Fish rotan taste qualities. Rotan: what is this fish? Soup with cereal

On the territory of our country, rotan appeared about 10 years ago. It was brought to us from the countries of the Far East. The basis of the nutrition of this fish is the caviar of others. aquatic life. Its features are:

• body covered with dense scales;
• spots and stripes of irregular shape;
• large head;
• a large mouth, which is studded with a large number of small teeth.

The color of the fish depends on the habitat and varies from bright black to green, but there are specimens of gray and brown colors. The maximum length of rotan in adulthood is 30 cm, usually individuals of about 14 cm are caught on the hook. The average life expectancy of this fish is up to 5 years, but sometimes among them there are centenarians who have lived 7.

Where does rotan live?

The original habitat of this fish was the Amur River, it was also possible to meet rotan in China and North Korea, then this fish got into many reservoirs of Eurasia in an unknown way. Most of the assumptions about its spread lead to the main idea that a person contributed to this.

Rotan lives in freshwater reservoirs, easily tolerates:

• any climatic conditions;
• various factors environment;
• human impact;
• high and low temperatures;
• water pollution and other negative factors.

Today, rotan can be found in the nets of many anglers. It is found in the rivers: Ob, Irtysh, Volga, Don, Dnieper, Ural, Dniester, Danube, as well as in reservoirs with stagnant water.

Description and lifestyle

Experimental methods have confirmed that rotan, being frozen, falls into anabiosis, and after thawing continues to live on.

Being a predator, it feeds mainly on:

1. Little fish.
2. Small spineless.
3. crustaceans.
4. Caviar of fish and frogs.
5. Tadpoles and leeches.

This fish breeds rapidly, and in the absence of predators, rotan exterminates other species of fish in the reservoir. In the absence of population regulation, only this species may remain in the reservoir, since others will completely disappear. Rotan is not among the commercial ones, as it is considered trashy fish.

In some reservoirs, its population is regulated by others. predatory species such as pike and perch.

Catching rotan

Among fishing enthusiasts, rotan won a place of honor. Its popularity is based on the following factors:

• ease of capture;
• confident bite, few gatherings;
• fishing everywhere and all year round;
• tender and tasty meat;
• no need to use special devices for catching;
• regularly caught large specimens up to 0.5 kg.

Gear for rotan

Any tackle is suitable for catching rotan:

Many anglers prefer to catch rotan with a regular float rod. In a few hours, your cage can be packed to capacity. Various animal and vegetable baits are used as bait, since rotan is not particularly picky about food.

How to catch more fish?

I have been active fishing for quite some time and have found many ways to improve the bite. And here are the most effective ones:

1. Cool activator. Attracts fish in cold and warm water with the help of pheromones included in the composition and stimulates her appetite. It is a pity that Rosprirodnadzor wants to ban its sale.
2. More sensitive gear. Reviews and instructions for other types of gear you can find on the pages of my site.
3. Lures using pheromones.

You can get the rest of the secrets of successful fishing for free by reading our other articles on the site.

Basically, to catch him, they use:

1. Worm.
2. Small live.
3. Maggot.
4. Porridge.
5. Pieces of fish.

Since this fish is not particularly large, the fishing line can be used with a small section from 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm. Hooks are also selected not large sizes 4-5 number.

On the donka and feeder come across more often large specimens. When glittering on spinning, you can use:

• small vibrotails;
• small spinners;
• small, no more than five centimeters long.

Very often, in the absence of a sufficient amount of bait, meat (pieces of fish) is used. You can cut the rotan itself and catch its brethren.

Another effective way of fishing is to use a summer fishing rod on a side nod. To do this, it is necessary to equip the telescopic rod with a side nod, and use an ordinary mormyshka as a hook.

Taste and nutritional value

You can cook rotan in various ways:

1. Cook.
2. Fry.
3. Bake.
4. Extinguish.

Its meat is white, dense, has a pleasant taste, is well suited for cooking fish soups, hot dishes, in pastries, and it is also served as a cold snack.

