Perch family. Perch family river spiny fish

Perch is a fish that belongs to the class of ray-finned fish, the order Perciformes, and the perciform family (Percidae).

Perch - description, characteristics and photographs

A distinctive feature of the representatives of this order is the structure of the dorsal fin, consisting of 2 parts: the front spiny one and the softer back one. Some species are characterized by their fusion. The anal fin contains from 1 to 3 hard spines, and the caudal fin has a peculiar notch. Almost all perches have bright red or pinkish pelvic fins. The teeth of the perch are quite large and are located in several rows in the large mouth, and some species have fangs. The scales of the perch are small, tightly adjacent to the skin, with noticeable transverse stripes of a darker color. On its posterior edge there is a ridge consisting of teeth or small spines. The gill cover is covered with small serrations.

Average perch weight ranges from 400 g to 3 kg, and the weight of sea giants reaches 14 kg. The length of the fish can exceed a meter, but the average perch sizes usually no more than 30-45 cm. Under natural conditions, these fish are hunted by larger predatory fish, otters, and humans.

What color is the perch?

Depending on the species, the color of the perch can be greenish-yellow or gray-green. Marine representatives of the family are characterized by pinkish or red shades. Sometimes you come across yellowish or bluish specimens. U deep-sea species distinctive feature are large eyes.

Types of perches, names and photos

The perch family is represented by more than one hundred species and is united into 9 genera. On the territory of countries that were formerly part of the USSR, 4 species are known:

• river perch is the most common species in all fresh water bodies;
• yellow perch - the tail, fins and scales are colored yellow;
• Balkhash perch - the first dorsal fin without a dark spot, and in adults there are no vertical stripes;
• sea ​​bass - the needles of all fins have poisonous glands.

Where does perch live?

Perch fish is found in all natural and artificial reservoirs located in the Northern Hemisphere - from rivers and lakes of the USA and Canada to reservoirs of Eurasia. For comfortable living of freshwater species of perch, it is desirable to have a weak current, medium depths and underwater vegetation in which the “hunting grounds” are located. Active image These fish lead their lives around the clock. Under normal conditions, they gather in small flocks and can live in high-mountain lakes and at depths of up to 150 m.

Sea bass lives both in shallow water, in the plexus of coastal algae, and in rocky deep-sea expanses.

Perch is considered one of the most voracious and indiscriminate predators in food: perch’s food is everything that moves along the bottom or in the waters of a reservoir, fry, small crustaceans, mollusks, insect larvae and eggs laid by other fish. Small perches emerging from eggs settle to the bottom, where they eat small crustaceans and insects. By mid-summer, older individuals move closer to the shore, where their food becomes small roach and verkhovna.

First of all, adult perch hunts non-commercial fish species - stickleback and minnow. The second-order diet includes gobies, bleak, young specimens of silver bream, pike perch and. Sometimes crayfish and are added to the main menu. According to scientists, algae and small stones, which are often found in the stomach of a perch, are necessary for the predator to have productive digestion. In the fall, during the migration of young individuals to deep water, cannibalism flourishes among perches, which significantly reduces the population and increases the chances of survival of non-predatory fish species.

In perch fish, the anal fin contains 1-3 spines. The dorsal fin consists of two parts: spiny and soft, which are connected in some species and separate in others. The jaws have bristle-like teeth, among which in some species sit fangs. Scales ctenoid.

The perch family contains 9 genera and over 100 species. Perch are common in fresh and brackish waters of the northern hemisphere. Most widespread perches(North America, Europe and Northern Asia), followed by zander(North America and Europe) and ruffs(Europe and Northern Asia).

Chops, sculpin and percarina found only in the Azov-Black Sea basin; pepper, ammocrypt, eteostomy- only in North America.

Fish kind of Okuni(Regs) have two dorsal fins, their caudal fin is notched. The cheeks are completely covered with scales. The operculum has one flat spine, the preoperculum is serrated at the back, with hooked spines at the bottom.

The setaceous teeth are located in several rows on the jaws, vomer, palatines, extrinsic pterygoids, and on the pharyngeal bones; no fangs.

The genus of perch contains 3 species: common perch, yellow perch and Balkhash perch.

Common perch(Pregsa fluviatilis) is one of the most common fish. It is found in Europe (except Spain, Italy, Northern Scandinavia) and in Asia, on the territory of the USSR. (Not in Lake Balkhash, in the Amur basin and east of Kolyma. In 1919, it was introduced into the upper reaches of the Amur basin, into Lake Kenon, near the city of Chita. Perch took root there well and became a commercial fish.) It lives in reservoirs of various types: lakes, reservoirs, rivers, flowing ponds and brackish lakes and even in some mountain lakes at an altitude of 1000 m.

The perch is beautifully and brightly colored: dark green back, greenish-yellow sides dotted with 5-9 dark transverse stripes, caudal, anal, pelvic fins are bright red, pectoral fins are yellow. The first dorsal fin is gray with a large black spot in the back, the second is greenish-yellow. The eyes are orange. However, the color of the perch changes in different reservoirs, and in forest peat lakes it becomes completely dark.

In large lakes and reservoirs, perch forms ecological forms confined to different areas of the reservoir: one - small coastal, grass perch; the other is deep. Grass perch grows slowly; zooplankton and insect larvae are of great importance in its diet. Deep perch is a predator, grows quickly and reaches significant sizes. The largest perches reach a length of 40 cm and a weight of more than 2 kg (perch 55 cm and 3 kg were recorded). At the same time, they become humpbacked, as they grow more in height and thickness than in length.

