Fish family vyunovyh (photo)

The waders are spread all over the world, but unevenly. They exist in Central Asia, Europe (with the exception of the North), in Africa and in South-East Asia. The loaches are not found in Australia, in both Americas, in the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin. True, the species constantly migrate, and the situation could change.

Freshwater fish of Russia were described in detail by the famous zoologist and popularizer of the 19th century LP. Sabaneyev. About the habits, lifestyle and certain specific features of waders we know from his works.

Classification

Vinovye belong to a large group of carp. In turn, the family Is divided into three subfamilies: void-like, goltz-like and bosie-like. To loachlike, they include loaches, including the most common in our country - ordinary, as well as pinching. The Golciniformes number about 15 genera; This subfamily demonstrates the greatest "breadth of views": some representatives of the group prefer cold, fast-flowing mountain rivers, others (blind loaches) are standing waters of caves.

Botsieobodnye loaches are widely distributed in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam. It is in these countries that the oldest representatives of loach species were found. Botsia and leptobotsii are supplied to Europe as aquarium fish. To the genus Botsievyh belongs a famous clown, which can be found in any pet store. In general, the family of loaches is not too numerous, but ichthyologists continue to discover new species to this day.

general characteristics

The violets live and feed at the bottom. This feature determines the appearance of loaches: all members of the family have an elongated body, bruskovatoe or tape-shaped, sometimes - slightly flattened head. The mouth of the withers is located at the bottom. Dorsal fin short. Scales are mostly very small and thoroughly covered with mucus, which protects the body of the loach from mechanical damage. However, there are absolutely naked fish. Eyes small. In some species, they are covered with transparent skin (again, for protection). A mandatory attribute of each member of the family is the antennae. They can be from 3 to 6 pairs. The nostrils of loaches are elongated tubules. The loaches and bots have retractable underarm eyes. The injection of such a spine can cause inflammation. Podoplasny spine is a relatively effective measure against predatory birds.

The fish of the loach family does not like bright light and is activated closer to the night. In general, loaches are inactive and secretive (this does not apply only to certain bots). Many members of the family tend to dig in silt or sand. There they not only hunt small crustaceans and larvae, but also wait unsuccessful times - for example, a drought.

This is what Misgurnus fossilis looks like, or an ordinary loach. The photo gives a good idea of the location of tactile whiskers:

The most common loach

Misgurnus fossilis, dwelling in silted reservoirs and swampy rivers of many European countries, is the most famous representative of the family. Sabaneev wrote that Russian fishermen mostly neglected them because of their small size (about 25 cm), although in some provinces (for example, Minsk), the loach was popular as a delicious and easily accessible ingredient for the soup. In Germany it was customary to cook it in beer or in vinegar. The loaches were also dried for the winter.

In reality, the loach is not only shallow, but also not particularly attractive: it is covered with mucus and, being pulled out of the water, wriggles violently and squeaks. All the fish of the family of the waders have the ability to breathe atmospheric air, gaining it in the mouth and passing through the posterior part of the intestine. The latter is an auxiliary respiratory organ. When the air comes out, a specific sound is heard, resembling a squeak. Due to intestinal breathing, the loaches are very resilient: they can stay in the bucket for more than a week with stale water if covered with hay. Therefore, loaches are often stored for future use as bait for large fish: catfish, burbot, pike, eel.

Interesting features

In fact, loach is really tasty: its meat is soft, fat and quickly cooked. Asians (Japanese and Indonesians) not only extract, but even breed some species of loach to eat. In Europe, loaches and loaches are caught in a bait (in the summer) and traps (in winter). The fish of the tailworm family prefers animal food: small crustaceans, caddisfly larvae, caviar, worms and molluscs. By the way, loach perfectly copes with mosquitoes (or rather, with their larvae): if you dig a pond in a summer cottage and populate it with loaches, you will no longer have to suffer from annoying insects.

And, finally, the loach is universally used as a barometer. He sensitively reacts to changes in atmospheric pressure: floats to the surface, protrudes from the water and, on the whole, behaves restlessly, which is not typical for him. Vjun even can "predict" earthquakes.

Exotic loins in aquariums

In the 19th century it became fashionable to keep fish at home, organize exhibitions and share experiences. Peasants caught ordinary river fishes and delivered them alive to Moscow and Petersburg. However, as is known, freshwater fish of Russia are relatively few. Aquarists wanted more variety. So there was a demand for exotic fish. But the Asian loach appeared in Russia only in the second half of the 20th century. The first were acanthophthalmus (subfamily loose-like) and botsia (subfamily bosie-like). Like their European counterparts, the "Asians" are distinguished by a colorful coloration characteristic of bottom fish. The most common variant is the combination of yellow and black (gray) spots or stripes.

Here is a typical acanthophthalmus, a vermicular striped loach. The photo is not the most successful, but all the signs of loach (variegated color, mustache, body shape, short dorsal fin) are obvious:

Botsiya-clown

The most famous ornamental fish of the family of loaches is a clown-botsia (the name, apparently, is explained by a bright, "cheerful" striped color and a mobile character). The motherland of this fish is the islands of Kalimantan and Sumatra. The body of the clown is unexpectedly short, compact for loach, torpedo-shaped, with triangular reddish fins. Usually its length is no more than 17 cm. Outwardly, clowns resemble South American catfish-corridors - in view of a similar way of life.

These bots have antennae and a podglazny thorn, they are omnivorous, cheerful and peaceful. Although these fishes are also capable of intestinal breathing, they are more than European loaches, dependent on the purity of water and the saturation of its oxygen. Also, they can not be settled with territorial, aggressive fish (for example, cichlids) and treated with copper preparations. But in general, loach-clown - unpretentious fish.