Catfish is the largest freshwater predator. Common catfish fish, where it lives and what it looks like

Which lives in the rivers and lakes of our country. Adult individuals grow in length up to 3 meters, and weight reaches 150 kg.

Depending on the season and habitat, catfish fish, a photo of which can be found in large numbers on the Internet, has a different color - from black to bright yellow. Sometimes it is possible to meet an albino.

Catfish fish has a large and wide head. Large jaws contain many small sharp teeth. Near the mouth of the fish there are two long white whiskers, and a little lower, on the chin, four more small ones. The catfish's eyes are large and downcast. The skin does not have scales.

The small fin of the fish on the back is not at all like the anal fin - longer, wider. The tail occupies a significant part of the body.

Catfish is a fish that lives at the bottom of a reservoir, its body is fully adapted to such a life. It rarely rises to the surface of the water. finds a deep hole and settles in it. Also, the place should be quiet, without strong currents, and the bottom should be solid. He loves snags and fallen trees. Catfish is a thermophilic fish. Already at the beginning of autumn, when the first cold weather appears, it stops feeding and lies on the bottom for wintering.

Catfish do not like fish, so when it rains, it hides in its hole.

It is omnivorous, so it can be safely called the "orderly officer of the reservoir." Catfish food is frogs, mollusks, crustaceans, and small animals that swim across the river. Also, he will not refuse the meat of dead animals.

But his main diet is fish. To catch her, the catfish disguises itself and waits for its approach. He does not pursue his prey, but attacks unexpectedly. For food, the catfish fish swims out at night; increased activity can be observed near its hole.

Usually he hunts alone, but if there is a lot of food, then you can see several fish at the same time in one place.

Catfish grows slowly. It gains 1.5-2 kg per year, and only by the age of five its weight is 8-10 kg, and its length is one meter. Puberty in fish occurs only by 3-4 years of life.

Spawning in catfish begins with warming up the water to 17-19 degrees, starting from the end of May. To do this, he leaves his hole and finds a quiet place (backwaters or bays).

The female herself chooses a male from numerous applicants, after which they drive the rest away.

Together they go to the place where the spawning will take place, which the couple prepares together. To do this, catfish dig holes up to 1 meter deep, after which the female lays a small amount of caviar.

The appearance of larvae occurs after 7-10 days, at which time both parents are nearby and guard them, driving away other fish. With the advent of fry, catfish leave the spawning place and return to their pit.

You can catch this fish from the end of April to August. Catfish bite best at night. Leeches and frogs are suitable as bait. Catfish are usually not used with artificial baits; they do not always manage to fall into the pit due to the current. Good fishing helpers will be a high-quality and strong fishing rod, and a landing net with which you can pull the catch out of the water.

Somov, weighing up to 5 kg and after 20 kg, are usually released. Young individuals still need to grow up, and very large individuals have a reproductive value.

The only European representative of the catfish family, whose species are quite numerous in South Asia and tropical Africa. However, it is not found in all of Europe; in France, Spain and Italy it is not, and r. The Rhine is the western border of the distribution of this predator. In Western Siberia, in the river. Ingoda, Shilke, Onone, etc., another species appears - Siluras asotus Pall, which is distinguished by the dark color of the whole body, 4 antennae and a small size - about 56 cm.

In all likelihood, the eastern border of the distribution of Siluras glanis L. should be sought in Central Asia, where it was found in the Syr Darya, Amu Darya, Zeravshan, etc.; here, however, there is a difference of it, differing almost exclusively in the smaller number of rays in the anal fin. Recently, however, a form of catfish from the genus Exostoma, called Exostoma Oschanini by Herzenshtein, was found in Turkestan. In the Amur basin, two species from p. Bagrus. Stone catfish, Bagrus calvarius BaziP, very small in stature (12.5-20 cm), with 8 antennae and two dorsal fins, of which the first one has a serrated spine, the second is fatty; Bagrus ussuriensis Dyb.4, - about 92 cm tall, with a very long, cylindrical body and 8 antennae.

