Firebrand fish. Rotan fish photo and description. Taste qualities and interesting facts. What kind of fish is Rotan and its homeland

It is called toad, firebrand, crabbill, Amur goby and grassweed. In fact, we are talking about a fish from the firebrand family called rotan. What kind of fish is this, where is it found and what does it look like, is it possible to eat it and what cooking recipes exist - all this is really very interesting.

The rotan firebrand is the only representative of ray-finned fish of the firebrand genus. It is believed that this fish was originally found in the Amur River basin in the Far East. It is well known to fishermen in North Korea and China. Today it can be caught in rivers such as:

• Volga;
• Danube;
• Irtysh;
• Dnieper;
• Ural;
• Dniester and others.

The grass or firebrand feels great in small ponds and lakes with stagnant water, where other predatory fish cannot survive. It spreads during periods of high water, together with birds and with the help of humans.

In large bodies of water this predator has enemies. These are mainly salmon breeds. In conditions natural selection its numbers are small, and the largest rotan rarely reaches a weight of more than 200 grams. Perch eats especially many fry - they simply do not have time to grow.

Some people believe that rotan is a trash fish. Not at all. This small fish is an active and ferocious predator. Getting into the ponds of fish farms, it causes great harm, especially eating fry valuable species, and its presence in the basin of the purest Lake Baikal is considered real biological pollution.

Description and habits

Rotan has a short and dense body. The scales are dull and medium in size. Its color is variable - from gray-green to dirty brown tones. Small spots and stripes are clearly visible irregular shape, abdomen greyish. When does it start mating season, the scales become black.

The fish has a large head, a large mouth, and like many predatory fish, studded with sharp teeth. They are small and arranged in several rows, like a piranha. There is a gill spine, like perciformes, but it is soft. The fins do not have spines. There are two of them on the back - one longer than the other. The largest - pectoral fins, they are soft, round in shape. The tail also has a rounded shape. The appearance of rotan resembles gobies, which is why it is called the Amur goby.

At good conditions habitat, the largest rotan reaches a length of 25 cm. If conditions are less suitable, then the growth does not exceed 14-20 cm. There are also record holders whose maximum weight is 500 grams.

Sexual maturity occurs at approximately two years of age. The firebrand goes to spawn in May-July. Each female lays about a thousand eggs. She catches them on plants and various objects that fall into the water. This is where her mission ends; the clutch is vigilantly guarded by the male.

Good survival rate of rotan was noted. It tolerates partial drying out of reservoirs, water pollution and freezing to the very bottom.

The menu of this predator includes:

Sometimes he does not disdain carrion. Cannibalism is widespread among firebrands. They happily eat their own eggs and fry.

In a small body of water, where there are no other, no less ferocious, predators, rotan fish can destroy all other species in a short time, and therefore is considered dangerous. IN large rivers and in lakes its numbers are controlled by pike, minnow, catfish and perch.

Amateur fishermen are only interested in large specimens. The firebrand has almost no small bones, it is edible and quite tasty. No special gear is needed when fishing for rotan. Any fishing rod will do. The bait is almost irrelevant. Fish bite on worms, pieces of meat or lard, bread, bloodworms, jigs and spinners. It swallows the bait greedily and deeply. The main difficulty is get the hook out of the mouth.

Small rotan itself is used as bait when fishing for more large predators such as pike perch, catfish, pike and perch. Its survivability allows you to repeatedly cast such a bait. “In reserve,” the firebrand is kept at home in a regular bucket or jar.

The dense and at the same time tender white and pink rotan meat is a real delicacy. You can make a lot of things from it variety of dishes- from the most ordinary frying and smoking to exquisite fish with bazhe sauce.

The fish is cleaned as usual - the insides are removed, and if desired, the fins and gills are removed. Many people do not spend time on the gills, but simply throw their heads away while eating.

Mix flour with salt and pepper, you can add any spices to taste. Each fish is rolled in salted flour and fried over high heat until golden brown.

Add crushed garlic, a little salt and water to the sour cream. The finished fish is poured with this mixture and put on fire. Cover the pan with a lid. After boiling, keep on fire for 1-2 minutes. Served hot or cold.

This fish soup can be cooked from rotan and perch. It is cooked both on the fire and on the stove. If you catch a lot of small fish on your fishing rod, but you don’t want to bother with it, then you can prepare a rich soup with a minimum of effort.

