How big does rotan fish grow? Rotan is a fish that can survive even in the most critical conditions. In the photo there is black rotan

Among biologists, the sleeper sleeper has become notorious. A small fish, kept as an aquarium fish, was released into an area where it had never lived before. The results turned out to be stunning: rapid adaptation to new vast spaces, complete displacement of other fish and even newts from small stagnant bodies of water.

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

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 gave birth to numerous offspring in the spring, marking the beginning of settlement in nearby St. Petersburg ponds and rivers. Later, in the 1930s, rotans were sold en masse at poultry markets in Moscow and other big cities. Soviet Union. Many fanciers then released their annoying pets into local bodies of water. Nowadays the area of ​​settlement of the sleeper sleeper covers vast areas of Eastern Europe, Southern Urals and south Western Siberia. Now the species is actively spreading to the west, in European countries, including Balkan Peninsula. Vast isolated pockets of habitat arose in the basin of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya ( and ) rivers. And in last years it was also discovered, which is extremely undesirable, even in the Lake Baikal basin!

RESERVOIR OWNER

Calculations show that the firebrand invades new water areas at a speed of approximately 10-14 km per year, primarily developing oxbow rivers, floodplain reservoirs, shallow bays and lakes overgrown with reeds. In small closed reservoirs, rotan gradually displaces other fish. This is facilitated not only by its exceptional vitality, but also by other biological features. Protection of egg laying, gluttony, and indiscriminate feeding enhance the competitive advantages of the species, and direct predation on juvenile fish of any species leads to a steady decrease in the number of not only other small fish, but also newts.

GOOD AND WITHOUT SUCKER

Rotan rotan is often confused with a real rotan goby. In fact, these fish belong to different families. In representatives of the family of true gobies, the pelvic fins are close together and function as a suction cup, allowing the fish to anchor itself to the bottom or an underwater object. In the firebrand, like in other eleotrids, the ventral fins are very small and cannot serve as a sucker.

ATTACKS FROM THE BUSH

Amur sleepers become adults at 3-4 years of age. Spawning begins when, at the end of spring, the water warms up to a temperature of +15 °C. The fertility of a 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.

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

In the Amur basin, the firebrand is a common catch for the common snakehead and the Far Eastern soft shell turtle. Everywhere, adult individuals feed on pike, burbot and large perch. From birds they are regularly caught by all types of herons, including great and little bittern, less commonly kingfishers.

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

HARD TO BELIEVE

The resilience of this fish is simply amazing! It can survive complete drying of a reservoir in the summer heat, burying itself in semi-liquid silt, and complete freezing to the bottom in winter.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Class: ray-finned fish.
Order: Perciformes.
Family: Firebrand, or Eleotraceae.
Genus: rotan.
Type: Amur sleeper.
Latin name: Perccottus glenii.
Color: variable, often greenish-brown, with stripes and spots of irregular shape.
Size: the body length of an adult individual usually does not exceed 7-14 cm, but in exceptional cases it can reach 25 cm.
Life expectancy of sleeper sleeper: does not exceed 4-7 years.

The rotan fish, a photo and description of which can be found below, is a predator, since its diet mainly includes fry and caviar of other inhabitants of the reservoir. There are two versions of how rotan, an indigenous inhabitant of the Far East, ended up in the rivers and lakes of other regions. The first claims that he was released into the pond from the royal aquarium, and the second claims that he was brought in already under Soviet rule.

Thanks to its huge head, rotan received the nickname “little firebrand”. Gradually, towards the tail, its body begins to narrow. The rotan's mouth is full of small sharp teeth, capable of tenaciously grasping the most slippery prey. It has dense, medium-sized scales.

What is the difference between rotan and goby

Anglers unfamiliar with the firebrand may mistake it for a goby. This is probably why another name stuck to it - Amur goby. But it is easy to distinguish a rotan from a goby if you carefully examine its pelvic fins.

In the firebrand they are paired and located closer to the head, but in the goby they grow together and turn into something like a sucker. The color and color of rotan directly depend on the bottom of the reservoir where it lives. The darkest part of its body is the back, abdomen and sides are usually yellowish, dark gray or brown-green. During the spawning period, rotan becomes almost black.

Rotan habitat and its origin

At first, the habitat of rotan was the Far Eastern rivers, reservoirs of China and North Korea. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, it began to be hooked by fishermen in St. Petersburg and the Moscow region. Now it can be found in rivers such as the Don, Dnieper, Volga, Danube and others.

