong to predators, it feeds exclusively on plant foods.

Sometimes it even eats the shoots of plants hanging over the shore. It is actively bred in fish farms, not only for commercial purposes. The white carp is also called the water cow because of the ability to eat a large amount of bottom grass at a time. That's what they launch it for.

In this way, the bottom of the reservoirs, where another is bred valuable fish, is protected from overgrowth. Lives relatively long: 9-10 years.

silver carp

The silver carp is considered the same orderly of fish ponds. It cleans the bottom not only from vegetation, but also from the remains of animal origin - rotting larvae and mollusks.

The nutrition of the fish depends on its variety: the silver carp loves plant foods more, and the motley one (there are such individuals) feeds on phytoplankton.

It was originally bred in China. But then they began to spread in the rivers of Central Asia and Russia. Theoretically, silver carp can live in any fresh water body, as long as the water does not freeze in winter. With the onset of cold weather, it falls into suspended animation.

Adults can reach a weight of up to 50 kg. In good conditions in warm summer water can live up to 20 years.

Common catfish lives almost throughout Europe and is found even in the Arctic Ocean basin. This is an active predatory fish that feeds not only on neighboring freshwater fish (even pike), but also on frogs, small rodents that accidentally got into water bodies.

It usually lives in pits and whirlpools, from there it goes hunting. The average length of an adult is 1.5 m, weight up to 5 kg. There are also larger specimens. Catfish were caught and up to 4 m long, weighing up to 200 kg. The largest was caught in the Mekong River in Thailand. It weighed almost 30 kg with a length of about 5 m.

In the current rivers of Russia, where there are almost no large catfish, the average age of his life is about 30 years, but trophy specimens, which are sometimes caught from the Dnieper or Volga, are also centuries old.

channel catfish

This original type of catfish is found on the American continent. In Europe, including Russia, it is only taking root in fish farms. The average weight of such an individual is from 1 to 3 kg, growth can reach half a meter.

But there are larger sizes. The largest officially recorded channel catfish caught weighed over 25 kg. The average age is 8 years.

Acne

The river eel lives in freshwater rivers flowing into the seas. It resembles a snake, but it is not. The length of an adult is up to 2 m. The weight varies from 500 g to 5-6 kg, depending on age.

Likes reservoirs, the bottom of which is sandy or muddy. It usually hides there, waiting for prey. It can be not only small fish, shellfish or larvae, but even pike.

Upon reaching 8-10 years, the eel goes to the sea to spawn, lays eggs there and dies.

This fish is also very similar to a snake: it is able to have its habits. It is not uncommon for snakeheads to crawl from water to water over land, and cases have been recorded where this transition lasted about a week. All this time, snakeheads calmly do without an aquatic environment.

Mature representatives of the species grow up to a meter, and the weight can reach 10 kg. Initially, on the territory of Russia, snake fish were found only in the Far East, but then they were relocated to the European and Asian part of the country, where they took root especially.

It feeds in the same way as an eel, on land it can grab a small rodent. Sometimes bred in aquariums. Life expectancy is 12-15 years.

Burbot

The only representative that lives in fresh water, but does not tolerate salt water. It begins to actively feed only in autumn, with the onset of cold weather. In the summer, it sharply reduces activity, and when the water temperature is above 30 degrees, it dies altogether.

Feeds on small crustaceans and fish. It is not possible for him to hunt on an open surface, he prefers to look for prey in the water column.

Its habitat is pits, burrowed places. From there, it attacks its prey. Sometimes it is confused with catfish, but their seasonal habits are completely different, besides, burbot does not grow to the large sizes that catfish can achieve.

The maximum length that an adult burbot reaches is 1.2 m, and its weight is about 20 kg. In good conditions, burbots live up to 25 years.

Loach

Freshwater fish. If most of the inhabitants of reservoirs prefer clean running water, loach fish, on the contrary, consider swampy and silty places to be their native place. It happens that where it is found, not a single fish is found anymore.

But this loach does not worry much: it can eat larvae, mollusks and even ants if the reservoir suddenly dries up for a while. Then the loach simply burrows into the mud and waits for water to appear.

Its dimensions are small. Average specimens do not grow longer than 25-16 cm. But there are also 30-centimeter individuals. Depending on living conditions and nutrition, loaches live in nature from 6 to 8 years.

Char

The fish calmly tolerates low water temperatures, so its habitats are the reservoirs of the following regions:

coast of the Kola Peninsula;
in the basin of Lake Baikal;
in the Pacific Ocean;
in the lakes of Western Siberia.

