The king of swamps, ponds and overgrown lakes is called crucian carp. This is a very common fish in our country. Scientists have described so far only two main types of crucian carp - gold (red) and silver (white), as well as one artificially bred goldfish. From this article you will learn how to eat crucian carp, how it looks and where it lives.
Appearance
Karas belong to the family of cyprinids. They have a long pronounced dorsal fin, a tall body with a rather thick back. The scales of these fish are large, but smooth to the touch. Its color is completely dependent on the habitat of the fish and can be either silver or golden.
Types of crucian carp
Depending on the color of the body and the size of the fish themselves, crucian carp are divided into the following species:
- silver;
- gold;
- gold fish.
It is worth noting that the latter species is not exactly crucian carp. Goldfish is a peculiar form of goldfish, which was artificially bred in China. Currently, several breeds of goldfish have been bred:
- comet;
- shubunkin;
- telescope;
- lion head, etc.
Note that the most common resemblance to crucian carp was retained only by an ordinary goldfish. She even eats what crucian eats. Outwardly, gold and silver crucian carp are very similar. In some reservoirs, both species can live. Scientists have discovered that in this case, goldfish is gradually replacing gold.
Where does crucian carp live?
What crucian eats is we will find out later, but now let's look at his lifestyle, in particular, find out where he lives. Of all the fish that inhabit the territory of Russia, this is the most undemanding and most unpretentious. That is why crucian carp can be found even in places with stagnant waters.
These creatures in large numbers inhabit not only all Russian lakes and ponds, but also feel great in semi-underground waters, almost completely covered by a quagmire, as well as in small pits where no other fish live except for them.
Ichthyologists are amazed at the endurance of crucian carp. They are interested in knowing not so much what the fish that live in such dirty reservoirs eat, but how their body adapts to such harsh conditions. One can quite confidently say: the worse the properties of a particular reservoir, the more silt in a particular pond or lake, the more comfortable the crucian carp. They swim faster, and multiply faster.
What does crucian eat?
These are omnivores. Sometimes they even eat what we call organic waste. When the young fish are born, the first week they live off the contents of their gall sac. After a week, they begin to eat the simplest microorganisms, which in large quantities inhabit ponds and lakes.
The favorite food of fry at this stage of life is daphnia, bacteria and algae. And only when they reach one month of age, their diet becomes the most serious and, of course, satisfying. Unicellular organisms are replaced by small bloodworms, as well as the larvae of all kinds of aquatic insects.
What does crucian fish eat in the pond upon reaching puberty? Adults at the age of one year with great pleasure eat annelids, larvae, crustaceans, mollusks. In deep ponds, these amusing fish feed exclusively on bottom organisms.
Ichthyologists have found that it is deep water bodies rich in bottom food that allow these fish to grow faster and reach large sizes. And in shallow and overgrown with reeds and quagmire ponds, crucians cannot properly grow, because their food there is only plankton and the simplest.
Algae is also food
It is curious that crucians can eat not only animal, but also plant foods. Moreover, they eat grass growing in water and mud! After all, there is always a lot of such food, and it will not run away from you anywhere. By the way, crucians are the real drug addicts! They are not indifferent to the smells of valerian, dill, garlic, corvalol, sunflower oil, kerosene, gasoline and even dog excrement.
An amazing feature of these fish
As we have already noticed, the food for crucians in ponds and lakes depends on their depth: the deeper the pond, the more nutritious the food, and therefore, the larger the fish. But the scientists who studied these creatures in the laboratory for a long time could not understand how crucians manage to notice live food that falls to the bottom beyond the boundaries of their "viewing sector".
It turned out that a special side line helps them in this. It is found in almost all fish on earth. Outwardly, this lateral line is similar to a stitch running from the head to the tail of the fish. Thanks to this feature, the brain of crucian carp is capable of detecting even the smallest fluctuations emanating to the side from small edible living creatures in a fraction of a second. So eat fish hearty and thoroughly.