There is an opinion that birds that carry its eggs on their paws help the rotan migrate from one body of water to another. In addition, people themselves deliberately move it from one place to another.

Rotan is a species of ray-finned fish, belongs to the order Perciformes and is part of the firebrand family. Typically, its size rarely exceeds the palm of an adult, however, under favorable living conditions, a trophy specimen weighing a kilogram and up to fifty centimeters long can be hooked.

The maximum lifespan of a firebrand is about fifteen years, but most often it is rarely more than seven to ten. Puberty in rotan occurs when it turns two years old.

Rotan begins to spawn in May-July, laying about a thousand eggs at a time. After the female lays eggs, the male begins to protect her, actively driving other fish away from the spawning area.

Rotan lives best in lakes and ponds with stagnant water, the bottom of which is densely covered with vegetation. Like an unpretentious fish, it easily survives the partial drying out of a reservoir and is not afraid dirty water, not afraid severe frosts, capable of freezing the pond to the very bottom, and does not require a large amount of oxygen in the water, without which most other fish experience so-called death.

Like other predatory fish, rotan happily eats juveniles of other species. Moreover, he does not hesitate to snack on his smaller relatives. In addition, he eats everything that floats in a pond and is capable of crawling into his mouth.

It does not even disdain tadpoles, leeches, beetles, frogs, insect larvae, and so on. Rotan fry feed on plankton and zoobenthos living at the bottom of the reservoir.

Having eaten, the firebrand lies on the bottom and digests what it has eaten. The main type of hunting of a rotan is an attack on an unsuspecting victim from a hiding place. Often he himself becomes the object of hunting for large predators- pike, perch, pike perch and others.

There is an opinion that where rotan grows, other fish species are threatened with complete extinction. It is supposedly capable of devouring all living things in a reservoir, but this is far from the case. Despite the fact that the firebrand is considered trash fish, it still brings some benefit.

For example, it controls the number of fish. If there are too many crucian carp in the lake, then they are simply not able to grow to large sizes, since there is not enough food for everyone. Rotan, by eating extra fry, allows the crucian carp to gain weight, which clearly pleases the fishermen who come to the pond.

You can eat rotan fish

Besides this, it's a firebrand, like most predatory fish, has delicious dietary meat. It can be eaten in all forms - boiled, fried, dried, in the form of cutlets, and so on. It, like the goby, has few large bones, which makes it especially attractive to those who do not like to pick at prickly fish skeletons.

Video about rotan fish

Catching large rotan in Blizzard. An unknown body of water in the northeast of the Chelyabinsk region.

Canned rotan in tomato

Speed ​​fishing for rotan

Lives in the Far East a large number of species of fish that are unfamiliar to other regions. A rotan was accidentally transferred from there relatively recently. Many local fishermen became interested in what kind of fish rotan is.

As already mentioned, this type of fish came to us from the Far East. There are two main versions of how this happened. The first says that it was kept in an aquarium at the royal palace, and after some time the individuals were released into the pond.

The second, on the contrary, tells that they brought it to Moscow to Soviet time and was also released into the pond due to its increased population. And so from the first reservoir, with the help of birds and various other animals, caviar fell into everything large quantity reservoirs.

When is the best time to catch rotan?

The question that interests many fishermen is when exactly the most successful and effective time, in order to cast your fishing rod. Let's consider different periods years and time periods to determine the peak activity of this fish.

• Winter. You should expect an active bite only in initial period this time, since with gradual cooling the firebrand goes deeper and further from the shore. There it gathers in flocks and it will be difficult to catch it, and if very severe frosts hit, then it can completely freeze and in this state wait for spring;
• Spring. With the arrival of a thaw, all living creatures in reservoirs will naturally be very hungry, and this is what happens with rotan. You should expect active biting throughout this period, but it is worth noting that at the end of May it begins spawning. Also, due to the fact that he loves to live in small bays and lakes from which the ice is the first to melt, you can start enjoying your favorite activity much earlier. Lives mainly in the space between thickets;
• Summer. Characterized by a normal bite, there are no peculiarities or nuances;
• Autumn. It moves into various shelters and spaces between vegetation, which affects the bite. During frosts it moves to depth, which is why you often simply cannot find the place where it accumulates.

Fishermen note that the best bite is coming early morning, after which it becomes less active during the day and becomes more active in the evening. This all says that the firebrand does not like bright light.

