Pikeperch is a predatory fish with delicious dietary meat. It is very demanding on water quality and has a good appetite. In terms of gluttony, zander is second only to pike. Pike perch is appreciated for a delicious dietary meat - it tastes very good. It has an excellent delicate texture, it is white in color and has a pleasant smell. Therefore, it is actively caught by fishermen and in places engaged in its cultivation.
Description and specifications
Almost all perch-like are predators. Zander is no exception. This is a born hunter, and he hunts with enthusiasm. Pike perch is both active and patient - it can spend many hours in ambush, waiting for the victim. If you look, for example, at a perch, you can doubt whether it is a predator?
But looking at pike perch such doubts do not arise - he has all the signs of carnivorous fish:
- the head is flat and elongated, in the mouth - several rows of small and sharp teeth;
- there are large, closely set fangs;
- body elongated, flattened laterally;
- the line of the mouth is displaced beyond the far border of the eye - to open the mouth wide;
- small dense scales of the ctenoid type (the rear edge is provided with teeth or spikes);
- the front fin on the back has hard rays;
- the gill cover has sharp notches.
- dorsal fins separated by a gap or in contact with each other;
- the first dorsal fin - with spiny rays, on the second - spiny only the first rays, the rest are soft;
- the back is colored greenish-gray, the belly is white, on the sides are transverse stripes of brown-black color (8, 10 or more);
- dorsal and caudal fin - with membranes dotted with dark spots;
- the color of the pectoral, ventral, and anal fins is pale yellow;
- eyes are large and bulging;
The eyes of zander can rotate, so when hunting, it is able to see in all directions - front and back, bottom and top.
The maximum weight of common pike perch is 20 kg. In length, it reaches 1 m 30 cm.
Where does zander live?
Pike perch does not tolerate oxygen deficiency - this feature determines the habitat of this predatory fish. Zander also do not like water with high levels of suspensions, methane, and pollutants.
Ideal pond for zander:
- running water;
- hard bottom;
- many keys and springs;
- no algae;
- there are steep pits with an uneven bottom;
- depth more than 3 m.
Common pike perch is found mainly in deep-sea fresh water bodies - lakes, rivers, reservoirs.
Places of zander in Russia:
- the north of the middle zone of Russia - the Leningrad, Pskov and Nizhny Novgorod regions;
- southern Chernozemye - Voronezh, Tambov, Belgorod, Rostov, Kursk and Lipetsk regions;
- eastern Volga region - Penza, Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Saratov, Samara regions and Mordovia.
The predator is not afraid of low temperatures, it can be found in the north-west of the country - in the Neva, on Lake Ladoga, in Sumozero, Sandal. In addition to the Baltic basin, pike perch lives in the rivers and tributaries of the Black and Caspian Seas. The eastern borders of the range are limited by the Ural River. Pikeperch is also found in reservoirs - Saratov, Sheksninsky, Rybinsk and others.
Sea pike perch is a sedentary fish. Prefers moderate depths - 25-40 m. The bottom chooses a clean one - rocky, pebble, sandy. Habitat of sea pike perch:
- Caspian Sea. Zander is most found in the center and in the southern part of the Caspian;
- Black Sea. In the north-west, in the Crimea region, near the deltas of the Southern Bug and the Dniester.
Types of pike perch and its "relatives"
Sudak is not a species, but a whole genus, consisting of individual species. In Russia, there are two freshwater species and one marine:
- Common pike perch (Sander lucioperca) - refers to the family of percussion, species - ray-feathers.
- Volzhsky pike perch. The second name is Bersh. It practically does not differ from ordinary pike perch except for its size. Bersh - a small fish, growing up to half a meter in length, no more. Maximum weight 2300 g. Relates to rare species. His catch in Russia is prohibited. It lives in the Volga.
- Nautical. Small predatory fish - up to 50 cm in length. Weight - until 2000. The habitat is the Caspian Sea, the western part of the Black Sea. It does not enter fresh water.
External signs:
- light gray color;
- on the body - 12-13 transverse stripes.
Caspian sea pike perch has standard dorsal fins at intervals. The Black Sea - there is no gap, the fins are in contact.
Outside Russia there is also a fish from the zander family:
- Canadian. It is found in fresh rivers and lakes of North America. In Canadian zander, the body is yellowish-green in color covered with dark spots. The fish is able to completely merge with the bottom, for this ability it is called sand pike perch. The maximum weight is 3-4 kg. But the basis of the population are individuals weighing 1-2 kg. Life time is 17-18 years.
