River eel is considered a delicacy. Especially smoked. However, in some areas it is not eaten, because in appearance it resembles a snake.
Yes, really river eel looks unappetizing, so few dare to approach what wriggles in the water, and even take it in hand. But in vain. After all, this fish has a valuable composition, which includes fat and proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Appearance
The long, narrow body, squeezed in the back towards the tail, really makes the eel look like a snake. Like all fish, it is covered with mucus, and therefore quite slippery; it is not so easy to hold it in your hands. River fish eel has fins: pectoral, dorsal, caudal and anal. Moreover, the last three are connected into one and stretch along the entire length of his back. Also its feature is a flattened head, which outwardly can hardly be distinguished from the body. On both sides of the mouth are small eyes, inside of it are tiny sharp teeth, which greatly help this predator to hunt. River eel can be of different colors. It depends on the reservoir in which he lives, as well as the degree of maturity. Young individuals are dark green or dark brown with a black back, yellow sides and a white abdomen. Adults are much darker. Their back is black or dark brown, the sides are grayish-white, the belly is white. With age, river eel acquires a metallic luster.
Where does he live
Its habitat is wide. It can be found in almost all reservoirs in the European part of Russia. In addition, he lives in the basins of the Baltic Sea, sometimes the Azov, Black, White and Barents. In Ukraine, river eel chooses the Danube, the Southern Bug, the Danube basin. This river inhabitant does not require any special conditions for his habitat. Maybe that's why some of his individuals manage to reach twenty-five years of age. On average, their life expectancy is 9-15 years. How does an eel conduct them?
Species and lifestyle of fish
Being under water for such a time is probably boring. But not for fish. After all, they are busy with the constant extraction of food. And what does river eel eat? Being a predator, it eats fish, newts, frogs, larvae, snails, crustaceans, and worms. He hunts in the dark. Moreover, his assistant is not vision, but an excellent sense of smell. With its help, river eel can smell prey at a distance of up to 10 meters. Acne activity is shown only in warm water. Lowering its temperature to 9-11 degrees is a signal for them that it is time to fall into suspended animation. In this state, they remain until spring, until warming again.
In times of danger, these fish burrow into the muddy bottom, so rocky surfaces are avoided. During the day they hide between snags, in thickets and other shelters, and at night they can approach the shore itself. If the pond dries up, then they can live in wet soil for a long time. Sometimes eels move on land, the condition for the implementation of this opportunity is wet grass or soil.
Strange appearance
In the days of Aristotle, people could not explain where the eels came from. Nobody managed to catch eel with caviar or milk or to see its fry. Therefore, its origin was shrouded in mystery. In their conclusions, people came to the point that they considered eel to be the creation of silt. Others attributed this phenomenon to the fact that it appears from other fish or even worms. But in our time it is known that eels swim to spawn in the Atlantic Ocean to the place where there are a lot of sargasso algae. After eggs are laid, usually in April or May, these fish die. Transparent, flat larvae are born at the end of winter. In this way, eel spends three years. All this time he drifts off the coast of America or Western Europe. After it acquires its usual appearance, the eel is sent for permanent residence in fresh water. There are several varieties of this fish with their habits and characteristics.
Dangerous acquaintance
In addition to a completely harmless European or common eel, its electric counterpart lives in nature. Although they look similar in appearance, they are not relatives. Electric eel during hunting kills small fish, releasing a current charge of up to 600 V. This can be enough to kill even a person. Such an eel is a large fish. It reaches a length of 1.5 meters and weighs 40 kilograms. In addition to hunting, with the help of an electric charge, eel is protected from enemies. The radius of its impact is 3 meters. Divers are better off staying away from this fish because it attacks without warning. The rivers of South America became its habitat.
Big and beautiful
This fish has a relative in the Atlantic Ocean. This is sea eel. With the structure of his body, he is very similar to his fellow man and has the same elongated body and flattened head. However, the size is significantly larger than river eel. Also different in color. Several varieties of conger eel live in the ocean. His skin is colored gray or brown, but spotted or striped individuals are found. This fish is delicious; it is a pleasure for fishermen to catch. It is especially pleasant that the trophy is of considerable size.
Plant or not
The original among its relatives is a spotted garden eel. It was named so because of its color, and also because these fish "stand" their whole life, half leaning out of the water. Such a flock resembles a garden. When danger appears, they dive into their sandy burrows, and then protrude back. They sway in the water column for a reason. Disguising themselves as plant stems, these fish wait for their prey, and then they cleverly grab at their large mouths. They eat crustaceans, mollusks, small fish. This species of eels is found in the Red Sea, near Madagascar, near East Africa.