Fish for broth is not scaled. It is thoroughly washed, the gills and entrails are removed. A portion of fish is tied in gauze and dipped into boiling water. As soon as the eyes of the firebrand turn white, it is removed and a new portion is added. There may be several such “bookmarks”.

Potatoes and spices are added to the finished broth: roots, pepper, seasonings. When the potatoes are cooked, add a few completely peeled ones. large fish, greens and crushed garlic. In a couple of minutes the ear is ready. As it cools, it acquires a jelly-like consistency. It’s especially delicious over the fire!

The small firebrand is washed and cleaned. The heads and large bones are removed, and everything else is twisted into minced meat with the addition of onion, a piece of fresh lard, garlic, salt and ground black pepper. Separately, soak a piece of bread or loaf in milk. Knead the minced meat thoroughly, adding softened bread and an egg. He must stand for a while. If excess liquid appears, it is drained.

Form cutlets, roll in breadcrumbs or flour and fry on vegetable oil until golden brown. Served with any side dish.

There are many dishes that can be prepared from rotan. The fish is really tasty. The main thing is that it is in sufficient quantity. To paraphrase famous saying- What is death for the fry, is joy for the fisherman...

Rotan – bony fish goby family. This fish has a short, dense body. The scales are medium in size.

The color of rotan is dull, mainly green-gray and brown colors. Irregularly shaped stripes and spots are scattered across the body. The belly is most often gray. During spawning, rotan turns black.

The head is large, the mouth is filled with sharp teeth arranged in several rows. The fins are soft and do not have sharp spines. The gill covers are directed backwards. There are two dorsal fins, with the back one being longer than the front one. The anal fin is small. The caudal fin is rounded.

By appearance rotan is similar to other representatives of fish gobies. The main feature is the pelvic fins: in rotan, the paired fins are located close to the head and are very small in size, and in gobies, two fins grow together into one, and in appearance they look like a sucker.

The average body length varies between 14-25 centimeters. The size of rotans depends on living conditions, but large individuals are not common.

Rotans live for about 7 years, but most often their life expectancy is 4-5 years.

Puberty in rotans occurs at 2 years. Rotans spawn in May-July. One female brings about 1 thousand eggs. The eggs stick to the plants. The clutch is guarded by the male.

The most suitable habitat for rotans is standing water bodies with abundant aquatic vegetation. These fish are able to tolerate partial drying out of the reservoir. In addition, they survive if the reservoir freezes completely.

This is a predatory fish. The fry initially eat plankton and then move on to small invertebrates. Adults feed on fish fry, eggs, leeches, tadpoles, and newts. Cannibalism is widespread among these fish; they often eat smaller relatives.

In small bodies of water, rotans multiply quickly, so much so that they can almost completely destroy other living creatures. And in large bodies of water their numbers are regulated by predators such as catfish, pike and perch.

Habitat of rotans

These fish live in the Far East, northern China, and North Korea. They are mainly found in the Amur River basins. In the 20th century, rotan entered Lake Baikal; scientists perceived this phenomenon as pollution of the lake.

In 1916, these fish were introduced into the reservoirs of St. Petersburg. Over time they spread into numerous rivers Northern Eurasia. Rotans live in most of our country and in many European countries.

Today, these fish live in the Dnieper, Volga, Dniester, Don and Danube. The spread of rotans is facilitated by birds, which spread their eggs on their paws.

Among biologists, the sleeper sleeper has become notorious. A small fish, kept as an aquarium fish, was released into an area where it had never lived before. The results turned out to be stunning: rapid adaptation to new vast spaces, complete displacement of other fish and even newts from small stagnant bodies of water.

This fish serves as a good example of how the range of an animal during artificial resettlement can greatly exceed its original one. Small swampy reservoirs overgrown with aquatic plants characteristic of the Amur basin in its middle and lower reaches, as well as Primorye and adjacent regions of the North and Korea - that’s what it was natural area habitat of the species.

