Rulena, wrasse, lapina or greenfinch is a fish from the perch family, which is of industrial value. It is found in the Atlantic and some seas.
The name "wrasse" is due to the structure: the fish has a large mouth with massive lips. And the fish is called “greenfish” because of the scales, iridescent with all warm shades of green.
Description
Photos of greenfinch fish posted in our article give you an idea of how it looks.
The head of the rulyon is large, with an elongated snout. Lips are mobile and soft. The teeth are located on both jaws in one row: in front they are small, flat, near the pharynx - massive, bumpy.
Color can vary greatly from dark green to light shades of golden with greenish tints. Some greenfinches are spotted with blue or purple.
Ruleen living in the Mediterranean Sea grow in length from 25 (females) to 35 (males) centimeters. Gain up to half a kilogram of weight. Black Sea wrasses are smaller: about 14 cm long and 250 g in weight.
Habitat
Fish can bemeet in the Mediterranean, Black, Azov Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. In the north, the boundaries of the range extend to Thorndheim (Norway). Large populations live in the Mediterranean, Black and Azov Seas along the coasts of the Caucasus, Greece, Crimea, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.
This fish is well known by tourists vacationing in the Black Sea resorts. Here it is to some extent a landmark. The meat of the wrasse is not very tasty, although it is edible. Therefore, fishing is rare. The fish is not afraid of people and allows divers to approach it. It is very interesting to watch large iridescent greenfish in the Black Sea.
The wrasse poses no danger to humans.
The nature of behavior in the natural environment
Greenfish is not a very sociable fish. It is believed that there is no particular tendency to pack, but some individuals stray into small groups. Each rulena has its own small territory, which is fiercely protected from the encroachment of other fish.
Prefers places with a rocky bottom, overgrown with aquatic vegetation. Winters where it lives.
Food
Greenfish feeds mainly on molluscs, mostly bivalves. Unlike most of its relatives, it does not swallow its prey whole, but crushes shells with its massive teeth and sucks out food from there. The wrasse spits out shell pieces. It can be said that this fish feeds on pure shellfish meat.
But plant foods also occupy an important place in the diet. The wrasse gnaws the plant with the same powerful teeth. And alsothe fish sifts through a huge amount of sand, choosing fragments of plants and marine small living creatures from it. The diet also includes crustaceans, the shells of which the greenfinch crushes and spits. Sometimes fish eat sea worms.
Reproduction
Spawning occurs at the end of spring and the first third of summer. Bottom eggs, sticky.
Shortly before the start of spawning, design talent wakes up in the male. He begins to improve the territory in which his children will be born. The nest has an oblong shape and a flat bottom.
Dad puts fragments of shells and flat stones there, which he finds nearby. The male carries everything he needs in his own mouth.
The eggs that appear stick to stones and shells, and a caring parent wraps them with scraps of algae on top so that no one covets his future offspring.
The courtship of greenfinches is very peculiar. Some males try to charm their girlfriends, but more often than not, they take the female impudently, as they say. Ready to create a family, the wrasse swarms furiously in the nest, drives several females, beats them, pats them by the fins, until one of the completely intimidated ones agrees to accept this courtship.
The nest is filled with unfertilized eggs, fertilization itself occurs after the male spits milk.
Behaviors
Not only mating games of greenfinches can be accompanied by such behavior. If a male does this with a lady of the heart, one can imagine what he is ready to do with a stranger who has encroached on his territory.
Greenfish have a bad temperament, they are wary of other fish species, especially food competitors. Own relatives are usually avoided, even if they live nearby.
Commercial value
Ask any Black Sea fisherman if you can eat greenfinch fish, and he will answer in the affirmative. But he will explain that fish meat is sweetish, not very tasty.
No commercial fishing. But local fishermen are fishing for the wrasse using nets and rods.