Common catfish lives with us mainly in the rivers of the Aral-Caspian and Black Sea basins, and it is most numerous in their lower reaches, especially the Volga and Kura; in the rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea, it is relatively small in number and does not reach such large sizes as in southern Russia. The reason for this is a more intense pursuit, a comparatively small number of fish, i.e., a lack of food during a longer winter fast. It is very likely that catfish, like carp, spread in Central Europe already in historical times. In general, the geographical distribution of these fish in Russia is almost the same and continues to expand more and more, although in this respect the catfish is somewhat ahead of the carp.

In Lake Onega, for example, catfish appeared no more than 25 years ago. In Finland it is found up to Tavastgust. There are no catfish at all in the northern rivers of ours, and it is unlikely that it is even found in the northern tributaries of the Kama. In the mouths of our southern rivers, especially the Volga, Kura, Don and Dnieper, catfish are among the most common fish; in the sea itself they adhere, however, to river water.

Under favorable conditions, catfish reach enormous growth. In the rivers of the Baltic Basin, as well as in the tributaries of the upper Volga, they rarely exceed 80 kg; however, on the Oder, famous for its abundance of catfish, back in 1830 a specimen was caught weighing 400 kg, that is, almost 25 pounds. We have the largest catfish, or rather, were found, it seems, in the Dnieper, where, according to Kessler, a catfish was caught (in the fifties), having a length of more than 4.2 m and weighing 288 kg, and in the Dniester, where , according to the same ichthyologist, it even reaches 320 kg.

In the Desna, a tributary of the Dnieper, 160-kilogram specimens (Verbitsky) are still found. Although the well-known Astrakhan hunter Witte mentions a catfish of 240 kg, in general, the lower Volga catfish are relatively small, and in small rivers of the Volga basin, catfish are larger and more numerous than in the Volga itself, excluding its lower reaches. At present, this remark can be attributed to the Dnieper and the Don, in which (Popov) larger than 192 kg of catfish do not seem to be found. In r. In the Urals (and, apparently, in the Kura), large ones reach 160 kg. Lake catfish are always relatively smaller than neighboring river catfish.

Catfish is one of the most sedentary fish and very rarely undertakes long journeys. For the most part, he lives for decades, from a young age to a very old age, almost all year round in the same hole, leaving it to look for food nearby, and then not always. Only in the spring, in the hollow water, the catfish temporarily leaves its native pit and rises up the river somewhat, often entering the floodplain and floodplain lakes, where often

Common (European) catfish (lat. Silurus glanis) is a freshwater scaleless predator of the catfish order, catfish family.

According to the legends of the ancient Slavs, catfish was considered a favorite fish of the water spirit - water, so they were afraid of catfish, they called it "devil's horse" and bypassed quiet backwaters.

What does a catfish look like

The body length of the catfish is 1.3 - 1.5 m, weight - 15 - 20 kg. Under favorable environmental conditions, individual individuals grow up to 3 - 5 m and weigh 220 - 400 kg.

The catfish is distinguished by a large, flattened head with a wide mouth and a protruding lower jaw. Fleshy lips cover many small, cone-shaped teeth.

On the sides of the upper jaw there is a pair of long, mobile mustaches of a light shade, reaching to the end of the pectoral fins. The lower jaw is endowed with two pairs of short, yellowish antennae. Small, high-set eyes are shifted to the corners of the mouth.

The body of the catfish is rounded at the head and compressed from the sides, closer to the tail. The dorsal fin runs in the middle, acquiring a thick, jagged ray at the base with age. The long, powerful tail is almost half the length of the body and ends in a rounded caudal fin.

The pelvic fins are shortened, and the pectoral fins are wide and mobile, helping the predator to deftly create water whirlwinds, disorienting a potential prey. The anal fin is long, fused with the caudal fin.

Catfish muzzle.

The lack of scales is compensated by a large number of sebaceous glands. Intensively secreted fat covers the body of the catfish with a thick layer of mucus.

