Weed fish is a small fish that is not of any interest for fishing. They usually grow slowly and eat the same food as the more valuable breeds. One can say about such fish that “there is no horse feed”, since they reach a small size (length about 20 cm), and their weight does not exceed 100 g.
Ruff
Bottom fish, which prefers to dwell at considerable depth, hiding under snags. It has excellent appetite, eats year-round, but grows poorly. They live in schools consisting of fish of different sizes.
The body of the ruff is small, oblate from the sides and in structure similar to the body of a perch. The whole body is covered with scales, except for the head. It is tight to the body and has sharp edges. Ruff is easy to recognize by the long dorsal fin. Its front part is high with hard spines, the second part is smaller in height and consists only of soft rays. Gill covers are also equipped with spines, 11-12 pieces each. His eyes are big. The iris has a dull purple or bluish tint.
The upper body is painted gray-green and covered with many dark spots of different sizes. This color is ideal for masking. However, the color depends on the habitat - if the fish lives in a pond with a sandy bottom, then its color has a lighter shade than that of an individual living in a muddy bottom.
Usually, in the place where the ruff settles, other fish, except for perch, are absent, since puberty occurs in the second year, the female lays up to 45 thousand eggs, so the number of ruff grows in "geometric progression". He was considered a weed fish due to the fact that he exterminates caviar of more valuable breeds.
Bleak
This fish has a very flattened long body on its sides. A characteristic feature is a sharp rib (keel), which is located between the anus and the ventral fin, which is uncovered by scales. Delicate scales are loosely attached to the body and easily come into contact with a solid object. Small scales easily stick to your hands.
Her back is gray-green, and her sides and abdomen are silver. In the sun it shines, which attracts predatory fish well. Therefore, many anglers use it as bait.
The tail and back of the fin are dark gray, the rest are yellowish and reddish. The eyes are large, not proportional to the body. Depending on the habitat, fish parameters vary. So, a resident of the lakes is larger than her river friend.
River bleak has a longer and lower body shape. Due to its small size and low value, it is classified as a weed species.
Verkhovka
Verkhovka is the younger "sister" of bleak, which is smaller. The body is short with a copper tint, a small conical head. The eyes are large with a beautiful greenish tint. The length of the fish does not exceed 8 cm and has a maximum weight of 7 g. On average, the length of the fish is only 4-5 cm.
You can distinguish bleak from the top by the lateral line - the latter is short. The scales are large and easily detached from the body. Anglers often use it as bait to catch larger fish.
Gudgeon
The fish has a camouflage color and easily “dissolves” on a sandy or rocky bottom, as there are a lot of people who want to feast on it, from predatory fish to birds.
The body of the fish resembles a spindle and is covered with large scales, mucus is absent on it. His back is brownish-green or gray-olive, the abdomen and sides are yellowish or bluish. The whole body is covered with dark spots and dashes, numerous black dots are visible on the transparent fins. The color of the gudgeon changes with age, the older the fish, the darker its color.
But the main distinguishing feature is protruding lips and the presence of two antennae in the corners of the mouth - these are very sensitive organs of touch, with the help of which the gudgeon easily finds food between stones at the bottom or in the water column. His eyes are bulging and located in the frontal part of the head, which is quite wide.
The gudgeon is an object for sports and amateur fishing, it can be of interest to the aquarist.
Stickleback
One of the fish with an unusual appearance that swims calmly in a pond, not afraid that they will eat it. And all because of the fact that she has needles on her back, which she spreads at the moment of danger, and they stick into the mouth of a predator. The number of needles varies from 3 to 16 and depends on the subspecies of the stickleback.
The largest is the stickleback. It grows up to 20 cm, the smallest - the southern small stickleback, which reaches a length of only 5 cm. The fish have no front fins. The body is covered not with scales, but with bone plates that perform a protective function. There is one sharp spike on the ventral fin. Coloring depends on habitat and subspecies.