It has several subspecies, the characteristics of which are similar:

the length of individuals reaches 25 cm;
weight - up to 1.5 kg.

The diet is animal protein food. Life expectancy - up to 7 years.

Ichthyologists consider this fish-like animal. It resembles a snake, more precisely a large leech. Instead of a mouth, she has a sucker with teeth, with the help of which she bites into the body of a prey fish and feeds on her blood.

The length of an adult is 30 cm. It lives in rivers and lakes in the Danube region. Life expectancy is not more than 2 years.

Lamprey Ukrainian

This type of lamprey is slightly smaller - no more than 20 cm. But it is more widespread: in the basins of the Baltic, Black, Caspian and Azov seas. It can be found on the Dniester, Dnieper, in the waters of the Kuban and the Don. Lives up to a year. Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

During the time of Tsarist Russia, the sterlet population on the Volga was high, but then, with a change in the ecological situation, the number of fish dropped sharply. Today, thanks to protective measures, the number of sterlet in large reservoirs of Russia is increasing, including in Siberian rivers.

The size of well-developed individuals can reach 1.5 m with 15 kg of weight.

The fish is sociable, pairs rarely separate, and hibernate in groups, huddled together in deep pits. During this period they do not eat, and in the warm season their diet is plankton and caviar of other fish. Developed individuals live up to 25 years, sometimes up to 30.

Danube salmon

Originally lived in the Danube basin, but then managed to move it to other rivers in Europe and even Morocco. Adults grow up to 1.75 m, gaining a weight of 60 kg. Such salmon lives up to 20 years, preferring a solitary stay in a separate territory.

Brook trout

It lives in Western Europe, from Murmansk to the Mediterranean. Found in the Balkans and Asia Minor. It is caught in the basins of the Baltic, Black, Aral and Azov seas. In reservoirs Far East no such trout.

The length of sexually mature specimens reaches 50 cm, and weight - up to 2 kg. The age limit is 12 years old. During this time, trout can gain weight several times more.

This small fish resembles a decorative one. Males, having reached adulthood, grow up to 12 cm. Females are slightly longer - they can stretch up to 15 cm.

It lives in the basins of the Dnieper and Dniester, in wetlands and estuaries. It is difficult to tolerate clean water. It feeds on larvae, worms and other protein animal food. But many predators also feed on umber, so she often has to hide under water at the bottom.

There it can stay for a long time due to the special oxygen bubble. Males of this species live up to 3 years, females - up to 5.

grayling european

There are 3 types of grayling in the world: European, Siberian and Mongolian. The European is the most numerous. The size and duration of its life is highly dependent on habitat conditions.

In difficult conditions, grayling by the age of 7 reaches only 1 kg, in medium - 3.5 kg, in favorable - 5-6 kg. In length, individuals can grow up to 50 cm.

Carp

Listed in the Red Book of Russia. It lives in the basins of the Azov and Black Seas. Sometimes observed in the Terek and in the lower part of the Don. The trunk in the form of a bar reaches 75 cm in length. The average age is up to 12 years. It has great culinary value due to the special taste of meat.

Other types of freshwater fish

Other inhabitants of the reservoirs are also of value.

Baikal sturgeon;
lenok;
taimen ordinary;
omul;
palia.

Pond:

minnow;
Rainbow trout.

Mountain rivers:

pied;
mountain trout;
Siberian grayling.

Among the fish there are champions in size, weight and behavior.

The largest freshwaters include:

shilbovy catfish: with growth up to 3 m, it is able to grow up to 200 kg and more;
Mississippian shell: with the same height, it reaches 130 kg;
giant freshwater stingray: weighs up to 600 kg;
Chinese paddlefish: weight can reach 300 kg.

In 2005, a giant catfish was caught in the Mekong. Its length reached 2.7 m, weight - 273 kg. This is the largest fish caught by man.

According to many famous chefs, the top three most delicious river fish are sterlet, salmon and trout. Some prefer carp.

The basis of the nutrition of river and lake fish is vegetation, insects, larvae, beetles, crustaceans and molluscs. Many fish eat the eggs of other specimens.

Predatory individuals feed on fry of other inhabitants of the reservoir and smaller fish.

Predatory river fish include:

pike;
burbot.

Perch can also be added here, but it does not hunt all fish, only small and inactive ones.

The freshwater world is no less diverse than the marine one. But the man of his production activities often pollutes fresh water bodies, destroying their inhabitants. You should constantly remember this. What kind of fish do you like to eat? Share interesting fishing stories in the comments.