Many anglers often salt the fish, dry it and smoke it.

The calorie content of rotan dishes is very low, 100 g contains less than 88 kcal.

The nutritional value:

1. Water - 70g.
2. Vitamins pp - 2.9 mg.
3. Trace elements:
   • chlorine - 165 mg;
   • sulfur - 175 mg.
4. Macronutrients:
   • nickel - 6 mcg .;
   • molybdenum - mcg .;
   • fluorine - 430 mcg.;
   • chromium - 55 mcg.;
   • zinc - 0.7 mg.

Application in cooking

Due to the excessive presence of bones, it is often allowed on fish cakes and pies. After gutting and separating the skin, unnecessary elements are passed through a meat grinder, seasoned with various spices, zucchini pulp rubbed through a grater is added for tenderness. Then cutlets are formed or used as a filling for pies.

Sometimes, for greater fat content, peeled rotan carcasses are passed through a meat grinder along with lard.

Also consider the following:

As a conclusion, I want to note that rotan, even being a weedy fish, pleases many as an object of amateur fishing. Being outwardly unattractive, rotan pleases with its taste properties.

Rotan fish is better known to the inhabitants of the Far East, which is its homeland and where it was brought from. In Russia, or rather, in its European part, this species appeared relatively recently - at the beginning of the twentieth century. There is a version that rotan was delivered to Petrograd as aquarium fish. He is unpretentious to food and very tenacious, and watching his behavior in the aquarium was very entertaining. After some time, rotans were released into a local reservoir, after which they spread throughout the territory of Eastern Europe, including Ukraine and Belarus, where it may occur great amount this predator. Before this species fish lived in lakes, swamps and rivers of the Amur basin and was not found anywhere else in the world. It is believed that rotan is a weedy fish and the increase in its population in new territories caused swipe by the number of others, more useful and valuable species representatives of the ichthyofauna.

Rotan belongs to the perch-like order of the firebrand family. In addition to its classic name, it has a number of others, such as grass, firebrand, rotan firebrand, etc.

It is customary to rank it among the gobies known to fishermen, but this is erroneous, since both species belong to completely different families. It is very easy for a beginner to confuse them, since outwardly both species are quite similar, and an inexperienced eye can be mistaken if several significant differences are not taken into account. If you know the description of rotan, you can’t confuse it with other types of fish, since it has signs that are unique to it.

Having figured out what one and the second look looks like, a significant difference will become visible. Rotan and goby differ in color, size, shape of the head and body, size and shape of the fins. For example, in the first, the head takes on a practical third of the entire body, while in the second, this indicator is more modest. Main Feature, which allows you to accurately determine the type of fish is the number and shape of the pelvic fins. Unlike the single, sucker-like ventral fin that the goby has, the rotan has two small fins.

The size of the rotan mainly varies from 10 to 15 cm, but sometimes there are large rotan, the length of which reaches 25 cm, and weighing 500–600 g. In very rare cases, a huge rotan, weighing up to a kilogram, falls on the hook.

Photo 1. Rotan weighing more than 300 grams is considered large.

The color varies between gray-green and dirty brown. The firebrand fish can change tones depending on the characteristics of the reservoir, namely the color and pollution of the water, light, bottom characteristics, etc. During mating season males darken, females remain lighter in color.

Sexual maturity occurs at the age of two years. The total lifespan averages about 5 years, but some individuals live up to 7–8 years.

There are opponents to this opinion. In some cases, with the help of this species, on the contrary, it is possible to correctly balance the number of individuals of valuable breeds relative to the volume of their food. For example, if in a reservoir it exceeds the allowable indicator, then there will not be enough food for all of them. In such cases Weight Limit, to which crucian carp can grow, will be very small. Rotans, eating fry, destroy unnecessary applicants for food, so that each individual crucian feeds fully, and as a result, it grows to large sizes. Therefore, there are also reservoirs where rotan is allowed to be found.