What gear is needed for rotan?

Being very gluttonous small predator, the Amur goby does not disdain anything. This allows you to catch it with almost any gear, be it a spinning rod, a float rod, a donka or other devices.

Catching this fish will not cause you much effort, since it does not require a special selection of bait. She will actively peck at maggots, her small relatives, and porridge. You also don't need great experience in catching this fish.

It is thanks to these qualities that he gained such popularity among fishing enthusiasts. Typically, a caught Amur goby will weigh no more than half a kilogram, and this allows the use of thin fishing line.

It happened that fishermen caught rotan on a fishing line 0.1 mm thick. To increase fishing efficiency, it is best to use a self-hooking hook. And after you have caught the prey, you should take a tool with you to remove the hook. If you want to catch the largest specimens, use a donk or a feeder.

Fishing Features

The Amur goby, according to the observations of many fishermen, loves reservoirs in which there is practically no current, or even stagnant ponds. At the same time, the depth of such waters is not important to it, and it often happens that in small lakes its population is much larger than in the backwaters of the river.

This fish can be caught in all seasons, although there are features that were mentioned above. He loves to feed on various living organisms that live on the bottom, especially during spawning.. It follows that baits must be of animal origin to achieve the greatest effectiveness.

You can also combine them to attract large individuals, for example, chicken skin with part of a fry, or a worm with a piece of dough.

In autumn and winter Amur gobies are very fond of eating bait consisting of the internal parts of their own relatives.

You can also use jigs and jigs when fishing for it. At the same time, you don’t need to play with them delicately; you just need to periodically twitch the bait.

As noted above, vegetation is especially good, this is due to the fact that the firebrand likes to hide before attacking its victim, and that is where you can provoke it. He usually bites where he is ambush, unlike other predators that swim in search of their prey. Also, cast not too far from the shore.

The most best time months for good catch of rotan are April and May; during this period they are very hungry and actually feed almost all the time. Thanks to this, it is caught using all of the above, and large specimens are often caught.

Its meat contains practically no bones, which was a discovery for many fish lovers. In addition, cleaning it from scales is also very easy, since almost all of it can be removed with one effort. And with all this, it contains many microelements with low calorie content, which is invaluable help for those who are on a diet, as it is also very tasty.

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Find out more about the bait!

Rotan is a fish of the order Perciformes. Its body does not exceed 25 cm in length. Amur sleeper is found in the rivers of Primorye and in the Amur basin, but several decades ago it was introduced into many reservoirs, where short term became the main occupant.

Rotan is a small fish, often called firebrand. Its color is dark, from brown to almost black. Brown spots are clearly visible on the belly and sides. The rotan is also distinguished by two separate dorsal fins. The closest relative of this species is the southern goby. The rotan's mouth is large, it is directed upward, protruding forward barely noticeably. Pelvic fins separate. During spawning, males become almost black. Probably, it is for this reason and, perhaps, for its low mobility that rotan is called a firebrand.

This fish prefers to stay near flooded bushes, in small snags, and in shallows. It feeds mainly on animal food. Rotan is a fish that most prefers the eggs of fry, so it very quickly minimizes the number of other species in the reservoir. Very often, where this species settles, after a year or two there are no other fish left. Amur sleepers reproduce only in summer; females lay their eggs on the lower part of the leaves of aquatic plants. Most often, spawning occurs in thickets of pondweeds, egg capsules and water lilies. The number of eggs in one such clutch is about 10 thousand. Rotan is a very tenacious fish. It can survive even where other species, including crucian carp and tench, die.

Today, rotan is an inhabitant of almost all reservoirs in Russia with the exception of Crimean peninsula. But it is possible that it will soon appear in these places. It has been noticed that in those reservoirs where perch and pike are active, rotan fails to take a leading position. These species do not allow it to reproduce heavily and eat eggs peaceful fish. But in ponds and lakes where only crucian carp lives, rotan very quickly masters and becomes the master of the situation. Most often, this voracious fish turns out to be the only inhabitant of small bodies of water with very harsh conditions life. These are stagnant quarries, overgrown with mud, overgrown ponds. Rotan is able, no worse than crucian carp, to withstand a critical lack of oxygen and complete freezing of a reservoir in winter.

