Ruff ordinary - river fish, suitable for eating. Ruff is characterized by an attractive view, and fishing on it is a fun thing. The article discusses such items as habitats, lifestyle, food ruff, as well as some of its varieties.
Appearance and specifications
Due to the fact that the fish has an expressive appearance, it is very difficult to confuse it with other species. The ruff has a large head, large pale pink eyes and a mouth with bristle teeth. The body of the fish is dense, the shape is cylindrical, covered with mucus. There are wide gill covers with spines. Also on the surface are small flakes of the ctenoid type.
On the back there are gray-green spots and dots. Sides of a yellowish tint. The belly may be light gray or white, depending on environmental conditions. For example, fish that live on a sandy bottom are lighter than those that live in parts of water bodies with a muddy bottom.
The length of an adult reaches an average of 10 centimeters. Occasionally, fish are 12 centimeters long. Light weight - 15-25 grams. But it is quite possible to catch giant individuals with a length of 20 centimeters and a weight of 100 grams.
Habitat
The common ruff is the most common of the four species of the genus ruff. It is found in the northern and eastern parts of France, eastern England, the rivers of the Baltic Sea basin, central and eastern Europe. Ruffles inhabit northern Asia to the basin of the Kolyma River, Trans-Urals.
Lifestyle
Ruffs have an unpretentious lifestyle. Fish can inhabit a wide range of depths. Despite the fact that they prefer to live near the bottom, they are found near the surface of the water, and at an average depth between the bottom and the surface.
Ideal for these fish are considered quiet ponds. Due to this, they are caught in places where people are practically absent. Common ruffs are found in areas with a soft bottom without aquatic vegetation. This place is considered good for fish, due to the presence in it of those animals that feed the ruffs. Ruffs settle in shaded areas of the reservoir, by nature they are adapted to a small amount of light.
Life span
Researchers can determine the age of a ruff by the number of growth lines on the scales, and occasionally by the number of layers in the otoliths. Female ruff live up to a maximum of 11 years, and males - no more than 7 years. They reach puberty in 2-3 years, with a size of 10-12 centimeters.
Fish food
The main food of an ordinary ruff is crustaceans. He also actively eats insects and larvae. In the spring, this fish begins to eat other individuals of its kind. Often eats foreign caviar, which is why the population of other fish is completely exterminated.
Ruff eagerly eats young fish, not ignoring fry. The diet also includes benthic organisms that live at the bottom of the reservoir.
Breeding process
Spawning occurs in mid-late April when the water temperature is +6 or more degrees. Spawning occurs in portions. Each clutch contains from 10 to 200 thousand eggs.
For spawning, the female chooses deeper places closer to the mouths of rivers or flowing places of lakes, where the increased oxygen content in the water and a fairly low temperature. Fish spawn up to mid-June. The process of reproduction occurs in packs, usually in the dark. At this moment, the fish are very active, at the same time noisy.
Ruff caviar is notable for its acid-gelatinous texture. Sticky caviar is attached to stones, sometimes to underwater vegetation. The incubation period lasts about 2-3 weeks. After birth, the fry do not leave the masonry until the end of the summer period.
Who is an enemy and competitor for a ruff?
The food competitors of the common ruff are common in Asia and Europe; these are other benthophagous fish, which include perches, large roaches, chebaks, breams, eels, smelt.
Perch for a ruff is considered the main competitor, because these fish have the same diet. Ruffs eat eels, salmon, burbots, and catfish. Cases of cannibalism are occasionally observed.
Actively catch cormorants, different types of herons, small individuals suffer from the common kingfisher, lootok and merganser.
Catching a ruff
Despite the fact that catching a ruff is boring, but the process is very exciting. If the fisherman knows where the ruffs live, he can catch a lot of fish. Choosing the best place to hold the ruff is crucial for successful fishing.
Ruffs are caught throughout the year, but the best results are achieved in the autumn, when ruffs gather in huge flocks in pits. With some dexterity, one piece of the worm is enough to capture several ruffs. If the angler notices that 10-15 minutes have passed, and the fish have not pecked, there is only one conclusion - ruffs are absent here, and accordingly they are looking for them in another place.
They catch fish mainly for fishing rods, equipping them so that the bait is at the bottom. Best of all, a ruff pecks at a slightly crushed earthworm, although it does not at all refuse bloodworms and other baits. For a beginner fisherman, this is the most affordable fishing facility, but experienced fishermen are not interested in catching “weed fish”, because the main goal may be to capture more valuable specimens.