Photo 2. Catching rotans.

Rotan nutrition

If you learn everything about rotans, then we can conclude that this is not a weedy fish, but rather an active predator that can feed on almost everything that the environment rewarded it with.

The fry cannot boast of a variety in the diet, the food for them is zooplankton, but what the adult rotan eats is much more interesting. In the process of development, it begins to feed on caviar, fry and medium-sized fish species, leeches, newts, and amphibian larvae. He also does not disdain his fellows, and a relatively large rotan can attack a representative of his own species, which does not differ much from him in size.

Rotan reproduces very quickly and if its population is not kept under control, then in a very short time it can completely exterminate others. valuable breeds fish. To prevent this, other predators are launched into the reservoir, for which rotan will already be a real delicacy.

For hunting, rotans gather in flocks and jointly attack shoals of other fish species. Eating its prey one after another, the predator is quickly satiated and goes to the bottom of the reservoir, where it lives until the food eaten is digested.

Thanks to the powerful jaw and large mouth, rotan easily swallows prey, which is not much smaller in size. Gradual swallowing does not interfere with his breathing in any way.

Despite the presence of many floating prey species, rotans feed on insects from the surface of the water and extract various larvae from the muddy bottom of the reservoir.

Behavior at different times of the year

In the period from May to June, rotan spawns, and one female produces huge offspring - up to one thousand eggs. It is constantly protected from other fish by males. Of course, it is possible to protect caviar only from those predators that rotan can defeat. But, for example, with a perch, which may appear near the offspring, he should not even try to fight.

They catch rotan throughout all seasons of the year. He is gluttonous and bites perfectly in any weather. Even experienced fishermen can catch good volumes of this fish.

The behavior of a predator in winter is not the same as that of other species, which, during a particularly cold period, stray into flocks and look for warmer areas. Rotans do not do this and prefer to hunt and feed alone.

Photo 3. Rotan is well caught from the ice.

The only thing that can make them form flocks is severe frosts, in which the reservoir freezes completely. At this time, the predator feels a lack of oxygen and a decrease in temperature, which makes it huddle in groups for the sake of survival.

Even if the water column freezes completely, and the reservoir turns into one continuous ice floe, unfrozen areas remain around flocks of rotans. This is due to the fact that riba releases substances that do not allow the temperature of the water to drop to an indicator that is less than necessary for normal life. Before the onset of heat, the predator is in suspended animation, and when the temperature rises, it comes to life again and can appear in its usual places.

There are no more tenacious fish in local reservoirs. Even crucian carp, which can live in very limited and extreme conditions, cannot be compared with rotan.

Ways to catch rotan

You can catch this fish day and night, there will always be bites. The only difference is that at night the catch may be slightly smaller. Her bites will seem phlegmatic to many, but you should not hesitate here, and when the first signs appear, you need to cut. If you miss the moment, the rotan can swallow the bait so deeply that it will not work to pull it out with your hands.

Excellent results are obtained with a light fishing rod, or a float. The thickness of the fishing line is not of fundamental importance, since rotans usually do not pay attention to this. To protect yourself from losing tackle, it is better to equip the fishing rod with a fishing line with a diameter of 0.15 mm to 0.2 mm.

It also allows you to catch a lot of fish if it is interested in the bait. Tackle should be thrown a little further than the intended location of the predator, and then perform wave-like wiring. Usually a bite follows after the second or third cast. Rubber baits should be used flavored. Their rotan takes more willingly.

Many practice fishing using spinning using the drop-shot method. In this version, a sinker clings to the end of the fishing line, and closer, at a distance of about 50 cm, there is a hook with a bait.

Winter fishing is carried out using equipped with a nod or float.

Lures for rotan

Since this species of fish is predatory, then it takes better baits of animal origin. For catching firebrands, rotan is used, dung worms

Photo 4. Meat on a mormyshka for rotan.

