Common zander belongs to the perch family of fish. It is a valuable commercial fish. But often it is on pike perch that they arrange sport hunting. It lives together with the carp family, which include bream and carp. It's in winter time.
Description
Outwardly common zander, the photo of which is presented in the article, has a peculiar coloration, which is dominated by green and gray tones. The belly is white, and from the sides there are several black stripes, fins with dark spots. The mouth of the pike perch is large, the teeth are arranged in several rows, there are quite strong fangs. Under natural conditions, an ordinary pike perch can live up to 14 years and gain a body weight of up to 18 kilograms. It begins to grow intensively at the optimum regime of temperature and food, which the reservoir can provide to it.
The organs of taste in pike perch are similar to those of vertebrates. But there are some differences in the structure.
The organs of taste and smell perceive chemical irritations. The organs of sight, hearing and touch capture light, sound and the movement of water. This feeling is called temperature. And in fish it is developed socalled peripheral vision, the ability to move sideways. Terrestrial animals have long since lost this extra sense.
Pike perch is extremely sensitive to odors, which helps it react quickly to any chemical additives in the water. And he feels them at long distances.
Common zander. Lifestyle, habitation
Pike perch is a twilight predator living at great depths. The lifestyle of pike perch, like that of an ordinary predatory fish. Small fish individual is an excellent food for him. Pike perch will never live in swampy water bodies, as it is sensitive to a lack of oxygen in the water. When the water is warm enough, this discriminating inhabitant of the reservoir can be seen at a depth of even two meters. His lifestyle is very interesting, as the fish is very active at any time of the day. At night it prefers shallow water, and at dusk it descends as deep as possible. Sand, pebbles with stones and snags are the real "friends" of pike perch. He can perfectly hide behind any large object and sit in ambush.
For food, the common zander chooses minnows, bleak, sprat. Experienced fishermen, knowing such preferences of a predator, use these fish for catching live bait.
Reproduction
Zander breeds at temperatures above 12 degrees Celsius in early May. Heavily littered areas are its favorite spawning grounds. From birth, zander fry show their predatory disposition,feeding on juveniles of other fish. This fish is found in fresh and brackish waters.
Food
Interesting and unusual fish - common zander. Its nutrition does not immediately become characteristic of predators. The first months, young fish eat plankton. What harmless creatures, however! No, it wasn't there. Children of pike perch will still have time to catch up, and soon perches and ruffs, smelt and vendace will not pass from them. The male pike-perch builds a nest in shallow waters and guards it himself, cleans and “ventilates” with his fins. Outwardly, this predator looks like another predatory fish, a pike. This resemblance is expressed in the long and pointed muzzle.
Zander reaches large sizes. These individuals, of course, are not found everywhere, but only in the Dnieper, Don and Kuban rivers. This fish moves very quickly, as befits a predator. Pike perch is gluttonous and strong. Choosing the tactics of waiting and ambush in hunting, he achieves the effect of surprise to capture his prey. And he always wins. Pike never go hungry. If he fails to catch a fish, he will eat both the crayfish and the frog. Although a predator, this representative has a very meek disposition.
Pike perch is not too whimsical to the conditions of detention, therefore it is easily bred even by amateur fishermen. One female can give birth to over a thousand fry.
Is the fish tasty? Is it useful?
Pike-perch meat in cooking is considered a special gourmet product. It contains more than 18 proteinspercent, 20 amino acids and many minerals necessary for the normal functioning of the human body.
How to clean
Everyone knows how tasty common pike perch is. How to clean it, are there any peculiarities in this procedure? Yes, such an interesting fish and cleaning is interesting. The hostess will need: knife, fork and stick. You can, of course, replace it with an ordinary pencil.
So, you should cut off the fins and place the fish in clean cold water. With a fork, make small grooves along the oblique line against the scales of the fish. This will make the cleaning process easy. You can hold the fish with the help of a small device: a stick inserted into the zander's mouth. You can put the fish carcass in boiling water for a couple of minutes. The scales after such heat treatment will separate even without the help of a knife. Another good tip to remove the scales from the fish as quickly as possible is to rub it with s alt before cleaning. Some fishermen prefer to cook zander fish soup directly with scales. They believe that this even improves the taste of the cooked dish. This fish is fried with scales.
Small conclusion
Pike perch grows quickly, therefore it lends itself perfectly to breeding. It is highly appreciated by fishermen and cooks. It ranks second after red fish in terms of value. The meat is tasty, tender, there are few bones in it, it does not get boring for a long time. Based on all this, pike perch is a valuable fish, no matter how you look at it: it is unpretentious to the conditions of detention, for the fisherman it is a pleasure when fishing, as it is caught on any bait. Delicious in any dish. Has a decent size. Responsive to good foodand conditions of detention. It has some fishing features: it bites in the morning and in the evening, even at night. Pike perch do not really like the light of the day. Since predators are usually nocturnal, watching for their relaxed prey. But, if the pike perch grabbed the live bait, it rapidly heads to its shelter, swallowing its prey completely. And when he already feels that he has been caught, he tries to free himself, but, unfortunately for him, he quickly gets tired, thus giving the person the opportunity to calmly complete the work he has begun. Fishermen consider themselves lucky to catch zander. Ukha from this fish turns out rich and tasty.