- Light feather. Lives in water bodies of Canada and the USA. A distinctive feature is soft golden fins. The color of the sides is chestnut and amber-lemon shades. For this color, this fish was named - yellow pike perch. The back is dark, featuring brown hues. The maximum weight is 10-11 kg. Length - more than a meter.
What does zander eat?
Pike perch hunts for all kinds of fish - it eats roaches, minnows, sabrefish, sprats, gobies, bleak, young carp and bream. This predator is extremely demanding on the quality of water - in muddy and swampy water you will not find it, but in food it is illegible. Fish is a favorite, but not the only component of the diet. Pikeperch eats any organisms - everything that creeps, lies or swims, can be eaten.
In addition to fish, pikeperch eats:
- crayfish;
- dead eels;
- insects and worms;
- frogs;
- it happens that he eats even his offspring.
For food, pike perch chooses small and narrow fish - to match its mouth. It is difficult for him to eat wide fish, so he reluctantly catches fish such as, for example, the scavenger. In summer, a predator feeds near the coast, it can often be found on sandbanks. Zander feeding takes half an hour; it hunts before dawn and after sunset.
Small zander eat worms and ground living creatures, and only with age do they turn into real predators.
When and how to spawn?
In most regions it is forbidden to catch zander during spawning. But you can go fishing well before spawning - during this period a good bite is observed. Also, pike perch perfectly pecks right after spawning.
Preparation for spawning
As soon as the winter ended and the ice came down, the predator begins to intensively prepare for spawning - he eats a lot. He moves in shallow water - to hunt for fry. It happens that the pike perch floats upstream for a long time - in search of prey. It is this time that is becoming the best for catching large fish.
Before spawning, smaller zander, stick together. Large fish prefer to be alone. After good feeding, the fish heads to the place of spawning. The fish moves slowly - along the way it continues to hunt. At this point, zander is an excellent object for anglers. Preparation for spawning lasts 3-4 weeks.
The temperature of water affects the time of spawning. The optimal value is 10-18 ºС. In the south of the country, spawning begins in April, in the middle lane - in May-June. Females lay eggs late in the evening or at night.
Spawning
Sudak before spawning is looking for a secluded place for a nest. From deep waters, fish are sent to the shallows, in bays, eriks, channels. Here, for spawning, lake and sea fish also come. Pike perch nests in places where there is a lot of grass vegetation and snags. Fishes together - the female and the male equip the nest. It has a depth of 5-10 cm, the shape is oval, and the length is up to 60 cm.
The number of laid eggs depends on the size of the female. Instances weighing 7-8 kg can lay 300,000 eggs at a time. Pike perch caviar is small - 1 mm in diameter. In fertilization involved from 1 to 3 males. Males that do not participate in fertilization also participate in spawning, but their mission is to protect offspring until hatching from eggs. There is also a male guard involved in cleaning masonry from sludge and aeration of water.
When the young hatch, spawning is complete - the adult fish returns to deep water. The growth of young animals depends on the amount of feed in the pond. Under favorable conditions, fry grow by winter to 20-22 cm. If there is little feed, up to 10 cm. After the onset of cold weather, the growth of yearlings stops.
How to catch zander?
Sudak is an object of amateur and industrial fishing. The weight of fish reaches 30 kg, but in industrial fishing, usually we are talking about individuals weighing up to 4 kg. Pike perch is caught in reservoirs with clear water rich in oxygen. It can be:
- full rivers, lakes and reservoirs;
- desalinated areas of the seas;
- near the mouths of large rivers - the Dnieper, Don, Kuban, Volga, etc.
This is a cautious and secretive predator, especially if it is a large fish. You cannot catch such fish in a big bright spoon. It is better to catch it on live bait or tackle with a small white fish.
Zander, although it belongs to the zorevnyh fish, can be caught in the afternoon. At night and at dawn, he approaches the shore - to hunt on the shallows. Here zander swallows any small fish. For a day, the predator goes into the pits, from where it can make short-term attacks on prey.
You need to catch zander at a certain time:
- At dawn - when the sun had not yet risen. As soon as the sun rises fishing can be stopped.
- After sunset. Fishing is up to 12 nights.
During biting, pike perch comes close to the shore, and can even jump out of the water.
Zander, unlike pike, does not sit in ambush all the time, it moves a lot. Catch him from the bottom. A predator comes to the surface only to hunt for trifles. The optimal time for fishing is at the end of winter and after the termination of spawning. But you can catch zander all year round - except for the period of the official ban.
The worst bite:
- in the middle of winter;
- before spawning;
- during spawning.