Fish of other species, or rather, its meat, are effectively used for catching rotan. The predator does not disdain the meat of its fellows. Many experienced anglers note that the largest specimen was caught by them on a bloodworm. If other animal baits allow you to regularly catch fish of 200-300 grams, then the bloodworm often brings a record 500-gram catch.

Lures of plant origin attract less predator, especially if he has a choice between a piece of meat and corn, then the predator living in the reservoir will most likely not take the latter.

Moving jigs and wobblers also give good results when fishing. Thanks to this, spinningists can always boast of a good catch.

Among biologists, the rotan-firebrand has become notorious. A small fish kept as an aquarium fish was released where it had never lived before. The results were stunning: rapid adaptation to new vast spaces, complete exclusion of other fish and even newts from small stagnant water bodies.

This fish serves good example how the range of an animal during artificial resettlement can many times exceed the original one. Small swampy water bodies overgrown with aquatic plants characteristic of the Amur basin in its middle and lower reaches, as well as Primorye and adjacent regions of North and Korea - that's what happened natural area species habitat.

AQUARIUM LANDING

In 1912, the St. Petersburg naturalist I. Zalevsky, for some reason, released fish from his aquarium into a garden pond. The released rotans successfully survived the winter and in the spring gave rise to numerous offspring, marking the beginning of resettlement in nearby St. Petersburg ponds and rivers. Later, in the 1930s, rotans were sold en masse in the bird markets of Moscow and other big cities Soviet Union. Many hobbyists then released the annoying pets into local water bodies. Now the area of ​​​​settlement of rotan-firebrand covers vast expanses of Eastern Europe, Southern Urals and south Western Siberia. Now the species is actively spreading to the west, in the countries of Europe, including the Balkan Peninsula. Extensive isolated habitats arose in the basin of the Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya (and). And in last years it was also discovered, which is highly undesirable, even in the Baikal basin!

THE OWNER OF THE WATER

Calculations show that the firebrand captures new water areas at a speed of about 10-14 km per year, first of all mastering the old rivers, floodplain reservoirs, shallow bays and lakes overgrown with reeds. In small closed reservoirs, rotan gradually crowds out other fish. This is facilitated not only by its exceptional vitality, but also by other features of biology. Protection of egg laying, gluttony, promiscuity in food enhance the competitive advantages of the species, and direct predation of juvenile fish of any species leads to a steady decrease in the number of not only other medium-sized fish, but also newts.

GOOD AND WITHOUT SUCKERS

The rotan goby is often confused with the real rotan goby. In fact, these fish belong to different families. In representatives of the family of true gobies, the ventral fins are brought together and function as a sucker, allowing the fish to gain a foothold on the bottom or underwater object. In the firebrand, like in other eleotrids, the ventral fins are very small and cannot serve as a sucker in any way.

ATTACKS FROM THE GROWTH

The rotan-heads become adults at the age of 3-4 years. Spawning begins when at the end of spring the water warms up to a temperature of +15 °C. The fecundity of the female does not exceed 1000 eggs. The laid eggs, as well as the hatched larvae, are guarded by the male, which contributes to their increased survival.

Firebrand larvae already on the second day after birth begin to feed on the smallest zooplankton: protozoa, rotifers, nauplius, etc. They grow very quickly and soon switch to feeding on planktonic crustaceans, aquatic insect larvae. Young individuals, having reached a length of about 10 mm, begin to prey, attacking fry of any species of fish and amphibian larvae. Rotan swims badly, so it lies in wait for the victim somewhere in dense thickets aquatic plants. If suitable prey approaches, he immediately attacks it in a short throw. It has been noted that the firebrand can also eat any small dead animals (even decaying ones!), acting as a food competitor for crayfish.

AT THE PRICE OF YOUR LIFE

In turn, rotan fry can be attacked by dragonfly larvae and swimming beetles, as well as water bugs. In some places they serve as prey for the crested newt, marsh turtle and water snake.

