Once an ordinary podust was a fairly large representative of the Karpov family and in some regions it was even included in the list of commercial fish. Today it is extremely rare and almost endangered.
Description
The size of the podust should be attributed to small fish. Usually its length is not more than 30 cm, and weight - up to 400 g, but in exceptional cases individuals of 1.5 kg are also found. The body is elongated, covered with large, tight-fitting scales. The belly and sides of the fish are of a light silver color, and only the back stands out with its dark green color. Reddish fins are clearly visible, while the tail has a black border along the upper and lower edges. During spawning, males acquire a brighter color - orange spots appear in the corners of the mouth, near the pectoral fins. A black stripe runs along the entire body (from the eyes to the tail) , and small spots appear on the scales of the same color. Numerous epithelial tubercles form on the head.
Podust got its name for the unusual position of the mouth. It is located under the cartilaginous, prominent nose protruding forward and has the appearance of a transverse arcuate gap. Pharyngeal teeth are large, single-row. There is a horny cap on the lower pointed jaw.
Life expectancy is an average of 8-10 years and largely depends on the conditions in which an ordinary podust lives.
Taxonomy
This species belongs to the Karpov family, the order of the Carp-shaped group of ray-finned fish. Recently, its number has decreased markedly. Of the existing 18 species, the common podust is the most common.
Habitats and distribution
This fish prefers moderate flow and does not like stagnant water. Therefore, it lives most often in deep rivers, where the bottom is sandy, rocky, with large irregularities, avoids areas with a slow course. Podust is a bottom fish that stays almost at the very bottom, almost touching it with its belly. He especially loves places where there are a lot of flooded driftwood and rocky blockages.
It is found in almost all major European rivers. Most common in Germany and Switzerland. In Russia, it lives in the rivers of the basins of the Baltic, North, and Black Seas. In the upper reaches of the Kama, an ordinary podust is quite common. In Belarus, its range is limited by the basins of the Western Bug and Pripyat rivers.
Lifestyle
This fish forms numerous schools consisting of tens, or even hundreds, of approximately the same size individuals. Podust is unpretentious and very trusting, which makes it easy prey for anglers. Fish is very attracted to the dregs, you can often watch them swim almost to the very feet of swimming people. In the silt and sand raised from the bottom, they look for insect larvae. Often fish come to the surface (melt) in May – June, when a bloodworm takes off en masse. Due to the special arrangement of the mouth, the podust is forced to turn over when grabbing food from the surface of the water, showing a light abdomen. This makes it easy to distinguish the melt of this fish from others.
Ordinary podust - a fish that leads a daily lifestyle. In sunny weather, you can clearly see the long rows of flocks standing at the bottom. They are sometimes very numerous. At night, the fish goes to a depth or closer to the shore, hiding in the bushes, where it often falls into fishing outlines and baskets.
Very sensitive to spoilage of water. But with a toxic discharge from riverine factories, it does not leave the rift, as the minnows, for example, do, but hides behind stones. As a result, almost every summer you can see how a half-dead podust, dragged by crows and kites, floats in large numbers on the river.
Nutrition
An ordinary podust, a photo of which is given in this article, being a daytime fish, feeds mainly on filamentous algae and detritus. He collects them from stones, driftwood, piles, skillfully scraping his lips. In spring, great harm is inflicted on other fish by eating their fertilized eggs, scraping it from underwater objects. Part of the diet during this period is also made by dung and earthworms. But with the beginning of summer, ordinary podust becomes a herbivorous fish - its nutrition consists entirely of river vegetation.
Breeding
These fish reach maturity at the age of 3-5 years, when their body length becomes at least 18 cm. Caviar mosques on large stones and piles. This period lasts no more than three days. The eggs are large, whitish in color, their number is from 1.5 to 12 thousand pieces. For some time, the podust is still kept near the spawning ground. At this time, he feeds not only on vegetation, but also on the roe of other fish spawning a little later : chub, gudgeon, roach. Sometimes it does not even disdain its own.
After 2 weeks, larvae are born. For two months they live in the water column, feeding on plankton, and becoming fry, they switch to the bottom lifestyle, which usually leads an ordinary podust.
Its reproduction begins in April, but sometimes occurs even earlier, it depends on the temperature of the water — it should warm up to a minimum of 8–10 ° C. The fry appear when it is already warm enough, and spend the whole summer on rifts and shallows with a weak course. In such places, quite a lot of grass (water pine, mulberry, etc.) usually grows, due to which the fish grow quite quickly. In September, juveniles migrate to deeper places. By the age of one year, the weight of the podust is about 60 g; by autumn, it already reaches a mass of 150-200 g.
Wintering
In the fall, with the onset of cold weather, podust settles in more calm and quiet places. The lack of plant food forces him to search in the mud layer of bloodworms. In October, on sections of rivers with a strong current and rifts, it almost never occurs. The main place where an ordinary podust spends winter is deep pits. He hides in them from November, when the rivers begin to freeze, and until spring.
Economic value
Podust has no commercial value. The reason is that in recent years it is almost not found in large numbers. In addition, its bottom lifestyle and habitats make fishing difficult. Most often, the podust becomes prey for an amateur fisherman armed with a simple fishing rod. In the muzzle and other similar devices, he is not particularly willing. But it is difficult to catch a bait. There are few among fishermen such specialists who catch podusta in poods. The nibble of this fish requires quick hooking, and it is quite strong and often breaks down. In addition, it requires good top dressing in large quantities.
The meat is a tasty, dietary, has various useful properties. It is necessary to cook it immediately after fishing, because it has the property of deteriorating very quickly.
Security measures
A rare species, whose population has been particularly declining recently, is the common podust. The Red Book of many European countries includes it in the list of endangered fish. The main reason for the reduction in the number of this species is the pollution of rivers with pesticides, domestic and industrial wastewater. Ordinary podust - a fish that can survive only in very clean water. Therefore, cleaning the riverbed, preventing siltation of spawning grounds, and artificially rearing young animals with their subsequent release into water bodies contributes to its preservation.