Rigging
For pike perch use natural and artificial bait fish bait, wobblers, vibration baits, jig heads.
To deceive a predator, fishermen often attach several hooks (3-5 pieces) higher than the spinners, on leashes 30 cm long. Small white twisters are attached to them, you can also attach brushes made of feathers or threads. Sudak, having decided that the bait is chasing hooks, is ahead of the "competitor" by attacking hooks.
Seasonal fishing
Pikeperch eats all year round, so there is a chance to catch it in any season. The main thing is to approach fishing properly, to take into account the peculiarities of biting, characteristic for each season. The method of catching pike perch depending on the time of year is in table 1.
Table 1
Season | Fishing method |
Winter | Well pecks on a zharlitsa with live bait. Also, zander can be caught from ice - for this, a balancer made in the form of a small fish is used. If properly managed, the tackle plausibly mimics the movement of the fry. Zander reacts best to yellow, golden and red lures. In winter, the predator is inactive, it pecks well at large mormyshki with planted tyulki. Sudak is not afraid of noise - you can safely drill holes in ice. |
Spring | At this time, it is best to catch zander on a spinning rod with a snap in the form of a spinner. You can also use polyurethane fish. Stably effective in fishing and coastal jig. In the spring, a predator actively hunts for fry, leaving its deep pits. When the zhor begins, it is easy to catch zander, the main thing is to find it. In spring, a predator goes to the shores to a depth of 3-4 m. It is best to look for it in the mouths of rivers at a depth of 3 m |
Summer | Fish must be sought in all layers of the reservoir. For this purpose, wobblers are most suitable. The optimal length is 3-6 cm. You need to take wobblers that are distinguished by buoyancy and depth. In summer, a predator searches for places that differ in difference in depths. Pike perch often stand near breakwaters or bridge piers, under dams and rapids. In summer, it is best to catch it at dawn. |
Fall | At this time, zander selects the quietest and deepest areas. The bottom is stony-pebble or sand. Or he avoids in the fall. In autumn, zander is best used for bottom fishing rods and dead fish. The best time for biting is September-mid-October. |
At any time of the year, while the pond is not frozen, you can catch zander on the donka - this tackle is a short fishing rod (up to 3 m), an inertia-free reel and weighed up to 60 g. Take a fishing line with a thickness of 0.25 mm - up to 100 m. In addition to live bait , you can plant fat leeches, a bunch of worms, a piece of fish or a frog.
If fishing is conducted not from the shore, but from a boat and on ice, you can use the echo sounder - this device alerts the fisherman about the depth, topography and the presence of fish.
Catching
The grip of zander is not particularly sharp, similar to the grip of pike. To fish out a predator, it needs to be well hooked - sharply and vigorously. Most often, a notch occurs behind the jaw or in the mouth, but swallowing is rare.
Pike perch does not resist for long. Immediately after hooking, a violent reaction occurs - the fish spins in place, jerks violently and dangles its head, trying to free itself. When you try to move the pike perch from a place, it abuts against the bottom. When approaching the shore, the fish begins to beat - but not for long. It is enough to pull the body in half so that the caught predator calms down.
When removing a zander from a hook, you need to be careful - it is easy to get injured on sharp gill covers and rays of fins.
The zander pulled ashore practically does not beat. If left on the shore, he falls asleep in a matter of minutes.
How is bersh different from zander?
Instead of zander, fishermen often catch bersh. This fish is very similar to common zander. Coloring, transverse stripes, structure - everything is almost the same. You can distinguish a bersh from a zander by the following signs:
- In bersh, the transverse stripes are darker and have more regular outlines.
- He has no fangs, all teeth are even.
- The head is wider and shorter.
- The scales are larger.
The economic importance of zander
There are almost no bones in zander - this is a very big plus, which not many freshwater fish can boast. Zander has one drawback - it is difficult to clean, due to the snug fit of the scales.
Characteristics of pike perch meat:
- Protein per 100 g - more than 18 g, fat - 1.1 g, water - 80 g.
- It contains 20 amino acids, of which 50% are irreplaceable, not produced by the human body.
- Carbohydrates are absent, and fat is a minimum. 75% of fats are mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
- Calorie content is low, only 84 kcal per 100 g.
- Rich vitamin and mineral composition. It contains vitamins A, B1, B2, C, PP, E, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron.
It is useful to eat pike perch regularly, it contributes to:
- improving brain function;
- lower sugar and cholesterol;
- decrease in blood density;
- normalization of the digestive tract;
- improving the condition of the skin, hair, nails;
- normalization of metabolic processes.