In the Amur basin, the firebrand is a common prey of the common snakehead and the Far Eastern soft-bodied turtle. Pike, burbot and large perch feed on adults everywhere. From birds, they are regularly taken by all types of herons, including great and little bittern, rarely kingfishers.

The otter will neglect such a trifle, but European and American minks from time to time willingly catch them. Occasionally, black polecat, ermine and Siberian weasel are caught in the overgrown shallow waters of firebrands. In some places, rotan serves as a common food for water shrews - shrews.

HARD TO BELIEVE

The vitality of this fish is simply amazing! She can survive the complete drying up of the reservoir in the summer heat, burrowing into semi-liquid silt, and complete freezing to the bottom in winter.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Class: ray-finned fish.
Squad: perch-like.
Family: firebrands, or eleotrovye.
Genus: rotan.
Type: rotan-head.
Latin name: Perccottus gleni.
Colour: variable, often greenish-brown, with stripes and spots of irregular shape.
Size: The body length of an adult usually does not exceed 7-14 cm, but in exceptional cases it can reach 25 cm.
The life span of the rotan firebrand: does not exceed 4-7 years.

Rotana is usually attributed to the firebrands. Rotan, in addition to the main, well-known name, has many others. It is called firebrand, grass and firebrand-rotan. And in the 20th century, rotan was called the Amur goby (photo of the fish below).

Appearance

Rotan has a short, medium-sized body covered with dull scales. The fish does not have any particular color, as it can change. The predominant color in the coloration is gray-green and dirty brown tones, the belly, as a rule, is painted in grey colour. On the body, rotan has small spots and stripes that have irregular shape. With the onset of the spawning period, the entire body of the rotan turns black.

Rotan has a large head and a huge mouth, in which there are several rows of small, but rather sharp teeth, which can be clearly seen in the photo below (the first photo is a front view, the second photo is a side view). On the gill covers, rotan has a characteristic perch-like spike, which is directed backwards. However, in rotan it is quite soft. The fins of the fish are also soft and do not have sharp spines. There are 2 fins on the back, with the back one having a slightly longer length.

Rotan has a very short anal fin. But the pectoral and caudal fins are quite large and have a rounded shape. In general, this fish is similar to representatives of the goby family. Distinctive feature ratana - ventral fins. He has them in pairs, located very close to the head and, when compared with the size of the fish, they are disproportionately small, when, like representatives of the goby family, one by one ventral fin sucker-like.

Rotan can grow up to 25 centimeters, but there are also small ones, as in the photo. However, the sizes can be different and depend on the habitat. Trophy-sized fish are very rare. The maximum life expectancy is 7 years. Average individuals live up to 5 years.

Distribution and habitats

Initially, rotan began to live in the waters of the Amur River basin, the Far East. Rotan also met in northern regions North Korea and northeast China. The appearance of rotan in the 20th century in the waters of Lake Baikal is considered by most scientists to be biological pollution. And in 1916, rotan began to be bred in the reservoirs of St. Petersburg. In the future, this fish from these reservoirs spread throughout Northern Eurasia.

Today, the river Volga, Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Danube, Irtysh, Ural, Stir, Ob are rich in rotan. Also, this fish is rich in stagnant ponds. In such water bodies, as a rule, there are no suitable conditions for other predators. Rotan is widely distributed in floodplain water bodies, during the flood of rivers. Rotan is actively settled by humans.

Rotan is one of the most unpretentious fish that survives even in the dirtiest waters. Not afraid of freezing at all. There were cases when fish were found when cutting ice. When thawing, rotan comes to life and begins to swim. Such survivability of rotan is explained by the fact that it has the possibility of partial gas exchange through the skin.

Diet

Rotan is a predator. As a fry, the fish feeds on zooplankton. Then, growing up, it begins to eat small invertebrates and benthos. The menu of adults includes caviar, fish fry, leeches, newts, amphibian larvae (tadpoles). Cannibalism is also considered quite normal among rotans.

