Yolk fish or Elopichthys bambusa is a very fast and strong predator that belongs to the family of cyprinids and is considered its largest representative. Distributed in the waters of the Amur, in eastern China, in the Ussuri and Sungari rivers, it is somewhat less common in Lake Khanka. Prefers spacious deep water with clean water.
The yolk is considered a rather valuable fish and a real success for amateur anglers. The population has declined significantly, the species is listed in the Red Book of Russia and is threatened with extinction.
Appearance
What kind of fish is the Amur yolk, and how it looks, you can partially understand, based on the name. In representatives of this species, gill covers are painted in a clearly visible golden yellow color.
The elongated body is covered with small silver scales. The sides are also cast in a golden hue, and the back is painted in gray-green. The dorsal fin, like the tail, is dark in color, the rest of the fins are lighter.
With good living conditions and a sufficient amount of food, the yolks are able to grow to very impressive sizes. Often, adult specimens reach 1.5 meters in length, and in some cases grow up to 2 meters. The weight of the fish sometimes is 40 kg.
Life expectancy of this species on average reaches 20 years. The fish has delicious fat pink-colored meat.
Food
Since the Amur yolk is a predator, its diet consists entirely of smaller inhabitants of native waters. Most often, its victims are crucians, minnows, smelt and stinker. The yolk is not picky and is ready to feast on any of the bottom and pelagic fish that come across in its path.
Due to the fact that the predator does not have the habit of going down to the bottom and dwells in the water column, he prefers to hunt in bright deep waters, where he can easily detect and catch prey. Having noticed a potential victim, the yolk slowly approaches and catches it with one quick and well-aimed throw.
In some cases, the hunt is not limited to an exact blow and ends with a chase, in which the predator almost always becomes the winner. After all, he is quite hardy and fast-paced, so the chance to hide with the fish is extremely low.
Breeding
Sexual maturity in representatives of the species occurs at 6 years of age. Usually, by this moment, the body length of the fish is about 60 cm. Spawning begins in the first months of summer, when the water temperature reaches 18-20 ° C, and continues until August. The caviar of the yellow cheek is very large, its size in diameter is about 6 mm.
The eggs are in free swimming for 3-4 days, after which transparent larvae appear from them, whose body length does not exceed 7 mm. After about 10 days, they become like eye-eyed fry and by the end of summer they manage to reach 7-10 cm in length. Up to this point, a new generation of yellow flies tries to avoid large waters and lives in spacious spills and lakes.
In the description of the yellowfish fish, it should be noted that the fastest growth rate of young animals occurs in the first 8 years of life. Year-old specimens grow up to 20 cm, by three years their body length approaches half a meter, and their weight is about 1 kg. A six-year-old fish reaches 75 cm in length and weighs about 4 kg. Closer to 8-9 years of age, the yolk is already considered an adult, its size reaches 90 cm, and its weight is 8 kg. Further, the predator grows much slower, but continues to gain weight well.