Due to the quality of meat, pike perch is a valuable commercial fish. Rather, it was earlier. Today, its catch, due to the reduction in numbers, has decreased significantly. Contamination of water bodies also affects population reduction - pike perch does not tolerate dirty and muddy water. The poachers tried mercilessly catching fish in any quantities and at any time of the year.
Sudak is of great interest to sports fishing enthusiasts. But to catch him, due to the reduction in numbers, is a difficult task.
Breeding zander in captivity
Zander is a predator, which means that it can be bred in open ponds only as an auxiliary species. The main object is the "herbivorous" fish - carp or silver carp. And pike perch becomes a nurse - destroys sick and weed fish, maintaining the health of the population.
It is possible to breed only freshwater zander, since the marine species needs salt water.
Sudak is a good object for artificial breeding:
- he is growing fast;
- gaining a lot of weight;
- resistant to disease, so it does not cause much trouble.
Catching Manufacturers
Zander is sensitive to mechanical stress, so they must be caught very carefully. If you pick up a fish from water with a temperature above 10 degrees, it can die in 3-4 days.
Fish caught in the spring, spawning poorly in captivity, it is necessary to stimulate its maturation through special injections. It is recommended to stock up by manufacturers in the autumn-winter period. The least injuries are achieved with a net.
Manufacturers exposure
For captive breeding, producers of 1.5 kg are taken. This is the best option, if individuals are larger, they adapt worse to the artificial habitat. Fish farms are encouraged to have their broodstock.
In summer, producers are kept in feeding ponds and fed with fresh fish. The daily need for pike perch in food is 2% of body weight. In winter, producers are transferred to flowing wintering ponds. The mass of fodder fish in such a pond is 20% of the mass of the predator. The food base of pike perch is perch, ruff, yearlings of carp, roach weighing 10-30 g.
Good winter feeding is the key to successful spawning. If food is not enough, the fertility of females and the percentage of fertilization will decrease.
10 days before spawning, when the temperature is set at 8 degrees, the females are separated from the males. Females are distinguished by a tighter, lighter and swollen abdomen. Females and males are kept in different cages. In order not to damage the sensitive skin of pike perch, you need to sort it with rubber gloves. When the water warms up to 10 degrees, they begin to prepare for spawning.
Stimulating the maturation of milk and caviar
To stimulate the maturation of reproductive products, female pikeperch are given pituitary injections. It is advisable to use the pituitary gland of pike perch, but not necessarily - you can take the pituitary gland of another fish, for example, carp or bream.
Pituitaries are harvested in the winter season or immediately before spawning. The storage of the extracted glands is carried out in glass, tightly sealed jars filled with anhydrous acetone. The ratio of pituitary to acetone volumes is 1:20. After half a day, acetone is changed to clean, and the glands in it contain another 7 days.
After a week, the glands are placed between sheets of paper and dried in a warm room. The dried pituitary gland is laid out in test tubes and corked. One dried pituitary gland weighs 3-4 mg.
During the introduction of the pituitary gland, large fish are euthanized with anesthetics. After the injection, zander is immediately sent to clean water.
Powdered pituitary gland is diluted with 0.5% saline - 1 ml per 4 ml of powder. The injection is done with a medical syringe. The injection site is the spinal muscle of the fish. Dosage - 1 ml per 1 kg of live weight.
How to equip cages and artificial spawning grounds?
Preparation for spawning involves the production of artificial spawning grounds. The latter are nests - they can have a different design and shape. Use various artificial substrates. The spawning grounds are made from a metal corner - the frame immerses the artificial substrate. 2-3 frames of metal or wood are attached to the frame - they are covered with a metal mesh. Spawning substrate is attached to these mesh frames.
The size of the nests should correspond to the dimensions of spawning cages. The latter have dimensions of 1x1x2 m. The mesh size is 10 mm. Cages before the launch of manufacturers are immersed in water. The optimum depth is 1.5 m. The bottom of the cage should be at a distance of 20 cm from the bottom, no less.
Spawning in cages
As soon as the water warms up to 10 degrees, producers are launched into cages. In one cage - male and female. A day later - a control inspection. If the eggs are laid, the female can be removed, the male must remain - for aeration of the eggs.
Two days later, the cages are inspected again. If the male is healthy and has not lost secondary sexual characteristics, he is left for another 3 days, replacing the artificial nests with new ones. One female lays 200,000 eggs.
Egg development
Spawning should be carried out so that the incubation takes place in the most favorable conditions - at a water temperature of 15 ° C. If the water is warmer, the eggs develop faster, but most of the forelimbs die in the very first days of life.
