What kind of fish is ordinary taimen? Where does she live? What leads a way of life and what eats? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our publication.
What fish does common taimen belong to?
Taimen is the largest fish in the salmon family. Individual individuals are capable of reaching sizes of about 2 meters in length. Moreover, their weight can be up to 80 kilograms. Common taimen refers to residential fish. In other words, representatives of the species constantly live in the same body of water, whether it be a river or a lake. Taimen breeding also occurs in habitable, well-known territories, in contrast to the same salmon, which uses seasonal migrations to reproduce offspring.
Appearance
Ordinary taimen refers to a species within which there are no significant external differences between individual individuals. Regardless of the habitat, way of life and nutrition, all taimen have:
- An elongated, elongated body, characteristic of predatory fish.
- A slightly flattened head from the sides and top, remotely similar to a pike.
- A wide mouth that can open up to the gill openings.
- Several rows of extremely sharp, bent inward teeth.
- Small scales of silver tint.
- Rounded dark spots throughout the body about the size of a pea.
- Dorsal and pectoral fins of a grayish tint, as well as anal and caudal pronounced red.
Fish of the genus Taimen in Siberia are often called the red pike. The fact is that with the onset of the mating season, adults change their grayish color to copper-red. After fertilization of caviar, taimen again returns to its usual appearance.
Habitat
The largest abundance of common taimen is observed in the reservoirs of the Far East and Siberia. In European countries, a small amount of such fish is found in the Kama and Pechora rivers. However, in recent years, information about the capture of taimen in local reservoirs has come less and less.
Representatives of the species prefer clean, cold waters of northern rivers with a fast current. However, ordinary taimen does not enter regions near the Arctic Circle. The reason is an extremely short summer period, which makes it impossible for such predators to stock up enough fat for wintering.
Evenkia and Yakutia are the most remote, inaccessible regions where ordinary residential taimen is found. Here, representatives of the species live not only in rivers, but even in the smallest lakes.
Lifestyle
Unlike migratory fish, common taimen populates deep holes near the coastline. In the daytime, such a predator rests under the branches of trees hanging over the water. Sometimes in one "home" is a whole flock of fish. With the onset of night, they go to the shallows, where there is a rapid current. In the early morning, common taimen begins to splash and play on river rifts, hunting for small fish.
Predator wintering occurs in deep water. Often, taimen stands under the ice, only occasionally diving to the places of formation of glades in order to saturate the body with oxygen. Some naturalists claim that representatives of the species are capable of making loud rumbling sounds from under the water, which can be heard at a distance of several meters.
Nutrition
Active feeding of common taimen occurs throughout the year, with the exception of the spawning period, which occurs in mid-summer. By fertilizing eggs, adults again gain fat.
When the water in the habitat is noticeably warmed up, taimen has a reduced activity in finding prey. The predator becomes somewhat lethargic and passive. At this time, he occasionally hunts small fish in the cold tributaries of rivers or nearby springs. By autumn, the feeding of taimen rises. Thus, the predator gains weight, preparing for wintering.
The diet is based on fry and some invertebrates, in particular caddis flies. Ordinary taimen loves to hunt small burbot, grayling, sculpin. Sometimes the prey of the predator becomes frogs, rodents that cross the pond, and even the offspring of waterfowl.
Life span
How long does taimen (hucho taimen) live? With an abundance of food and the presence of optimal living conditions, such predators are able to exist for more than two decades. Cases of capture of taimen are known, the age of which, presumably, was 30 years. However, such centenarians are extremely rare.
Breeding
Young taimen become sexually mature upon reaching the age of 5-7 years. The active phase of throwing caviar occurs in the spring-summer period. The predator spawns in parts of rivers where there is a shallow pebble substrate, and the water depth reaches no more than half a meter.
Females of common taimen are relatively infertile. Several factors come into play here. Depending on body weight and age, females are able to lay from 6 to 40 thousand eggs.