AQUARIUM LANDING

In 1912, the St. Petersburg naturalist I. Zalevsky, for some reason, released fish from his aquarium into a garden pond. The released rotans successfully survived the winter and gave birth to numerous offspring in the spring, marking the beginning of settlement in nearby St. Petersburg ponds and rivers. Later, in the 1930s, rotans were sold en masse at poultry markets in Moscow and other big cities. Soviet Union. Many fanciers then released their annoying pets into local bodies of water. Nowadays the area of ​​settlement of the sleeper sleeper covers vast areas of Eastern Europe, Southern Urals and south Western Siberia. Now the species is actively spreading to the west, in European countries, including Balkan Peninsula. Vast isolated pockets of habitat arose in the basin of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya ( and ) rivers. And in last years it was also discovered, which is extremely undesirable, even in the Lake Baikal basin!

RESERVOIR OWNER

Calculations show that the firebrand invades new water areas at a speed of approximately 10-14 km per year, primarily developing oxbow rivers, floodplain reservoirs, shallow bays and lakes overgrown with reeds. In small closed reservoirs, rotan gradually displaces other fish. This is facilitated not only by its exceptional vitality, but also by other features of biology. Protection of egg laying, gluttony, and indiscriminate eating increase competitive advantages species, and direct predation on juvenile fish of any species leads to a steady decrease in the number of not only other small fish, but also newts.

GOOD AND WITHOUT SUCKER

Rotan rotan is often confused with a real rotan goby. In fact, these fish belong to different families. In representatives of the family of true gobies, the pelvic fins are close together and function as a suction cup, allowing the fish to anchor itself to the bottom or an underwater object. In the firebrand, like in other eleotrids, the pelvic fins are very small and cannot serve as a sucker.

ATTACKS FROM THE BUSH

Amur sleepers become adults at 3-4 years of age. Spawning begins when, at the end of spring, the water warms up to a temperature of +15 °C. The fertility of a female does not exceed 1000 eggs. The laid eggs, as well as the hatched larvae, are guarded by the male, which contributes to their increased survival.

Already on the second day after birth, firebrand larvae begin to feed on the smallest zooplankton: protozoa, rotifers, nauplii, etc. They grow very quickly and soon switch to feeding on planktonic crustaceans and aquatic insect larvae. Young individuals, having reached a length of about 10 mm, begin to be predatory, attacking fry of any species of fish and amphibian larvae. Rotan swims poorly, so it lies in wait for its prey somewhere in dense thickets aquatic plants. If suitable prey approaches, it immediately attacks it in a short throw. It has been noted that the firebrand can eat any small dead animals (even decaying ones!), acting as a food competitor to crayfish.

AT THE PRICE OF YOUR LIFE

In turn, rotan fry can be attacked by dragonfly larvae and swimming beetles, as well as water bugs. In some places they serve as prey for the crested newt, marsh turtle and a water snake.

In the Amur basin, the firebrand is a common catch for the common snakehead and the Far Eastern soft-shelled turtle. Everywhere, adult individuals feed on pike, burbot and large perch. From birds they are regularly caught by all types of herons, including great and little bittern, less commonly kingfishers.

The otter will neglect such trifles, but European and American minks willingly catch them from time to time. Occasionally, black polecat, stoat and weasel are caught in the overgrown shallow waters of firebrands. In some places, rotan serves as a common food for the water shrew, the shrew.

HARD TO BELIEVE

The resilience of this fish is simply amazing! It can survive complete drying of a reservoir in the summer heat, burying itself in semi-liquid silt, and complete freezing to the bottom in winter.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

Class: ray-finned fish.
Order: Perciformes.
Family: Firebrand, or Eleotraceae.
Genus: rotan.
Type: Amur sleeper.
Latin name: Perccottus glenii.
Color: variable, often greenish-brown, with stripes and spots of irregular shape.
Size: body length adult usually does not exceed 7-14 cm, but in exceptional cases it can reach 25 cm.
Life expectancy of sleeper sleeper: does not exceed 4-7 years.

In addition to the common species of inhabitants water element fish, such as salmon and carp, there are also those that fishermen without experience have practically never heard of and have no idea what kind of gear to use for them, for example, rotan fish. It was brought to us from the Far East, where the diversity of fauna amazes even the pros, and until recently it was not found in other regions at all. Now, many have become interested in what kind of rotan fish this is and what it is eaten with, as well as how to record another trophy for yourself and what distinctive features allow us to identify this species?

The previously mentioned arrival of rotan to us from the east explains the bewilderment of many newcomers when meeting it. After all, they had never encountered this species before, and the fish is considered a delicacy in its homeland and is very popular there as a trophy.

