All fishermen and cooks are familiar with perch fish. But it is known that this representative is not only marine, but also river. Between these two species, there are significant differences, both taste and appearance.
River bass
This representative is beautiful in appearance, and most often its color has a greenish-yellow hue. They are also decorated with clear transverse stripes. Their abdomen always remains light. It has stiff, large, sharp fins. The tail at the base is dark in color and the side edge is scarlet. The body of the perch is compressed laterally. The head grows into a hump. He is also distinguished by small eyes.
This fish has no subspecies, as in other families. Of course, there are perches that differ in color, size or other characteristics. But such differences are most likely a reflection of the ecological status of the reservoir and their diet. But in any case, this is a common river bass. Whatever fish is hooked, perch cannot be confused with other species or families. It can grow up to half a meter and still weigh 4.8 pounds. Lives up to 17 years. But often in a massive catch the fish does not reach this size and on average is about 15-30 cm. This is the age of four-year-olds. This type of fish lives in most reservoirs of Eurasia.
Life and development of the river dweller
This lake-river species is predatory. He lives in coastal areas in underwater thickets. In these places, it is easier for him to get food - zooplankton and young small fish. But depending on the reservoir in which the perch fish lives, its diet may vary. The larger the pond, the richer the food base, and the “menu” of the fish becomes more diverse. In these cases, it begins to be divided into three or two “races, ” which differ in speed of development, habitat, and food composition. Near the coast, perch grows slowly, since its diet is mainly plant and invertebrate food. If the perch lives at a depth, its growth is faster, mainly it feeds on the juveniles of other fish. Therefore, even living in the same lake, the puberty of these inhabitants is different.
Spawning
Usually river fish perch becomes mature at two or three years of age. The length of the fish at this moment can vary greatly. Spawning always begins in the spring after ice melts. In the southern parts, this period falls in February-March, in the northern regions in May-June. The female lays eggs on last year's plants. The number of eggs varies greatly and amounts to thousands from 12 to 300. In river perches, the survival rate of eggs and larvae is good. Before a larva emerges from the eggs, two weeks pass. Immediately, the kids begin to hunt for plankton. River fish perch (photo suggested above) spawns only once a year.
Marine Representative
River and sea bass are completely different fish. By external signs, one can find similarities between these two underwater representatives, but according to the internal structure and other features, it becomes clear that these two species are completely from different orders. Sea perch fish (photo below) can have large eyes and a bright red color. This is usually inherent in deep-sea species. Such external data helps the fish to dwell in constant darkness. At the perches, which are kept closer to the shores, the eyes are not so large, and the color is darker. Often they have a transverse pattern, but with age it may become less noticeable.
There are approximately 90 species in the sea bass family. Their size also varies greatly. For example, the smallest grows only up to 20 centimeters, while the largest species in size reaches a meter. These inhabitants can live up to 15 years. It is also worth knowing that sea bass fish is the second name "smarida."
Habitat
Most of the members of this family live in the North Pacific Ocean in temperate waters. Four species of sea bass are found in the Atlantic Ocean. There are also representatives in the Barents Sea, Black, Norwegian. These fish make migrations. Depth of habitat depends on their species and habitat. For example, individuals from the Barents Sea are kept at 150-300 meters, and in the Black Sea they are only 5-30 meters low.
Lifestyle
Sea bass are kept in packs. The diet of individuals under 30 cm is composed of mollusks, caviar of other relatives, small fish, underwater vegetation and all kinds of crustaceans. Sea bass, which is kept closer to the shores, usually lives in thickets and does not perform any special migrations. They occupy a small area. In order to hunt, these perches hide in ambush and unexpectedly throw themselves upon a nearby victim. Fish that hold deeper are more active and can usually be found far from the coast. In this case, the fish does not depend on the bottom. Larger individuals feed on fish - herring, capelin, cod juveniles, cache-pots and others.
Reproduction of sea bass
All species from this family are viviparous. After the females are fertilized, they leave the males and stray in flocks in those places where the larvae will be removed. Perch spawning occurs every year. The number of their litter is much larger than that of other live-bearers, and sometimes it can number up to two million formed larvae. The number of offspring depends on the size of the fish. Perch begins to throw larvae in the spring. Young juveniles have an average size of 5.2 to 8 mm. Since throwing occurs in the arms of a warm stream, the larvae fall into the stream and are carried away to the north. So they find themselves in the central regions and keep further from the coast. All summer they are in the upper layer of water. At this time, adults travel east.