Perches reach sexual maturity early: males at 1-2 years, females at 3 years and later.

They spawn at temperatures from 7-8 to 15° C, in water bodies in the middle zone, following pike. Eggs are laid on last year's vegetation, driftwood, roots, willow branches, and even just on the ground. The egg clutch is a hollow mesh tube made of gelatinous substance, the walls of which have a cellular structure. The eggs are located 2-3 pieces on each side of the cell. The size of the developing egg is about 3.5 mm. The yolk contains a large drop of fat. The masonry, hung on various objects under water, resembles lace ribbons. The length and width of the clutch tape depends on the size of the female. In small ones its length ranges from 12 to 40 cm, in large ones it reaches 1 m or more. In the coastal zone there are often numerous short clutches, but sometimes in certain areas you can also find significant number large masonry. But more often large clutches are swept out at depth. This can be judged by measuring clutches laid on spruce brooms lowered to different depths in advance, the so-called artificial spawning grounds. The gelatinous substance in which the eggs are enclosed probably protects them from saprolegnia (a mold) and enemies - various invertebrates and fish. In some lakes, which are not very deep and fairly transparent, it is possible to count the number of eggs laid and thus determine the absolute number of females in the spawning part of the herd.

Females, depending on their size, lay from 12 to 200-300 and even 900 thousand eggs.

In the first year, small “sharp perches” stay mainly in the coastal zone and consume zooplankton in the thickets. Perch can switch to predatory feeding early, already at a length of 4 cm; but usually it becomes a predator after reaching a length of 10 cm. Perch is especially predatory at the end of summer, when numerous grown fish fry provide abundant, easily accessible food.

Perch makes small movements to spawning and feeding grounds. From large rivers or lakes it often rises into tributaries and spawns in the floods. After spawning, perch makes feeding migrations. For example, in the lakes of the Meshcherskaya Lowland, located in the floodplain of the Pra and Oka rivers, at the end of July perch 10-14 cm long comes to feed on numerous young fish. Perch willingly feeds on its own young. It is more voracious than pike: 4.9 kg of other fish are spent on 1 kg of perch meat, and 3.5 kg on 1 kg of pike.

Due to its wide distribution and high abundance in water bodies, perch is an accessible prey for many fish. Catfish, pike, pike perch, and burbot readily feed on it. Gulls, terns and osprey also attack it.

Perch is caught in significant quantities, making up half of the fish catch in some lakes. It is readily consumed by the local population. Thanks to the enormous gluttony and behavioral characteristics of the perch, amateur fishermen easily catch it throughout the year with a variety of gear: float rods, mugs, spinning rods, a track, a jig, and vertical lures. The perch takes it willingly; Often, having fallen off the hook, he grabs the bait again and again until he is completely hooked. There are cases when a perch, having broken one hook, sits on another after a few minutes. Perch is insensitive to pain. Fishermen have seen how a perch, having caught its eye on a hook and thus losing it, soon fell for the same hook, deceived by its own eye. Often, large perches grab small fish caught in nets and go to fishermen as an unexpected catch. Perch is not afraid of noise. In the Neman delta, they even use a special method of commercial winter fishing, in which perch are lured by striking an oak board, one end of which is lowered into a hole. To catch large perch, fishermen on lakes in the Gatchina district of the Leningrad region make a noise with their rods, slightly reminiscent of the sound of a jumping fish. Perch often stays among the piles of destroyed mill dams, near large stones, and hides near flooded snags. Small perches climb inside dark glass jars and even into bottles placed at the bottom. This is how small fishermen catch them.

In lakes, reservoirs and ponds rich in valuable commercial species (whitefish, trout, bream, carp, pike perch), perch is a trash fish: it feeds on the same food and eats the eggs laid by these fish. In such reservoirs, it is necessary to strive to reduce the number of perch - to increase its catch, and most importantly, to limit reproduction. For this purpose, artificial spawning grounds are placed in the reservoir, which are then removed along with the perch eggs laid on them.

Balkhash perch(P. schrenki) is distributed in the system of lakes Balkhash and Alakulya, in the river. Or the lakes of its floodplain. It differs from the common fish in its more elongated body, the absence of a black spot on the dorsal fin and transverse dark stripes in adult fish, a lower first dorsal fin, and a protruding lower jaw. It lives in a wide variety of conditions, found both in fast semi-mountain rivers, for example in the Ili River below the city of Iliysk, and in heavily overgrown lakes, where it sometimes has an almost black color. Spawning in April, for spawning it goes from Balkhash to Ili. Balkhash perch is a predator; it feeds on loaches and juveniles of other species, but especially often eats its own juveniles. It grows slowly, reaching a length of 50 cm and a weight of 1.5 kg. In Balkhash, perch is a commercial species; it is prepared in salted, dried and frozen form. Balkhash perch meat tastes like pike perch meat.

Yellow perch(P. flavescens) is very close in structure and lifestyle to the common one. It is possible that it should be considered as a subspecies of the common one. It is distributed throughout eastern North America and is an important sport fishery in the Great Lakes. In some lakes it is bred specifically for this purpose.

Genus Sudaki(Stizostedion, or Lucioregsa). Pike perches have an elongated body, the ventral fins are spread wider than those of perches, the lateral line is extended onto the caudal fin, and there are usually fangs on the jaws and palatine bones.

There are 5 species of pike perch in the genus: common pike perch, bersh, sea pike perch- in water bodies of Europe, Canadian pike perch and lightfin pike perch- in the eastern part of North America.