As spawning grounds, taimen chooses the upper reaches of the rivers, as well as rapid tributaries. The approach of sexually mature individuals to such areas is often observed after ice melt, when the water warms up to an indicator of 7-8 ° C. Moreover, much more females than males come to the places of throwing eggs. The eggs are laid in a pebble-rocky bottom, after which they are fertilized with milk.
Taimen extermination
Taimen has no enemies in the natural environment. However, its population is steadily declining due to poaching. This species is vulnerable and is listed in the Red Book. In most regions of Siberia, fishing for such a predator is strictly prohibited. However, taimen fishing is still possible according to the official license. In this case, the sporting principle is used, according to which, after the capture, the fisherman can be photographed with him by the catch, and then release. Only non-viable individuals are allowed to be taken for food. These are taimen, the oral apparatus and body of which received serious injuries during capture.
Reasons for species abatement
The common semi-aisle taimen gradually disappears from the habitat regions characteristic of the species. The phenomenon is caused by the following list of problems:
- Change in the chemical composition of water due to climate warming. With atypical jumps in the average annual ambient temperature, even by several degrees, a decrease in the population of such predators is necessarily observed.
- Fires - not only lead to water warming, but also change the pH when ash and burnt wood get into it. Water gradually becomes alkaline. A similar phenomenon negatively affects the population of not only taimen, but also other fish, which are classified as salmonids.
- Human activities - the creation of reservoirs, hydroelectric power plants, the use of fertilizers in agriculture leads to the destruction of organic matter in river waters. Not only microscopic organisms suffer, but also plants that saturate water with oxygen. All this leads to the fact that taimen becomes difficult to adapt to the newly formed living conditions.
- Mining - such fishing causes clouding of the water, a change in its chemical and physical indicators. This kind of activity also often leads to the destruction of depressions in the river substrate, where taimen live. Usually, in areas of the rivers that are used for mining, there is a complete disappearance of salmon.
- Water pollution from industrial waste - the entry of polluted effluents into rivers leads to the extermination of certain biocenoses. Often this causes the extinction characteristic of taimen to disappear. The habitat of this predator is gradually inhabited by pike, which is not fastidious in the choice of food and can actively breed in a wide variety of environments.
Culinary value
Taimen is considered a real delicacy. The fillet of such a fish is moderately juicy and tender due to the presence of fatty layers between muscle tissues. The optimal solution is taimen salting, during which the meat acquires a special, specific taste, which is in perfect harmony with other products in cold snacks and salads. Refusal of heat treatment in the preparation of such fish allows you to save many valuable trace elements. In addition to pickles, taimen is often fried on a wire rack, and is also used to make fish soup.
Amateur fishing
As noted above, common taimen is caught only according to the license. The predator of such a predator is possible to spin. The optimal bite is observed in the early morning, when the representatives of the species are more active in the search for prey.
During the period of the zhor, the predator is not too picky in the choice of food. Almost any lure is capable of capturing taimen in such periods. The rest of the time, such fish are quite finicky. They primarily respond to spinners of a colorful hue.
Experienced anglers believe that taimen is particularly good at biting large baits. However, as practice shows, the enthusiasm for using only large spinners in most cases does not allow counting on the success of fishing.
Taimen has strong, extremely strong jaws. Therefore, special attention in the preparation of gear is given to creating strong tees and choosing a thick fishing line. Otherwise, the predator can tear off and pull the bait.
Catching taimen, many spinningists use devices imitating mice as spinners. Predatory fish often prey on small rodents that cross water bodies. Therefore, the choice of such a bait seems justified. Noticing the bait in the form of a mouse, taimen tries to drown it with its tail, after which it swallows with a swift jerk.
Finally
So we found out what ordinary taimen is, talked about its habitats, nutrition, reproduction, lifestyle. In conclusion, it is worth noting that such a fish, like other representatives of the salmon family, looks extremely attractive in terms of fishing. However, catching taimen in most regions is strictly prohibited. An instructive attitude to such fishing is the inhabitants of the Far East. The local population consciously refuses to catch and eat taimen for food. According to popular belief, such activities bring misfortune.