Rotan breeds quickly enough. In small reservoirs, where there are no other predators, rotan quickly multiplies and exterminates other types of fish. Thus, if its population is not restrained, then irreparable harm is done to the reservoir. In larger water bodies, the population of rotan is kept in check by other predators that prey on them. Rotan is a special delicacy for perch.

Due to the presence of a wide mouth, rotan can swallow quite large prey. When catching rotan, he very often swallows the bait. Rotan is very voracious and often does not know a sense of proportion. When the fish is full, it becomes three times as thick as its normal state. Saturated rotan goes to the bottom, where it can sit up to 3 days and digest food.

Rotan is a weedy fish that either crowds out other fish species or drastically reduces their population. Today, a search is underway for ways to reduce its population. In pond farms, rotan causes great harm by eating eggs and juveniles. valuable fish. Large rotan is an object recreational fishing. He bites perfectly on large worms, pieces raw meat, as well as small spinners and mormyshkas.

reproduction

Rotan reaches puberty in the second year of life. Spawning starts between May and July. An average female can lay up to 1,000 eggs. During the spawning period, males turn black, and a growth appears on their forehead. Females, on the contrary, are colored in White color, since in this guise it is better seen in troubled waters.

Rotan eggs have an oblong shape and are colored yellow. Each egg has a threaded leg, thanks to which it is very firmly attached to the bed. Since the eggs hang freely and are constantly washed with water, their viability is greatly increased. Caviar is constantly guarded by males, who are always ready to defend their offspring from other predators. Rotan successfully protects eggs from tops and ruffs, but it obviously cannot cope with perch.

When the larvae begin to hatch from the eggs, very often the male himself swallows them. Among the rotans, this is a common struggle for survival. Firebrands can also live in slightly saline waters. However, they always go to fresh water to spawn.

An interesting activity can be to observe the life and habits of rotan in an aquarium. Even in artificial conditions, rotan shows the habits of a predator. He constantly hides in the vegetation, and attacks extremely quickly. Can move along the wall of the aquarium, as if polishing the glass, for a long time is upside down, freezes completely for a while in order to watch for prey and rush after it in pursuit.

Rotan is a weedy fish. Grows up to 25 centimeters. It lives almost everywhere, in all reservoirs of the northern part of Europe, this fish comes from the Far East. You can find rotan in the grass and among the snags. Rotan is predatory fish, cannibalism is also developed.

Calories, kcal:

Proteins, g:

Carbohydrates, g:

Rotan fish, which has the second name firebrand rotan, is a predatory fish and belongs to the family Goloveshkov. This fish is known for its voracity and special ability to disguise itself as the color of the environment (calorizator). Consequently, the color of the fish primarily depends on the tone of the water and the bottom and can be slightly green or almost black, as well as brown, gray and even yellow. Rotan is a small fish, the maximum body length reaches 25 centimeters, with a weight of about 500 grams.

Initially, rotan lived in the Amur River, on Far East Russia, northern North Korea and northeastern China. In the 20th century, fish appeared in the Baikal basin, and it was also released into the reservoirs of St. Petersburg, which led to the spread of rotan in most regions of Europe and Russia.

There are three main types of rotan fish, but only one is found on the territory of Russia - a firebrand, which has a large head and a dark body color. Few people know about such fish as rotan, so the fish caught by the fisherman in the next region receives a new, newly invented “name”. On the this moment the following types of rotan are known: goby, wrasse, grass, blacksmith, firebrand, live-eater, gourlach, round timber and others.

Calorie content of rotan

The calorie content of rotan is low, it is only 88 kcal per 100 grams of product.

The composition and useful properties of rotan

Rotan, like any other fish, is recommended for diet food, as it is easily digested and absorbed by the human body. Fish meat is rich in low-calorie and easily digestible proteins, vitamins, which have a positive effect on immune system and human health. The meat of rotan also contains the following valuable trace elements.