Common zander(S. lucioperca) differs in that in the second dorsal fin it has 19-24, and in the anal fin 11-13 branched rays, the cheeks (preoperculum) are bare or only partially covered with scales, the fangs on the jaws are strong. This is the largest representative of the perch family, reaching 120 cm in length and 12 kg in weight. The usual dimensions of pike perch are 60-70 cm, weight 2-4 kg. The back of the pike perch is greenish-gray, with 8-12 brown-black stripes on the sides. The dorsal and caudal fins have dark spots, the rest are pale yellow. Pike perch is common in the basins of the Baltic, Black, Azov, Caspian and Aral seas, in the river. Maritsa, flowing into the Aegean Sea. The range of pike perch is expanding due to active human activity. At the end of the 19th century. it has been introduced into some lakes in England. In the 50s of the 20th century, pike perch was transplanted into lakes Issyk-Kul and Balkhash, lake Biylikul and the Ust-Kamenogorsk reservoir, lake Chebarkul (Chelyabinsk region). Within its natural range, it is resettled in reservoirs where it was previously absent: in some lakes of Karelia, the Latvian SSR, in the reservoirs of the Moscow Canal, and the Mozhaisk Reservoir.

According to their lifestyle, two biological forms of pike perch are distinguished: residential, or semi-anadromous, and semi-anadromous. Residential pike perch inhabit rivers and clean lakes. In lakes and reservoirs it lives in the pelagic zone, where it stays at different depths depending on the location of the main food, oxygen content and water temperature. Pike perch prefers a water temperature of 14-18°C. It avoids bodies of water with unfavorable oxygen conditions.

Semi-anadromous pike perch is common in the southern seas of the USSR in brackish water and rises into rivers to spawn. From the Black Sea it goes to the Dnieper, from the Azov Sea to the Don and Kuban, from the Caspian Sea to the Volga, to the floodplain flooded with spring floods. About 90% of the total pike perch catch comes from the semi-anadromous form.

The caviar of pike perch is small and the fertility is high: in the Kuban, for example, from 200,000 eggs to 1,000,000. Spawning occurs at dawn, the eggs are spawned within 1-2 hours. The male chooses a place for laying eggs and cleans it of silt.

For spawning, pike perch uses a wide variety of substrates. In the Don, Kuban, and Volga, it lays eggs on vegetation, in a large number of lakes and reservoirs - on sand, and in the Curonian Lagoon of the Baltic Sea - on stones. This plasticity of pike perch in relation to the substrate contributes to the fact that pike perch successfully lays eggs on artificial spawning grounds (spruce branches, bast, synthetic fibers sewn to burlap stretched over a frame, on sheets of slate imitating a flat stone).

The rate of egg development depends on the temperature: at 9-11° C, the larvae hatch after 10-11 days, at 18-22° C - after 3-4. After absorption of the yolk sac, the larvae feed on zooplankton. In the second month, pike perch switches to feeding on large invertebrates - mysids, cumaceans, and also juvenile fish. If juvenile pike perch is always provided with suitable food, it grows quickly and reaches 10-15 cm by autumn. Pike perch feeds on relatively small prey, the main size of the prey of a large pike perch is 8-10 cm. It usually swallows runaway prey, and therefore the favorite food of pike perch in In the northern lakes there are smelt, roach, in the middle zone - ruffe, perch, bleak, roach, in the southern seas - sprat, gobies. Thus, pike perch feeds on low-value fish. For 1 kg of its weight, pike perch consumes 3.3 kg of other fish. This is less than what pike and especially perch need. Therefore, it is readily bred in different bodies of water.

The Kuban pike perch grows faster than others, reaching sexual maturity at 3-5 years. In northern reservoirs, pike perch grows more slowly and reaches sexual maturity later - at the age of 5-7 years.

Pike perch also have enemies. Invertebrates, especially cyclops, feed on its larvae. Young pike perch are consumed by perch, pike, eel, and catfish.

Pike perch is a very valuable commercial fish. Amateurs catch him too fishing, and it is caught only in the morning, in the evening or at night.

After the regulation of the flow of rivers in the southern seas of the USSR, the natural conditions for spawning pike perch deteriorated. Currently, most of the pike perch reproduce in special fish farms. At the same time, pike perch is becoming an important commercial fish in reservoirs temperate latitudes European part of the USSR.

Bersh(S. volgensis) differs from pike perch in that it has no fangs on the lower jaw and the preoperculum is completely covered with scales. The size of the bersh is smaller than the pike perch: it reaches a length of 45 cm and a weight of 1.2-1.4 kg. Bersh lives in the rivers of the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas, mainly in the lower and middle reaches. Mainly freshwater fish the lower reaches of the rivers, but also goes out into the Caspian Sea. It rises quite high along the Volga, and is found in Sheksna, Beloozero, and Kama.

Bersh is quite common in southern reservoirs: Tsimlyansk, Volgograd, Kuibyshev. As you move north, the timing of spawning shifts to a later time. In the Volga delta, spawning occurs in April - May, and in the Kuibyshev Reservoir - in May - June. After hatching, the larvae feed on small zooplankton, and when they reach a length of 40 mm or more, they switch to feeding on benthos. The transition to carnivorous feeding is observed in bersha in the second year of life. Its main food: fingerlings of carp and perch fish. Bersh over 15 cm feed exclusively on fish. Bersh is not able to capture (due to the lack of fangs) and swallow (narrow throat) large prey. The size of the prey ranges from 0.5 to 7.5 cm. Fish 6.0-7.5 cm are rare, even in large berths (30-40 cm). The usual size of the prey is 3-5 cm. Bersh intensively feeds on overwintered yearlings in the spring and on grown-up young-of-the-year fish in the fall; in the summer the feeding intensity decreases.