The color of the back depends on the area and can vary from light sand color to almost black. The sides are brownish-green, spotty, the belly is dirty-gray or yellowish-white. Juveniles are distinguished by an intense skin color, and males are more variegated than females.

Range and lifestyle

Catfish lives in well-warmed rivers with a weak current, although they often live in lakes, ponds and large reservoirs.

Catfish are by nature solitary and prefer a sedentary, sedentary lifestyle. Summer dwellings are arranged near washed-out shores, under snags, at the base of destroyed coastal structures and bottom potholes. At sunset, the catfish goes hunting, and with the first rays of the sun it returns to its shelter. For the winter, 10-12 individuals gather and lie down on the bottom, in deep pits.

Common catfish is common in rivers flowing into the Black and Baltic. Azov, Caspian and Aral seas. In the European part of Russia, it is found from the Neva to the Volga, Terek and Ural. The most numerous populations inhabit the deltas of the Don and Dnieper. The upper reaches of the rivers are bypassed.

What does European catfish eat?

Catfish are typical predators, patiently guarding their prey in ambush. The catfish feels the approach of the prey with its skin and sensitive whiskers, makes a short throw and grabs the prey. During the migrations of young small fish species, several catfish stand against the current and successfully absorb flocks of passing fish.

Catfish with prey.

The predator's diet depends on age and size: juveniles eat larvae and fry, aquatic insects, leeches and small crustaceans. An adult catfish prefers bottom fish (carp, perch, young sturgeon, sprat, sprat) as a dietary basis, and large insects, crayfish and frogs as a supplement. With age, waterfowl and their chicks, rodents and, if you're lucky (catfish, of course), small domestic animals also appear on the menu.

Reproduction features

In warm waters, puberty of catfish occurs at the age of 3-5 years, in cooler waters by 4-6 years. Depending on the range, spawning takes place in spring in the southern water bodies and summer in the northern ones, when the water temperature reaches 17 - 23 degrees.

Before spawning, a pair of catfish equip a nest, choosing a small hole in shallow water, in a quiet backwater or shady pool. The fertility of the female depends on the age and size of a particular individual, but up to 30 thousand eggs are spawned per 1 kg of weight. In warm waters, the female spawns 2 portions of caviar, in cool waters only one. The diameter of the eggs is from 1 to 3 mm.

Catfish in the Dnieper River.

Sticky eggs stick to the walls of the nest and are securely guarded by the male. After 3 days, larvae appear, after another week the yolk sac dissolves and completely independent, nimble fry, up to 15 mm long, swim out into the wild.

Catfish grow quickly, by the second year of life, the young grow to 30 - 40 cm and gain weight up to 500 g. Unfortunately, only 5% of the offspring survive to a year. Under favorable circumstances, the life expectancy of a mustachioed predator is 30 - 35 years.

Catfish in the Baltic Sea, Estonia.

Due to the sharp decline in the population in Karelia, catfish received the status of a rare species and is listed in the Red Book of Karelia.

Albino catfish

Like other animals, albinos can be found among catfish. Here is a photo of such a catfish.

Other types of catfish

Here is a photo of a catfish from the Clariidae family. In Russia, they are often bred in aquariums, where they reach a size of 30 centimeters. In nature, they reach much larger sizes.

Catfish is the largest river predator. There are legends about catfish. There are rumors that this fish even eats people, and they are by no means groundless. A large catfish can easily drag a bathing child to the bottom. But such cases are quite rare, because after the collapse of the Soviet Union, uncontrolled fishing of this species was carried out for several years, and its numbers fell sharply.

What does a catfish look like

The predator can have a different color. It primarily depends on the time of year and where it lives. But most often catfish has a dark gray color with shades of black and green. The belly is usually off-white in color.

The catfish has a wide huge head, it seems to be slightly flattened from top to bottom. In the massive jaws there are a lot of small and razor-sharp teeth. There are two long mustaches on both sides of the upper lip, and four more short ones on the chin. Small eyes for such fish sizes are located on the head (they seem to be lowered).