1. According to one of them, fish used to be something like a “court animal” of the king, who eventually got tired of it and released rotan into the pond. And then it smoothly wedged itself into the food chain and today is completely entrenched in it, feeling quite comfortable in our climate.
2. According to another version, the fish were brought to us only during the Soviet Union, but due to a sharp increase in the population, they decided to “float” the extra individuals, after which they multiplied for several decades and to today have become a fairly common catch. And thanks to birds and other animals, the eggs fell from one reservoir to another, spreading individuals throughout Russia and the CIS.

Initially, rotan was a predator, but it feeds mainly on small fish and plankton, because large sizes You shouldn't expect anything from a trophy. Sometimes manifestations of “cannibalism” occur among this species, but such natural selection occurs only in the complete absence of food and most often in the cold season. The scales are small in size and dark in color, sometimes they can acquire a slightly grayish tint, casting green. The belly is painted in lighter shades, and the other distinctive feature the fish is left with a giant head with a bunch of small teeth in oral cavity.

Because of this, some compare rotan with piranha, but, unlike it, this species is capable of gaining up to one kilogram of weight with good nutrition. Trophy individuals can also be found up to three kilograms.

At first, rotans lived only in Far Eastern reservoirs like the Amur and its tributaries, and also inhabited a few water spaces in Korea and northern China, so they were caught there even at the imperial court and were considered a delicacy. The sudden insertion of a species into the food chain on Lake Baikal initially worried scientists, since it could disrupt the stability of the fauna and harm the biological state of water bodies, and also introduce a serious imbalance into the already established food chain. After all, any new predator takes food from those that already live in its habitat, thereby exterminating peaceful views fish not ready to defend themselves from new threat and starving other predators. The same destruction biological species and people were afraid in the early twentieth centuries.

It was at that time that it first began to appear in lakes near St. Petersburg, after which, according to one of the versions described above, it began to rapidly spread, like rabbits in Australia, throughout the country.

• standing water;
• small bodies of water;
• weak currents;
• ponds and lakes.

IN Lately cases of fish being transferred to other rivers by fishermen themselves have begun to be recorded, which can become a serious biological threat to other species. Therefore, at the moment the government is thinking about lifting the ban on hunting rotans during spawning to reduce its population.

It was previously mentioned that rotans can reach 2 kilograms in weight; in addition, the length of the largest individuals is 25 centimeters, so the fish is considered a relatively small, but worthy catch because of its “exoticism” and caution. In sport fishing, larger specimens were also encountered, reaching 40 centimeters in length, which can be considered an exception to general rule. Large rotans are also grown on special farms for subsequent sale, and they can exceed the already agreed upon figures due to food and hormones in food. In general, sizes can vary greatly depending on where a particular individual lives.

If the reservoir is a real oasis and filled with a large amount nutrients together with small fish, which is attached to them, then the rotan manages to grow even stronger. Among such places there are often backwaters and small ponds in which there is already an established life cycle with a lot of small fish. Also, experienced fishermen know that crucian carp, like its land counterpart - the cockroach, is able to survive in the most different conditions, even if other species lack oxygen, crucian carp feel simply wonderful, only increasing the size of their population. They could become the most tenacious variety, but rotans can easily overtake them in this parameter.

Firebrands are able to survive truly extreme living conditions in all kinds of lakes and rivers, and they can even be found in waters empty of other organisms.

1. In a small pond, which can completely freeze in winter, destroying all remnants of life, but firebrands managed to adapt to this nuance. They fall into a kind of suspended animation, and with the arrival of the warm season they begin to gradually return to their usual activities and fully recover after several months of being in the ice. This is a phenomenon that has amazed even many scientists, and at the moment they are studying it in order to find out the reasons for such survivability.
2. IN freezers. Many fishermen like to prepare live bait in advance, but most species require almost all day poring over, turning them into your pets before fishing time comes. However, rotans are able to survive severe cold, quietly lie in the freezer for several weeks and even months, after which they thaw and behave no less actively than before the procedures. Therefore, rotan can be used in the most extreme conditions.

Firebrands, as mentioned earlier, feed on eggs and fry, but sometimes they can include plankton and the larvae of various insects in their diet, which professionals skillfully use when fishing.