Walleye(S. marinus) differs from pike perch and bersh by smaller eyes and fewer branched rays in the dorsal fin. Distributed in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, in the middle and southern Caspian Sea. Sea pike perch of the Caspian Sea does not enter rivers and avoids desalinated areas. From the Dnieper-Bug estuary it occasionally enters the mouths of the Dnieper and Bug. Reaches a length of 60 cm. Caspian pike perch prefers dense soils. Partially reaches sexual maturity at the age of two. Spawns in spring in rocky areas. The caviar is larger than that of ordinary pike perch. Depending on the size, fertility ranges from 13 to 126 thousand eggs. Sea pike perch guards caviar, which gobies are especially keen on. The main food of pike perch is gobies, sprat, silverside, juvenile herring, and shrimp. Its commercial value is small.

American pike perch are closer to sea pike perch than to common pike perch and bersh.

Canadian walleye(S. canadense) resembles the color of the dorsal fins of the common pike perch. It is distributed from Hudson Bay to the states of Virginia, Oklahoma and Kansas. Lightfin zander(S. vitreum) reaches 90 cm in length. Its dorsal fins do not have rounded dark spots, but at the end of the first dorsal fin there is a large black spot (like our perch). Its range extends much further north, including the Mackenzie River system, which flows into the Arctic Ocean.

Rod Ershi(Acerina) is characterized by the fact that the spiny and soft parts of the dorsal fin are fused together, there are large cavities of sensitive canals on the head, and the teeth on the jaws are bristly.

There are three species in the ruff genus: common ruffe, privet, striped ruffe.

Common ruff(A. cernua) is distributed in Europe west to France and in Northern Asia. It is not found in Spain, Italy, Greece, Transcaucasia and the Amur basin.

In its extensive range, it inhabits large rivers and small tributaries, lakes, and flowing ponds. Avoids northern fast-flowing rivers. The back is gray-green with blackish spots and dots, the sides are somewhat yellowish, and the belly is whitish. Dorsal and caudal fins with black dots. The color of the fish depends on its habitat: the ruffe is lighter in rivers and lakes with a sandy bottom than in those with a muddy bottom. The eyes of the ruff are large, protruding, with a dull purple, sometimes even bluish iris. The usual dimensions are 10-15 cm, weight 20-25 g, sometimes reaching a length of 25-30 cm and weight 200 g. Larger specimens, as a rarity, are found in Siberian rivers and Ural lakes. Numerous in reservoirs, especially in the central zone of the European part of the USSR (Rybinskoye, Moscow Canal reservoirs, etc.).

The ruffe spawns in the spring, in southern rivers- from April. In the Moscow region, spawning begins in the second half of May and ends in early July. The caviar is about 1 mm in diameter, with a large drop of fat. The female lays eggs several times. Individuals 8-10 cm long spawn 4-6 thousand eggs, and 15-18 cm - up to 100 thousand.

The ruffe feeds very intensively. At a time, it consumes 14.4 g of chironomid larvae per 1 kg of weight, which is 6 times more than bream. The ruff is very voracious; it does not stop feeding throughout the year.

The ruffe matures early; at two years it already spawns. Early maturation and high fertility ensure rapid growth of its numbers in the reservoir. The ruff has a detrimental effect on the feeding conditions of valuable commercial fish, especially bream. In addition, the ruffe is a very active consumer of caviar from other fish species.

Immediately after hatching, the ruffe feeds on zooplankton, but soon switches to feeding on benthos.

The activity of the ruffe increases at night, when it goes to smaller places and intensively fattens. It is difficult to observe the ruffe in natural conditions. We observed ruffes in an aquarium in winter. About a dozen ruffs were released into a large aquarium. They hid in the corners, two or three hid in a shelter that was built in one of the corners. Soon a struggle began between them for possession of the shelter. They drove each other out, hitting the enemy with their snouts, pulling fins, tearing off scales. Other ruffs joined them, sometimes all ten fish ended up in the shelter. After several days of struggle, one of the ruffs firmly took possession of the shelter and did not let any of its relatives, who huddled in the corners of the aquarium, get close. Soon they all died. The ruffe remaining in the aquarium almost never left its shelter, jumping out only for a moment to grab food. A perch that lived for some time in the aquarium climbed into his shelter from time to time, and they spent the whole day peacefully, side by side. The ruff did not notice any other fish in the aquarium - crownfish, minnows, silver bream. With the onset of spring, the ruffe perked up and began to show aggressive tendencies towards other fish. As soon as the food was given, the ruffe with fins spread out jumped out of the shelter, drove away all the fish and did not let anyone near the food until it had eaten its fill. It is possible that in a reservoir the ruffe also drives other fish away from their feeding areas. It is known from fishing practice that in places rich in ruff, no other fish except perch are found.

The ruff grows slowly. The maximum age of the ruffe in reservoirs near Moscow is 7-8 years; in the Gulf of Finland, the ruffe lives up to 10 years. An increase in the number of ruffe in water bodies is very undesirable. To combat it, it is necessary to maintain a high number of predatory fish, primarily pike perch, and also to actively catch ruffe on spawning grounds.