The fish has a large and powerful body without scales, covered only with bare skin in mucus, thanks to which the catfish easily slides in the water column. The dorsal fin is small, while the anal fin, on the contrary, is large and wide, turning into the caudal.

Most of the body is occupied by a powerful tail of strong muscles. The body of a catfish can reach a length of 3-4 meters, and weight - 300-400 kg. But such large individuals are extremely rare, most often they are tales of fishermen. The usual weight of a caught predator rarely exceeds 25 kg..

The range of the predator is quite wide. It can be found in Europe and Asia. In fact, the places where the catfish lives are any fresh water bodies of the globe. It is found throughout Eurasia, it can be found on the continents of North and South America and even in Africa.

There are many types of this fish. Although they look similar in appearance, they can vary greatly in size. For example, some species of catfish rarely grow more than 30 cm. The largest catfish caught in the European part of the world in 2011 was 2.5 meters long and weighed 114 kg. In the Amazon River basin, you can find catfish 3 meters long. In Indonesia and India - up to 4 meters.

On the territory of the CIS, these predators are found in two types: common and American. The American catfish is much smaller than the common European catfish. Due to these circumstances, it is called a dwarf.

Where does the predator live?

Catfish lives at the bottom of freshwater reservoirs. It is fully adapted to such a life and rarely rises above the average water level. In most cases, he finds the deepest place and settles in it, because he likes big holes.

The place where the catfish lives is always quiet and without a fast current. There may be snags, large tree branches, and fallen trees in the pit. The water should not be too cloudy. The barbel is by nature a homebody and does not like big travels, therefore it always hunts near its home. In most cases, he spends his whole life in one hole.

In the autumn period, with the onset of cold weather, the activity of the predator completely drops, it stops feeding and lies in its hole for the winter.

What does catfish eat

This fish leads an active nocturnal lifestyle. The main diet of the predator is fish. To catch it, the catfish freezes in place, waiting for the victim to approach, and when it approaches a sufficient distance, it abruptly rushes at it.

It also feeds on frogs, river molluscs, small crustaceans, small animals that accidentally fell into the water, medium-sized waterfowl. The barbel fish will not refuse the meat of drowned animals and people. Therefore, he was called the orderly of the water area..

It hunts alone, but if there is a lot of food around, you can observe several catfish in one place. But usually no more than a dozen.

Catfish puberty occurs at 4 years of age. Reproduction begins with warming up the water to 18-20 degrees. This takes place at the end of May. Usually a predator leaves its hole and goes to look for a mate. Several males tend to the female. Males show off their strength and endurance.

Then the female chooses one, the strongest male. Together they drive the rest away and look for a quiet and peaceful place and dig a hole with their pectoral fins. The female spawns there and, together with her male, protects her from other predators. When the fry appear, the parents each swim away in their own pits.

After spawning, a strong zhor attacks the predator, which usually lasts until mid-summer, and then gradually begins to decline (especially towards autumn). It is necessary to catch this fish during the zhor.

How to catch a predator

To catch catfish, fishing tackle must be very strong and reliable. Catfish is a very strong and cunning fish. If the gear is weak, then the predator will easily tear it or break it. It is better to catch a predator on such a bait:

1. smaller fish species;
2. meat;
3. frogs;
4. leeches;
5. earthworms.

Catfish does not take artificial baits as well as natural ones, but still it can be caught on them. The main thing is not to forget that this predator goes hunting at night. He sees poorly and navigates in space at the expense of smell. And his mustache also helps him in this. Artificial baits can be used such:

• Twitter;
• vibrotail;
• Ripper.

Although these baits do not give the same effect as natural ones, there are still cases when catfish were very willingly caught on them.

The best time to catch a predator is the period from mid-June to August.

There are many fish in rivers and lakes that people eat. Predators and their prey coexist quite peacefully with each other, forming a natural cycle. Almost every body of water today is inhabited by catfish - the largest river predators. So what does catfish look like? What do catfish eat?