The table shows the varieties of stickleback and their features:
Length cm | Back coloring | Abdominal coloration | Number of needles | |
Three-needle | 4-9 | bluish | silver | 3-4 |
Four-needle | 4 | olive brown | light gray | 4-6 |
Nine-needle | 9 | brown yellow | light yellow | 8-10 |
South small | 4-5 | brown green | silver | many small needles |
Marine | 17-20 | green | golden | up to 16 |
Brook | 6-8 | tan | tan | no more than 5 |
Despite its small size, the stickleback is very gluttonous. She eats not only caviar of more valuable breeds, but does not disdain her own. It has a very negative effect on the populations of other fish.
Goby
A bull-calf is difficult to confuse with anyone, because it has a characteristic structure - a large head, the body narrows to the tail. The eyes are also large and close together. Anal and dorsal fin long, the latter can be two at once. One of them has bone rays.
The structure of the ventral fins is interesting, they grow together and form a funnel that “works” like a sucker, preventing the bull from being washed ashore.
Their color depends on the habitat and has a camouflage character. All fish are covered with dark stripes and specks, helping them to merge with the environment. Females are larger in size than males.
The fish leads a sedentary lifestyle and is mostly sedentary. Although among them there is also an aggressive look - the Martov goby, which attacks small fish and does not shy away from having a meal with its relatives.
The main types of bulls are presented in the table below.
Length cm | Weight g | Coloring | |
River or sand goby | 10-20 | 200 | yellow or dirty gray |
Martovik or bull-whip | 25-30 | 350-400 | yellowish brown |
Goby Goby or Gray Grandma | 15-18 | 100-130 | gray olive |
Marble blunt or tsutsik goby | 5-7 | 30 | gray brown |
Round Goby | 15-27 | 270 | gray beige or dark beige |
Golovach gobach | 10-20 | 200 | gray-brown or brown with a reddish tint |
Rotan
This fish is often called a bull-rattan, and although it has a similar appearance to a bull, they belong to different genera. The head of the fish is large (takes 1/3 of the length of the body). The eyes are low, the mouth is very large with small teeth, the lower jaw protrudes markedly forward. The body is covered with scales and mucus. There are two dorsal fins; the second is longer than the first.
Rotan has a gray-green or brownish-brown color, light abdomen. On the sides there are strips and spots of a lighter color than the main color. It is easy to distinguish from rattan bulls by abdominal fins, he has two of them. They are small and rounded. It is considered a weedy fish, as it eats fry of other breeds.
Loach
Fish with a serpentine elongated shape. If the loach is pulled ashore, it will wriggle and let out a squeak. It grows up to 30 cm in length, but 15-18 cm individuals are usually found. The body is covered with scales, but they are not noticeable due to the large amount of mucus that completely covers the entire body.
Eyes are small, and above the large round mouth there are antennae: above the upper lip - 6, under the lower - 4. The back of the loach is painted yellow-brown and covered with black dots, the abdomen is yellow or reddish. On the sides are black stripes. Loach is known as a devourer of caviar.
Cupid Amur
A small fish with a maximum length of 11 cm. It has a bronze-silver color, and the side line stretches along the entire body - from the eye to the caudal fin. On the scales there is a dark “lunar” pattern. The iris is light, there is a dark spot over the upper part of the pupil.
All fins are rounded, covered with dark spots. Males have a brighter color than females. Their pattern is darker and sharper. Fish with a short life cycle and high fecundity.
Advantages and disadvantages of weed fish
Do not think that weedy fish, so nicknamed man, in nature does not matter. She has advantages that are undeniable:
- fish provide a variety of fauna in rivers and lakes;
- they occupy their place in the food chain, being a food supply for predator fish;
- it is eaten by waterfowl fish-eating birds or ichthyophages - herons, cormorants, loons, gulls and others;
- some low-value breeds are of sporting interest to fishermen.
But sometimes weed fish do harm:
- it feeds on the same food as more valuable breeds, and since these fish live in packs, they consume a lot of food, so often large fish are malnourished;
- lately, the number of weed fish has been growing rapidly due to the fact that fishermen are exterminating the population of predatory fish - their natural enemies;
- they do not disdain caviar of valuable breeds, often eating almost all, therefore negatively affect their population;
- are carriers of various diseases.
So, weed fish is not interesting from the point of view of industrial catching. However, it also benefits, being an important component of the food chain. And amateur fishermen are happy to fish her, cook her ear or fry it.