Nosar, or little privet(A. acerina), differs from the ruffe in its long snout and smaller scales. Found only in rivers with fairly fast currents. In such areas it is much more numerous than the common ruffe, which prefers lakes and flowing ponds. The general color of the body is yellowish, the back is mostly olive-green, the belly is silvery-white, and on the sides of the body and the dorsal fin there are several rows of dark spots, making the fish appear very motley. The privet is somewhat larger than the ruffe, its usual size is 8-13 cm; privet 16-20 cm long are quite common. It spawns in the spring, before the ruffe, in fast-flowing rivers, on clean sandy and rocky soil. The caviar is bottom-based, sticky, with a large drop of fat. Development is slow due to low temperatures. At a water temperature of 14° C, hatching occurs after 7-8 days. The size of the hatched larvae is 4.3 mm. They spend a significant part of their time in the bottom layers. The yolk is absorbed after 9-10 days, during this period the larvae are light-loving, lead a pelagic lifestyle and are carried down the river by the current. The privet feeds on various bottom invertebrates and small fish. Privet meat is tender. Fishermen highly value privet fish soup.

Striped ruff(A. schraetser) lives in the Danube, from Bavaria up to the delta, and is also found in the Black Sea before the mouth of the Danube. It has 3-4 black longitudinal stripes on the sides of its body. The length of the striped ruff reaches 20-24 cm.

Chops(Aspro) differ from ruffes by the fusiform-cylindrical shape of the body, the presence of two noticeably spread dorsal fins, and the smooth lower edge of the preoperculum.

Rod Chopy includes 3 types: regular chop, small chop and French chop.

Ordinary chop(A. zingel) has a grayish-yellow color, with 4 oblique dark brown stripes on the sides. It is distributed in the Danube and its tributaries from Bavaria to the delta. Reaches a length of 30-40 cm, sometimes up to 48 cm. The chop is kept near the bottom, on deep places, feeds on bottom invertebrates and small fish. It spawns in March - April in the riverbed, on pebbles. The caviar is small and sticky.

Small chop(A. streber) is distributed in the Danube and in the Vardar River, which flows into the Aegean Sea. French chop(A.asper) lives in the Rhone basin.

Perkarina(Percarina, one species P. demidoffi) is close to ruffs, but differs in that there are two dorsal fins, although they touch. The lid is equipped with spikes along the edge. The posterior edge of the operculum overlaps the spine located on the upper part of the clavicle. The scales are thin and fall off easily. Perkarina lives in the northern, slightly saline parts of the Black and Azov Seas. This is a small fish (about 10 cm), the body color is yellowish with a pinkish-purple tint on the back, the sides and belly are silvery. There are several dark spots on the back at the base of the dorsal fin; all fins are transparent, without spots.

Perkarina begins to reproduce in the second year of life, spawns in portions, and spawning continues throughout the summer, from June to August. The eggs are small and stick to the substrate at the bottom. The hatched larvae first lie on the bottom, then begin to float up from time to time, and after two days they rise to the surface and switch to a pelagic lifestyle. The juveniles feed on small invertebrates, then exclusively on calanipeda and mysid crustaceans, and upon reaching a length of 4 cm, on juvenile gobies and sprat. At different times of the day, percarina feeds on different organisms: during the daytime it consumes crustaceans, and at night - mainly sprat. Probably a sprat with good eyesight, at night it is more accessible to perkarina. Perkarina hunts for sprat, focusing on the lateral line organs, which are very well developed in it. Perkarina feeds on pike perch. Perkarina is a trash fish, it secretes a lot of mucus, and therefore, when it is caught together with sprat, the value of the catch is sharply reduced.

Sculpin Perch(Komanichthys, one species of K. valsanicola) was first described in 1957 from small mountain streams in Romania. Its preopercular bone has a smooth edge. There are two dorsal fins. The pectoral and ventral fins are long. It is remarkable that the sculpin perch has a well-developed genital papilla (genital papilla), like small American perch darters. The sculpin perch reaches a length of 12.5 cm. It usually stays under stones.

Three distinctive genera of American perch - pepper(Percina, 20 species), ammocrypta(Ammocrypta, 5 species), etheostomy(Etheostoma, about 74 species) - called darters. Darters are small fish, their usual length is 3-10 cm, only a few reach 15-18 cm.

The preopercular bone in darters is completely smooth or slightly serrated in some, the mouth is small, the posterior edge of the maxillary bone is hidden under the preorbital bone. Due to the bottom lifestyle, a reduction in the swim bladder is observed; it is completely absent in species of the genus Etheostoma. Females have a genital papilla, which is especially well developed in large individuals. During spawning, males of many species develop epithelial tubercles, the so-called nuptial plumage, in the lower part of the sides and on the belly. Darters are found in various types of bodies of water, but many prefer streams and small rivers with fast currents. They stay near the bottom, hide under rocks, or, if the soil is sandy, burrow into it. When danger approaches, they quickly, like an arrow from a bow (hence their English name darter), take off, move a short distance and, just as suddenly stopping, hide again under stones or in the ground. Some species stick to rocky areas with developed vegetation. They feed primarily on insect larvae: chironomids, mayflies and stoneflies.

Among darters, there are species that take care of their offspring and protect laid eggs. Others do not directly protect the eggs, but are located near the spawning area, as if protecting the spawning area from other individuals of their species. But there are species that, having buried their eggs to a depth of several millimeters, leave these areas and never visit them again. Many species are characterized by the formation of pairs, peculiar spawning games, and fights between males.

The species diversity of darters is enormous (about 100 species!), they inhabit such unique water bodies that there are probably still species that are still unknown to science. Until recently, new species were described and the systematic names of already known species were put in order.

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In perch fishes, the first two rays in the anal fin are in the form of spines. The dorsal fin consists of two parts: spiny and soft, which are connected in some species and separate in others. The jaws have bristle-like teeth, and some species have fangs. Scales ctenoid. This family includes over 160 species belonging to nine genera. Perch are inhabitants of fresh and brackish waters of the northern hemisphere.