They are also capable of eating small frogs and even leeches, and such a rich diet has made them a serious threat in the established food chain of our reservoirs. It was also previously mentioned that cannibalism in this species is present as a norm of survival, while often larger rotans calmly eat even their eggs and small relatives. To those who were able to reach gigantic size, is no stranger to delicacies in the form of adult representatives of its species.

After the firebrand manages to grab the “big jackpot”, it prefers to swim as deep as possible in order to calmly digest what it has eaten and not become prey for other fish. Most often, rotans hunt from ambush, which is worth considering when choosing a leash for it and fishing methods.

They prefer to spawn in May, and sometimes in April, and are engaged in protecting their offspring males, which often remain with the eggs until they hatch, so after spawning there is a high probability of catching the female individual. The fry's diet consists of plankton and other small animals, including vegetation.
Firebrands live up to 7 years, but the average is no more than 5 and greatly depends on the conditions in the reservoir, as well as the amount of food in it. And even a well-established rotan in this the food chain There are serious enemies that are capable of committing real genocide of this species - these are perches.

Many ichthyologists even think that perches should be released into reservoirs intentionally when the firebrands begin to multiply too quickly, turning rivers and lakes into wastelands. In particular, perch can act as the missing link in the food chain that balances these predators. Naturally, other predators that hunt live bait such as pike are capable of reducing the population of rotans, but they live only in large rivers and rarely intersect with firebrands.

The fish is one of the most active and bites both at night and during the day, so it makes no difference what time of day you organize fishing. But as the sun sets, the bite becomes a little weaker, so the easiest way is to lower the bottom and wait for the morning. Rotan bites quickly and greedily swallowing the bait, practically hooking itself, but it is better to use an extractor - this will avoid many injuries, although you should not expect serious resistance from this predator.

But the main advantage of the firebrand is that it bites at any time of the year, regardless of the weather and conditions in the reservoir, which allows you to hunt it whenever you please and use it as live bait in any season.

However, experience is still necessary when catching this cunning fish, because it bites very weakly and the float barely goes under the water, which creates the illusion of the fry biting. Therefore, for the best catch, you should lower the bait to the very bottom and raise it 10 centimeters, then stop for 10 seconds. This method of playing with a predator will force it to emerge from ambush and attack the intended target, and if even in this way it is not possible to achieve a bite, then you should make a light retrieve and repeat all these actions again. Periodically remove the tackle completely to make sure that the fish has not yet swallowed it or that it has not been eaten by other fish and not by rotan.

The rotan (Perccottus glenii) belongs to the small freshwater predators of the order Perciformes, in which it has formed its own unique genus of “firebrands” (Perccottus). The historical homeland of the taxon is Far East. This geographical circumstance and external resemblance to representatives of the goby family (Gobiidae) became the reason for the appearance of the erroneous name - Amur goby. Also, the fish in everyday life is often called grass, greenfish, gorlac, livefish, rotan firebrand or simply firebrand.

Thanks to active bites, good taste and moderate fat content, this type of predatory fish is a popular object of sport and recreational fishing. Resistance to sudden temperature changes, oxygen starvation, polluted and stagnant water has made the firebrand a frequent resident of many lakes, rivers, ponds and reservoirs in most regions of Russia. Rotan lives en masse in Lake Baikal, the basins of the Volga, Ural, Don, Irtysh, Kama, and reservoirs of the Moscow and Leningrad regions.

Now the domestic range of rotan, with some uninhabited areas, stretches from the Russian-Chinese border (Ussuri, Urgun, Amur) to the Kaliningrad region, Neman, Narva and Lake Peipsi.

The firebrand is quite easy to distinguish from other representatives of the ichthyofauna by its characteristic appearance:

• large head (1/3 body length);
• second dorsal more than the first;
• rounded body with a thin caudal peduncle;
• medium-sized dense scales covered with mucus;
• giant mouth with elongated lower jaw and several rows of small sharp teeth, which are periodically renewed;
• low position of the eyes;
• grayish belly;
• the main color is ash-green and brown-brown;
• lighter stripes and spots are randomly scattered on the sides.

Due to the similarity of the exterior, it is important to know the difference between rotan and bull. You need to pay attention to the pelvic fins - the firebrand has two of them, they are quite small and have round shape. In representatives of gobies, this paired organ for swimming has fused and became like a large suction cup.