It is best to peck ruff in spring, autumn and early winter, because it is during this period that it is excessively hungry, therefore it takes any bait.
Catch fish in the morning and evening, in the summer - at night. Lure is not required. In winter, it is recommended to catch a ruff on bloodworms and mosquito larvae. Ruff is a fish-hungry fish.
When retrieving the hook, you should do this carefully so as not to prick your fingers, because when raised to the surface, the fish bristles its spiky fins, which can lead to a painful injection.
Gastronomic properties
Ruff is considered a low-calorie product, rich in easily digestible protein and useful for the body substances - vitamins A, E, PP, amino acids, molybdenum, phosphorus, chromium, fluorine. There are 88 calories per 100 grams of product.
The fish has a pleasant, slightly sweet taste. It is fried, baked, stewed and even boiled. It is believed that fish soup made from a ruff is a delicious dish.
It is also popular to dry fish, pre-gutting it, gutting it, then placing a layer of coarse salt on the pillow, which the ruff is salted with. The following rows of fish are laid out in the same way. The carcasses are removed after 3-5 days, soaked for several hours in water to remove excess salt. Dry the fish in the shade for 5-7 days.
Breeding
Fish is not of industrial interest. But some amateur fishermen can create a home pond with ruffs on their site.
To grow fish in a home pond, not all water is used. Water from sources will not work, because it is possible that it can be infected with something. For the same reason, they do not take plants and fish from nature, but are purchased in specialized stores.
For breeding ruffs, tap water is suitable, but purified and prepared. They purchase special additives that make unsuitable water suitable for a country pond.
When filling the tank with water it is forbidden to immediately populate fish in it. First, plants are planted and wait until the correct microclimate and silt layer are formed. Getting favorable conditions for ruffs can last for a month. Then the water is drained without damaging the sludge, and the tank is filled with clean liquid. When it settles a little, they start the fish.
Plants contribute to the saturation of the pond not only with oxygen, but also with nutrients. Often the plants themselves go to fish for food.
A real decoration of the pond (and the ecosystem for fish) will be water lilies, water hyacinths, a stalk, a dormitory, a fir panicle, a water nut, teloresis, marsh marigold, water mint and others. To prevent a large area from overgrowing with plants, they produce special bags in which gravel is placed, and then vegetation is planted.
Growing fish in the country is a process that requires constant monitoring of the quality and composition of water, its hardness and acidity. These indicators can improve the supplements that are purchased in stores. It will be useful to purchase an aeration device. This is especially important in the winter period - it will be possible to avoid the mass death of fish due to a lack of oxygen, as it happens in natural conditions. It is important to feed the ruff with special feed.
What other ruffles are there?
Ruff is an unpretentious fish, which is appreciated for its excellent taste and attractive appearance. There are several varieties of ruff:
- Donskoy. A popular fish that lives on the territory of Russia in the waters of the Black Sea-Azov basin. In Europe, found in the Dniester, Southern Bug, Dnieper. Distinctive features are a wedge-shaped head with an elongated snout, a white belly, a light yellow back and a retractable mouth. The weight of one individual can reach up to 200 grams with a length of 18-20 centimeters. The endangered species is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.
- Baloni. The body length can reach up to 17-18 centimeters, weight - 40-50 grams. Lives up to 6 years. The main habitat is the basins of the Vltava, Moravia, Laba. They find a ruff of a balloon in the Danube, the middle reaches of Pripyat, the Dnieper. A distinctive feature of the variety is a tall body with a hump, a short flattened snout, two spikes on each gill cover, and a tiger gray-yellow color.
- Striped. On the olive-yellowish sides are 3-4 dotted or full stripes. The snout of the fish is elongated, the mouth is retractable, eyes are large. With a length of up to 30 centimeters, the weight of the ruff can reach 250 grams. The fish lives in Germany, Ukraine, Bulgaria.
- Black Sea. The only resemblance to a common ruff is the presence of sharp thorns. This is a marine predator fish, characterized by a huge mouth with an elongated lower jaw. Compare ruff with a snake, because it is able to fold off tight skin, and in its fins and bone spikes on the body contains poison.
Ruff grows up to 40 centimeters with a weight of about 800 grams. It lives in the East Atlantic, Black, Azov, Mediterranean Seas. If properly cleaned and processed ruff, it is quite suitable for consumption in food. Its meat is considered not only tasty, but also healthy.
Ordinary ruff - a small fish in size and weight, suitable for cooking in any form. It is permissible to cultivate and breed ruff at home, if you create a suitable microclimate for the fish.
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Ukraine. City: Kryvyi Rih
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