There are two subfamilies in this family - perch-like (Percinae) And zander-like (Luciopercinae). The differences between them are determined by the degree of development of the interhemal ossicles, spines in the anal fin, and lateral line. Parallel evolution led to the appearance in each of the subfamilies of convergently similar small benthic fish with a reduced swim bladder. In representatives of the perch-like subfamily (ruffs, perches, percarines, North American darters), the anterior interhemal ossicle is more developed than the others, the spines in the anal fin are strong, and the lateral line does not extend onto the caudal fin.

The most widespread species are perch (North America, Europe, Northern Asia), followed by pike perch (North America and Europe) and ruffe (Europe and Northern Asia). Chops, sculpin perch and percarina are found only in the Azov-Black Sea basin, darters - in North America.

Pisces genus perches (Regs) have two dorsal fins. The cheeks are completely covered with scales. The operculum has one flat spine, the preoperculum is serrated at the back, and has hooked spines at the bottom. The setaceous teeth are located in several rows on the jaws, palatines, extrinsic pterygoids, and on the pharyngeal bones; no fangs. This genus includes three species of perch: common, yellow and Balkhash perch.

Common perch (P. fluviatilis) found in Europe (except Spain, Italy, Northern Scandinavia), in Northern Asia, up to the Kolyma basin, but it is not found in lakes Balkhash, Issyk-Kul and in the Amur basin, with the exception of Lake Kenon near Chita, where it was introduced at the beginning of the 19th century c., took root well there and became a commercial fish. At the end of the last century it was introduced into the waters of Australia. It lives in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, flowing ponds, brackish and even high-mountain lakes (at an altitude of 1000 m). In some lakes it is the only representative of the ichthyofauna.

The perch is beautifully and brightly colored: a dark green back, greenish-yellow sides dotted with 5–9 dark transverse stripes; caudal, anal, ventral fins are bright red, pectoral fins are yellow. The first dorsal is gray with a large black spot in the back, the second is greenish-yellow. The eyes are orange. However, depending on the body of water, its color changes. In forest peat lakes, for example, it is completely dark.

In large lakes and reservoirs it forms ecological forms confined to different parts of the reservoir: small coastal perch, grass perch and large deep perch. Grass perch grows slowly; zooplankton and insect larvae are of great importance in its diet. Deep perch is a predator and grows quickly. The largest individuals reach a length of 40 cm and a weight of more than 2 kg (a perch with a length of 55 cm and a weight of 3 kg was noted). Large perches look humpbacked, as they grow more in height and thickness than in length. They reach sexual maturity early: males at 1–2 years, females at 3 years and later. The latter, depending on their size, lay 12–300 and even 900 thousand eggs. They spawn at temperatures from 7–8 to 15°C. Eggs are laid on last year's vegetation, driftwood, roots, willow branches and even on the ground. The masonry is a hollow mesh tube made of gelatinous substance, the walls of which have a cellular structure. The eggs are located 2–3 on each side of the cell. The diameter of the developing egg is about 3.5 mm. The yolk contains a large drop of fat. The masonry, hung on various objects, resembles lace ribbons. The length and width of the clutch depends on the size of the female. In small ones its length ranges from 12 to 40 cm, in large ones it reaches more than 1 mm. In the coastal zone, short clutches are more common, and larger clutches are more common at depth. This can be judged by measuring clutches laid on spruce brooms lowered to different depths in advance, which are artificial spawning grounds. The gelatinous substance in which the eggs are enclosed probably protects them from saprolegnia (a mold) and enemies - various invertebrates and fish. In some lakes, which are not very deep and fairly transparent, it is possible to count the number of eggs laid and thus determine the absolute number of females in the spawning part of the herd. In the first year of life, small perches - “sharp perches” in rivers stay in coastal thickets; in lakes and reservoirs they show wide ecological plasticity in relation to food choice. Some behave like true planktivores, feeding in the pelagic zone, others stick to coastal thickets, feeding on invertebrates there or being predators. Perch can switch to predatory feeding already at a length of 2–4 cm, but usually becomes a predator at a length of more than 10 cm. It feeds on both the young of other species and its own; its cannibalism is especially pronounced in lakes, where it is the only representative of the ichthyofauna. It takes 5.5 kg of other fish to grow 1 kg of perch.

Perch makes small movements to spawning and feeding grounds. From large rivers and lakes it often rises into tributaries to spawn and spawns in the flood. After spawning, it makes feeding migrations, for example, to the lakes of the Meshcherskaya Lowland, located in the floodplain of the Pra and Oka rivers; in July it comes to fatten numerous young fish. In winter, perches leave the lakes, as due to the decrease in oxygen content in the water, the living conditions in them sharply deteriorate.

Wide distribution and high numbers have made perch an accessible prey for many fish (catfish, pike, pike perch, burbot). Birds (gulls, terns) also attack it. Perch is caught in significant numbers, up to half the fish catch in some lakes. Thanks to the enormous gluttony and behavioral characteristics of the perch, amateur fishermen catch it throughout the year with a variety of gear: float rods, mugs, a jig line, and vertical lures. The perch takes it willingly; Often, having fallen off the hook, he grabs the bait again and again until he is completely hooked. This fish is insensitive to pain. Fishermen have seen how a perch, having caught its eye on a hook and thus lost it, soon fell for the same hook, deceived by its own eye. He is not afraid of noise. In the Neman delta, they even use a special method of winter fishing, in which they are lured by hitting an oak board with the end lowered into the hole. To catch large perch, fishermen on the lakes of the Leningrad region make a noise with their rods, slightly reminiscent of the noise of a jumping fish. Perch often stays among the piles of destroyed mill dams, near large stones, and hides near flooded snags. Small perches climb inside cans and even bottles placed at the bottom. This is how small fishermen catch them.

