A few decades ago, it was possible to meet rattan fish in Russia only in the Far East. Today, fishermen from all over Russia are sounding the alarm, because rattan has appeared in their native reservoirs - a fish that devours everything around. These unpretentious inhabitants of stagnant fresh water are unusually prolific, they endure all the deprivations of the Russian climate perfectly and eat caviar from other inhabitants of ponds and lakes.
Fish ratan: description
The largest representatives are 30 cm long, the minimum size of an adult is 14 cm. Outwardly ratan is an unremarkable fish. It has an elongated shape resembling a little head. The color is often variable, during the mating season, the color of the scales becomes bright black, gray, brown and green tones dominate the rest of the time.
The body is dense, with a large head. On the back you can see the implicit spots and stripes of irregular shape. The ratan fish is distinguished, the photo of which is presented below, with its huge mouth. It was for this disproportionately large mouth that the representatives of Perccottus glenii were given the name ratan. Many small, but sharp teeth help deal with prey.
Living conditions
The homeland of these predators was originally the waters of the Amur. In the 19th century, seemingly harmless at first glance, the fish was brought to central Russia, released into the rivers of St. Petersburg and other cities. And thanks to the incredible survivability, the ratan became so fruitful that it began to force other fish out of the water. This is due to the fact that eggs of valuable fish species, fry, tadpoles, larvae, insects, mollusks became the basis of the diet. The very presence of this weedy fish in a pond suggests that other species are doomed to extinction. Damage is caused to the whole ichthyofauna.
Getting rid of ratan is very difficult, as this weedy fish is very unpretentious to the living conditions. In order to survive the drought, ratan is buried in mud deposits, and with the onset of rains it continues its life activity as if nothing had happened. In freezing reservoirs, the predator winters perfectly in ice. In the waters with poor food content, these small fishes practice cannibalism, eating their smaller relatives.
Opinion of scientists and forecasts of economists
For the reason that ratan is a fish that destroys the ichthyofauna, its entry into large rivers and lakes is considered by scientists as pollution. People are not always to blame for this. Eggs are often carried by migratory birds. A few eggs are enough for all animals to disappear in a pond after 4-5 years. Competition for a headfish can be pike, perch and catfish. Nevertheless, the annual damage from the decline in the number of valuable fish species is growing. Experts do not recommend placing a predator in artificial ponds; rattan fish will quickly get rid of competitors.
But for decorative mini ponds there is no better view. Many anglers note that ratan pecks very well, especially in winter. For bait, you can use any bait: worms, grasshoppers, meat. The taste of the fish is not bad, but the head occupies a large part of the body, and the belly is often stuffed with clams and shells of snails. For this reason, interest in small fish is small, and most anglers note that the harm from ratan is much greater than the benefits.