At 15 ° C, the incubation of eggs lasts 5-6 days. To determine the mass yield of prelarvae, a sample is taken from an artificial nest - placing eggs in a shallow dish, observe their development. If hatching of all prelarvae takes place in a few minutes, we can conclude - after 3-4 hours, mass hatching will occur in the nest.
On the 4th day after fertilization, nests are removed from the cages. Nests are placed in ponds for fry - on stakes set at a depth of 0.5 m. One nest usually contains about 200,000 eggs. The intervals between adjacent nests are 2 m.
How is the artificial incubation of eggs?
Until caviar and milk are selected, males and females are kept separately. The water in which the manufacturers are kept is saturated with oxygen, every 8 hours the water in the tanks is changed.
150 ml of caviar is placed in a vessel of 2.5 ml. 1 liter of caviar contains about one and a half million eggs. The males are laid to one side and, having slightly pressed on the abdomen, sperm is collected with a long pipette - it is then watered with caviar. Caviar and semen should be mixed - this is done with a feather.
To caviar better fertilized, use a solution of Voinarovich. Its ingredients are salt (40 g), urea (30 g) and water (10 l). Stirred for 10 minutes. Then the caviar is washed with water and poured with tannin dissolved in water (in 10 l - 0.8 g of tannin) - to eliminate stickiness. Again, everything is mixed, washed and placed in a special incubation apparatus. After 3-4 days, the larvae hatch - they are transplanted into a pond, a natural pond, or grown in special containers for breeding fish.
Commercial cultivation of zander
Before breeding, it is necessary to check whether the pond meets the conditions necessary for growing zander.
The pond must be:
- big enough;
- clean - without natural and man-made pollution;
- preferably with a pebble or sandy bottom;
- without thickets;
- high in oxygen.
Pike perch, launched into industrial ponds with herbivorous fish, unlike pike, does not eat marketable fish, since the structure of the mouth does not allow it to eat large prey. This predator preys only on small fish, performing the functions of a pond "orderlies".
The best tandem in the fish pond is pike perch and carp. With this solution, there is an increase in the productivity of the reservoir up to 1.5-2 times.
Ideal manufacturers - up to 4 years old, weighing up to 1.2 kg. Young fish better spawn in artificial conditions.
In summer, predators are fed small fish weighing 15–25 g. They are pre-caught in reservoirs. Frequency of feeding - 1 time per week. A weekly stock is released into the cage. In winter, fish are moved to winter cages, submerged to a depth that excludes freezing. If you fulfill all the conditions of detention, pike perch quickly builds up weight and spawns well in cages.
The predator grows especially fast in the southern regions. Parameters of pike perch depending on age, when eating only fish - in table 2.
table 2
Age | Weight g | Length cm |
yearlings | 80 | 20 |
biennial | 500 | 30-35 |
three years | 1100 | 40-50 |
four years | 2000 | 50-55 |
five years | 3000 | 55-60 |
Zander breeding profitability
It is difficult to calculate the benefits of growing pikeperch in vivo. If you use a predator as an orderly, then the main income will be brought by the main culture - carp, silver carp or other herbivorous fish. But on the other hand, the cost of maintaining a predator is not large either - having pondered a pond with a pike perch once, all that remains is to maintain its population.
Pond fish productivity - 135-225 kg / ha. From one hectare of the pond, you can get 90-150 thousand pieces of zander.
The profitability and productivity of growing zander depends on the breeding method:
- Extensive - in natural ponds.
- Semi-intensive - in cages.
- Intensive - in closed installations.
The use of specialized feed is limited - they are expensive. Food makes up to 60% of the cost of fish. More often zander is bred on the basis of a natural forage base. Compound feed, as a rule, is used in the cultivation of especially valuable fish species - sturgeon and salmon. The profitability of growing zander:
- in open waters - 10-15%;
- in cage farms - 20-25%.
The lack of cage farms is seasonality. They work in warm weather. The most profitable option is growing zander in closed containers. For this, special installations of closed water supply (UZV) are used, in which the circular circulation of water takes place. Water passing through biofilters becomes clean and disinfected. In the ultrasonic installation, the landing density is 50 kg of fish per cubic meter. The water temperature is constant - 20-24 ° C.
The average profitability of pond fish is about 20%. The costs of breeding pike perch in cages or ultrasound machines require additional investments, so their cost will be even higher. It is better to grow such inexpensive fish as pike perch in a natural way - in ponds with carp and silver carp, and it is better to save more expensive technologies for such valuable fish as sturgeon or salmon.
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