In lakes, reservoirs and ponds rich in valuable commercial species (whitefish, trout, bream, carp, pike perch), perch is a trash fish: it feeds on the same food as commercial fish and eats the eggs they lay. In such reservoirs it is necessary to reduce the number of perch - increase its catch, and most importantly, limit reproduction. For this purpose, artificial spawning grounds are placed in the reservoir, which are then removed with the perch eggs laid on them.

In the second half of the 19th century. ordinary perch from Great Britain was transported to the waters of Tasmania, Australia, and somewhat later New Zealand, and everywhere it took root well. Spawning takes place in early spring – July – August, at a water temperature of 10–12°C. Regulation of rivers contributes to the growth of its numbers. It is valued as an excellent sport fishing site. The introduction of perch into some water bodies of South Africa was unsuccessful, although in the first years after introduction there was an outbreak of its numbers.

Balkhash perch (R. schrenki) distributed in Balkhash and Alakul, in the Ili River and the lakes of its floodplain. It differs from the ordinary perch in its lighter color, more protruding body, the absence of a black spot on the dorsal fin and transverse dark stripes in adult fish, a lower first dorsal fin, and a protruding lower jaw. It lives in a wide variety of conditions, found both in fast semi-mountain rivers and in heavily overgrown ponds. In Balkhash it forms two forms: pelagic and coastal. Coastal perch feeds on zooplankton and benthos, grows slowly, at the age of 8 years it is 12–15 cm long and weighs 25–50 g. Pelagic perch at this age reaches a length of 30–36 cm and a weight of 500–800 g; there are specimens weighing more than 1 kg. By the nature of its feeding, this species is a predator; it feeds on loaches and juveniles of other species, but especially often eats its own juveniles. When the water warms up to more than 20°C, the feeding intensity of the perch decreases and it moves away from the shores. In autumn it feeds on young-of-the-year perch, which form significant accumulations in the coastal zone, and does not stop feeding in winter. Spawning in the Western part of Balkhash occurs in April, in the Eastern part - in May. The main spawning grounds are desalinated shallow water areas along the coastline, as well as in the Ili delta. Balkhash perch reaches a length of 50 cm and a weight of 1.5 kg. Near the borders of its range it interbreeds with common perch. Such hybrids were found in a number of lakes in Northern Kazakhstan. In Balkhash, before the introduction of pike perch, perch was a commercial fish; it was caught and prepared in salted, dried and frozen form. The pike perch introduced into Balkhash consumes large quantities of perch, as a result the number of the latter has greatly decreased.

Yellow perch (R. flavescens) distributed in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains, the northern limit of its range is Great Slave Lake, James Bay, Nova Scotia; southern - Kansas, upper Missouri. Along the Atlantic coast, the range extends south and borders Florida and Alabama. In structure and lifestyle, this species is very close to the common perch, but differs from it in color. Olive on the back, it fades to golden yellow on the sides and white on the belly. There are eight transverse dark stripes along the body. Maximum weight up to 1.6 kg. Fertility – 75 thousand eggs. It is an important sport fishery, especially in the Great Lakes, in all seasons. The usual catch of fishermen is perch weighing 100–300 g; in some lakes perches weighing 400–800 g are quite often found. In northern lakes, where the average weight of perch in catches is 200 g and above, commercial fishing is developed.

The genus of ruffe (Gymnocephalus) is characterized by the fact that the spiny and soft parts of the dorsal fin are fused together, there are large cavities of sensitive canals on the head, and the teeth on the jaws are bristly. There are four known species of ruffe: common, Danube, privet, and striped.

Fish of the perch family: 1 - common ruffe (Acerina cernua); 2 - common chop (Aspro zingel); 3 - common pike perch (Stizostedion lucioperca); 4 - bersh (Stizostedion volgensis); 5 - Balkhash perch (Regsa schrenki); 6 - common perch (Percus fluviatilis); 7 - etheostomy (Etheostoma pallididorsum); 8 - percarina (Percarina demidoffi).

Common ruffe (G. cernua) distributed in Europe, west to France, and in Northern Asia, up to Kolyma. It is not found in Spain, Italy, Greece, Transcaucasia and the Amur basin. Inhabits bays of large rivers, small tributaries, lakes, and flowing ponds. Prefers slow-moving waters and avoids northern fast-flowing rivers.

Its back is gray-green with blackish spots and dots, its sides are somewhat yellowish, and its belly is whitish. Dorsal and caudal fins with black dots. The color of the fish depends on its habitat: the ruffe is lighter in rivers and lakes with a sandy bottom than in those with a muddy bottom. The eyes of the ruff have a dull purple, sometimes even bluish iris. The usual length is 8–12 cm, weight 15–25 g, sometimes reaching a length of more than 20 cm and a weight of more than 100 g. Large specimens are found in Siberian rivers, the Gulf of Ob, and some Ural lakes. In most reservoirs, the ruffe matures at 2–3 years, sometimes males spawn at the age of one year. In the reservoirs of Karelia, the Bukhtarma Reservoir, the Yenisei reaches sexual maturity at 3–4 years, and in the Gulf of Ob - even at 5 years. Life expectancy increases accordingly. The age limit for ruffe in catches from different reservoirs ranges from 7 to 12–13 years. Its spawning usually begins at a temperature of 6–8 and ends at 18–20°C. In one spawning season, females spawn several portions of eggs. The total fertility of individuals 15–18 cm long is up to 100 thousand eggs. Caviar with a diameter of about 1 mm has a large fat drop and a sticky shell. Females disperse eggs, which attach to grains of sand, pebbles, and less often to underwater plant roots and woody debris. Immediately after hatching, young ruffes feed on zooplankton, but soon switch to feeding on benthos. The activity of the ruffe increases at dusk and at night, at which time it goes out into shallow water and actively feeds. At a time, it consumes 14.4 g of chironomid larvae per 1 kg of mass, which is 6 times more than bream.

