Shemaya (shamayka) - fish that belongs to cyprinids. This species is common in the basins of the Azov, Caspian and Black Seas. It does not grow to large sizes. For example, a representative of the “Black Seas” weighs on average about 180-270 g, and there are also large specimens that reach 650 g. But the Caspian shamayka fish, the photo of which is presented in this article, grows to 240 g, but very rarely There are kilogram fish.
Breeding
This fish takes its name from the Persian “shah-mai”, the phrase is translated as “royal fish”. It is not without reason that its procurement price is the largest in comparison with other fish of the Sea of Azov; it was able to bypass even sturgeons. Every year, this very valuable fish is caught less and less, which is due to the deterioration of the conditions for its reproduction (therefore, having caught it, release it). Shamayka is a fish that has much in common with the famous fisherman, while her mouth is finite, and her body is more elongated.
In different regions of Russia, shemai spawning takes place at different times: in autumn in the Kuban, in early spring or winter in the Don, Caspian shemaya enters Kura in winter, and only in December in Terek. It spawns on small rivers with rapids and a fast current, a rocky bottom, which occurs at night or at dusk. Her eggs are very small.
Shemai structure
Shamayka fish is well known for the many taste and tenderness of its meat. Without a drop of doubt, it is one of the most valuable carp fish, in Persia it is not without reason that it is called royal.
It is of the same kind with bleak, but sewn at the same time much more than the first. Often it reaches a length of 30 cm with a weight of 800 grams. The fish has a small scale and an elongated trunk. The anal fin is located behind the dorsal. In addition, her lower jaw is thickened at the apex, and protrudes in front of the upper. The head and back of the fish are dark with a soft blue tint, while the sides with the belly are silver-white; fins slightly grayish, dorsal and caudal - with a thin blackish rim, silvery eyes have a black dot in the upper half.
Habitat
Shamayka fish (a photo of it can be seen in this article) is found exclusively in rivers that belong to the basin of the Azov, Black and Caspian Seas, while it does not go into each of them and does not rise high. In addition, more recently, a small fish was found in large numbers in the Aral Sea. Most of all, it lives in the Azov and Caspian seas, where it adheres to the southern shores. So, it leaves the Sea of Azov only in the Kuban, while it is extremely rare in the Don.
Shamayka is a fish that mainly lives in the Caspian at the mouths of the Terek, Kura and Persian rivers. In the Black Sea, it is not so common, but it still comes from here to the Dniester, the Bug and the Dnieper. In other European countries, it is found only in the Danube, where it belongs to the rarest species of fish, although in some Bavarian lakes it is common.
Lifestyle
Her lifestyle is almost completely unknown. In our country, it lives almost always in the sea, although it only enters the rivers for spawning. Shamayka (fish), who lives in Bavaria, prefers clean and cold water with a bottom made of stones. She loves a fairly fast flow, therefore does not go to the Volga, and it is rarely found in the Dnieper, while in the Kura, Kuban, Terek and Persian faster rivers, shemaya lives in large numbers.
Food
Shamayka fish feed on plankton, worms, larvae and insects, crustaceans. The fish reaches puberty by two years of its life. Shemaya spawns in warm water. In this case, spawning occurs mainly at night. She spawns on rifts with a fairly fast flow, mainly in places with a pebble (rocky) bottom, and after the process goes to sea.
After 3-4 days, larvae appear from the eggs. Juveniles remain for about a year in spawning rivers, as they develop for a long time. A trifle goes into the sea weighing only about one gram, where it begins to grow much faster. It mainly feeds on small crustaceans, insect larvae, juveniles, and phytoplankton.