Description

The body of a representative of this species is long and elongated. This species has no scales at all. The body of an ordinary catfish is covered with mucous secretions, which help the fish to easily maneuver in muddy water. The head of this species is wide, flat, with small eyes and a fairly large wide mouth. The teeth of this species of fish are small and sharp. The eyesight of the catfish is poor, he is even a little blind. The tactile organ of the soma is the mustache, only two pairs of yellow. They are located on both sides of the fish's mouth, it is with their help that river catfish finds food for itself.

color of this fish is dark, from brown to dark brown. The belly is lighter, most often white or yellowish. The tail is long, about 60% of the entire length of the river catfish. The dorsal fins are soft, blue-black, less often black. Young individuals have a brighter color than adult fish. There are individuals with a length of about 5 meters, weighing more than 300 kg. These fish live for a long time, 50-60 years.

Classification soms:

1. Class - ray-finned;
2. family - catfish;
3. detachment - catfish;
4. view - common catfish;
5. genus - common catfish.

Habitat

Common or European catfish lives in almost all freshwater reservoirs in Asia and Europe. Most often, these fish prefer to live at depth, in pools and underwater pits. Sometimes representatives of this species swim in salty waters, but they cannot live there for a long time.

Only live in salt water channel catfish. It is considered the most numerous of all catfish species. Most commonly mined.

This fish does not migrate, it tries to live in one place all its life. This freshwater predator leaves its home only for the duration of the hunt. It becomes most active in the morning and evening, during the day the fish rests. In late autumn, the common catfish hibernates. During this period, he does not eat at all.

Food

Ordinary catfish are quite large in size, they are lazy and slow. To catch a large prey requires effort, so large prey is extremely rare.

However, the tricks of these underwater inhabitants are not to be occupied. They learned to apply various tricks for hunting. For example, if a large individual experiences a feeling of hunger, then it is almost stranded. In shallow water, fish such as bleaks and fry often rush in flocks. Common catfish freezes with a half-opened mouth. A flock of small fish, not noticing the impending threat, gets as close to the freshwater predator as possible. A representative of this species draws water into itself with force, and together with the flow of water, about a dozen fish immediately fall into the mouth of an individual. And also the mustache of a catfish hiding under a snag is taken by another fish for bait, a kind of worm. Swimming closer to the catfish, the fish becomes prey.

Freshwater predators are extremely voracious: they eat everything that is in the water. Waterfowl, calves, sometimes dogs were attacked by a whole flock of catfish. There were cases of attacks on bathing children.

So these fish feed:

reproduction

Puberty in females ends at the age of 3 years. When choosing a partner, males begin to beat the water with their tails, performing a mating dance. After the pair has formed, the parents begin to create a nest. The place is chosen quiet, mostly in the whirlpool. The female lays about half a million eggs at a time, the male fertilizes the clutch. The male guards the nest until the fry appear, scaring off strangers. The first 25 days of life, the male guards the fry, then the grown catfish go free swimming. Catfish are polygamous, after mating, the female and male disperse to their homes.

catfish and man

Catching representatives of the catfish family has long been established on an industrial scale. These predators are eaten, their meat has excellent taste.

Catfish meat is practically boneless, only the spine is present.

Besides taste, catfish meat contains many trace elements:

• calcium;
• magnesium;
• potassium;
• phosphorus;
• iron;
• sodium.

And vitamins:

Doctors advise people with diabetes to eat sommier meat. Due to the rich composition, this product can significantly reduce blood sugar. Helps to eliminate problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Breeding catfish in captivity

This species of freshwater predators is bred in captivity. This is an extremely hardy fish. The only thing he needs is enough food and relative rest. An extensive reservoir is not needed, space for river catfish is optional.

In total, there are 4 ways to breed representatives of this species in captivity:

• cage method- eggs are placed in special cages, in which fry appear;
• pond method- fish is grown in conditions close to natural;
• basin method- catfish is kept in the pool;
• feeding method- catfish are raised with other types of fish, but the breeder will have to carefully select catfish so that the size of all fish is approximately the same.