Rotan is a fish that can be a lot of fun to catch. The largest individuals stay under the cover of duckweed or under the wide leaves of water lilies. This behavior is completely unusual for bulls. When the reservoir is heavily overgrown, they look for clearings or windows among aquatic vegetation. Such places can be created artificially, even with the help of an ordinary shelf. Rotans are not at all shy. They float to a place free of vegetation very quickly, and are not bothered by the presence of humans. Another one spotted interesting feature. Rotan loves the red and white float very much. The reasons for this are not clear. But the fishermen noticed that it was he who attracted the attention of the nimble fish.

This is such an interesting rotan fish. A photo of her can be seen in this article. This fish has individuality and is undeservedly not popular among professional fishermen.

Hello dear readers! Today I will share with you information about a fish called Rotan. But first, I will tell you about myself and my area where I live. All this is connected with this fish.

I live in the Altai Territory, Zonal District, the village of Bulanikha. Our lake is also called Bulanikha. Behind our garden near the house there are many small lakes, which are all then adjacent to the main one. I really love fishing. In the summer, my boys and my brother and I would spend whole days tending the garden on the lakes.

Rotan fish. Description

Far Eastern fishermen learned about interesting fish, which was immediately given a local “nickname” - Amur bull. This fish is of genuine interest, if only because it loves to eat its own kind and is generally a predator, despite its small size.

Later it appeared in many reservoirs throughout Russia, and now the population of this species is growing rapidly. But is there any benefit from this process? And in general, what does this waterfowl look like and what is so remarkable about it for anglers?

What kind of fish is Rotan and its homeland

The first to observe the fish were the Chinese, Koreans and Russians living in Far East. She preferred to swim in cold rivers and ponds, so she mainly appeared in the northeastern regions. In appearance fish, there are several main features by which it can be recognized:

• Small size: 25 cm is simply a record for the length of Rotan, and even then, this is rare. More often you can observe individuals measuring 10-14 cm.
• She bites. It can’t be compared to a chain dog, and it doesn’t look like a piranha, but it has a number of small and sharp teeth (with the help of which it likes to absorb its own kind, but more on that later).
• The fish has a “dirty” color that varies from brown to gray-green.

Once again, going into the details of the structure of the gills and the length of the scales does not make much sense; almost every angler has caught such a beauty at least once, just not everyone knows its name. So now be aware if you get hooked on such a fish - it’s Rotan.

In this part you can learn more about the negative and positive, as well as the slightly strange qualities of this fish.

Let's start with the cons:

Rotan is practically a mass destroyer, a completely “asocial” fish. Hannibal Lector would love to have these fish in his aquarium, because they love to feast on smaller individuals of their species.

And not only yours. In reservoirs where the Amur goby appears, the rest of the fish often disappear without a trace. Without any pity, these fish eat valuable juvenile species of their own kind. The “gobies” themselves, in turn, become a snack for perches, catfish and pike.

Still, it's more of a weedy species. But the issue on this topic is still controversial.

Due to Rotan’s lack of compassion for small fish, only large individuals remain in the reservoirs where they live. So with the appearance of this species, fishermen can boast of a more successful catch.

The interesting thing is that the fish is completely unpretentious and can live even in very polluted water. Moreover, the Rotan fish can literally be resurrected - that is, come to life even after a frozen state. So these perciformes have no cold water not scary.

Facts from Wikipedia

If you want to catch Rotan in the summer? Then dig earthworm! This is the best bait for hunting this fish. And in winter, we now catch the lungs and liver of any animal. The bite is also excellent.

The hannibal fish lives no more than seven years, but reproduces quite quickly. Crossing the threshold of two years of age, she lays up to a thousand eggs.

Adults also love to feast on the young of other waterfowl, that is, eggs. Mainly living with Rotan in the same reservoir, leeches, fry and tadpoles risk their “children”.

This fish has spread throughout all the cold corners of Russia since it was released into the reservoir of St. Petersburg. This happened in 1916 and now it can be found in almost all large river basins.

The fact that fish got into Lake Baikal in the 20th century is considered by most scientists to be pollution.

As a result, we can say that Rotan is far from the most healthy fish population. Despite the fact that where they live, the number of small species is noticeably reduced (or completely absent), beneficial juveniles often suffer. And without them the numbers large fish also begins to decrease. In reservoirs where only the Amur goby lives, there is actually nothing to catch - the fish itself is not special nutritional value and tastes most like regular perch.

Look next video How do we catch Rotana fish in winter? Of course, the video was taken from the Internet, but here we catch Rotan exactly as shown in this video:

Next time we will talk about where and how to catch Rotan in winter and what is needed for this.

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