It feeds throughout the year. Early maturation and high fertility ensure rapid growth of its numbers in the reservoir. The ruff has a detrimental effect on the feeding conditions of valuable commercial fish, especially bream.

Keeping ruffes in an aquarium allows you to monitor some aspects of its behavior. The ruffs released into the aquarium immediately hid in the corners, and some hid in a specially placed shelter - a flower pot. Soon a struggle began between the fish for possession of the shelter. They drove each other out, hitting the enemy with their snouts, pulling fins, tearing off scales. After several days of struggle, one of the ruffs firmly took possession of the shelter and did not allow any of its relatives, who huddled in the corners of the aquarium and soon died, to get close. The remaining ruff almost never left the shelter, jumping out only for a moment to grab food. A perch that lived in the aquarium for some time sometimes climbed into his shelter, and they spent the whole day peacefully, side by side. The ruff didn’t notice any other fish in the aquarium: crownfish, minnows, silver bream. With the onset of spring, he perked up and began to show aggressiveness towards other fish. When he saw food with its fins spread out, he jumped out of the shelter, drove away all the fish and did not let anyone near the food until he had eaten his fill. It is possible that in a reservoir the ruffe also drives other fish away from its feeding areas. It is known from fishing practice that in places rich in ruff, no other fish except perch are found. An increase in the number of ruffe in water bodies is very undesirable. To combat it, it is necessary to maintain a high number of predatory fish, primarily pike perch, and also to actively catch ruffe on spawning grounds.

Nosar, or little privet (G. acerina) differs from the ruffe in its long snout and smaller scales. It is found in the basins of the Black and Azov Seas, in the Dniester, Southern Bug, Dnieper, Don, Kuban and Donets on fairly fast currents, where the common ruffe is usually absent. The body color is yellowish, the back is mostly olive-green, the belly is silvery-white, and on the sides of the body and the dorsal fin there are several rows of dark spots, which makes the fish seem very motley. The privet is somewhat larger than the ruff, its usual length is 8–13 cm; privet 16–20 cm long are quite common. They spawn in the spring, before ruffes, in fast-flowing rivers, on clean sandy soil. The caviar is bottom-based, sticky, with a large drop of fat. Development is slow due to the low water temperature. At a temperature of 14°C, hatching occurs in 7–8 days. The hatched larvae are slightly larger than 4 mm and spend a significant part of their time in the bottom layers. The yolk is absorbed after 9–10 days; during this period, the larvae are light-loving, lead a pelagic lifestyle and are carried down the river by the current. The privet feeds on various bottom invertebrates and small fish. Privet meat is tender; fishermen highly value privet fish soup.

Striped ruffe (G, schraetser) is distributed in the Danube, from Bavaria up to the delta, found in the Black Sea before the mouth of the Danube, in the Kamchia River (Bulgaria). It has 3–4 black longitudinal stripes on its sides. The length of the striped ruff is 20–24 cm. Like the privet, it prefers fast-flowing waters with a sandy and rocky bottom. The Danube ruffe (G. baloni) is found only in the Danube basin and, like the common ruffe, prefers the slow-moving waters of the plains.

Genus Percarina with one species (P. demidoffi) is close to the ruffes, but differs in that these fish have two dorsal fins, although they touch. The lid is equipped with spikes along the edge. The posterior edge of the operculum overlaps the spine located on the upper part of the cleithrum. The scales are thin and fall off easily. Perkarina lives in the northern, slightly saline parts of the Black and Azov Seas. This small fish (maximum length is about 10 cm) has a yellowish body color with a pinkish-purple tint on the back, silvery sides and belly. There are several dark spots on the back at the base of the dorsal fin; all fins are transparent, without spots.

Perkarina begins to reproduce in the second year of life, lays eggs in portions, and spawns throughout the summer, from June to August. The eggs are small and stick to the substrate at the bottom. The hatched larvae first lie on the bottom, then begin to float up from time to time, and after two days they rise to the surface and switch to a pelagic lifestyle. The juveniles feed on small invertebrates, then exclusively on the crustaceans Calanipeda and mysids, and upon reaching a length of 4 cm, on juvenile gobies and sprat. At different times of the day, percarina feeds on different organisms: during the daytime it consumes crustaceans, and at night it mainly consumes sprat. Perkarina hunts for sprat, focusing on the lateral line organs, which are well developed in it. This is a trash fish, it secretes a lot of mucus and therefore, when caught together with sprat, the value of the latter’s catches is greatly reduced. Perkarina feeds on pike perch.

American darters belong to three genera: Percina, 30 species, Ammocrypta, five species, Etheostoma, 84 species. Distributed in the eastern part of North America: the western border of their range lies near the Rocky Mountains, the northern - in southern Canada, the southern - in northern Mexico. Darters are small fish, their usual length is 3–10 cm, only a very few reach 15–20 cm. The preopercular bone is completely smooth along the edge or, in some, slightly serrated, the mouth is small. Two dorsal fins, the first spiny usually lower than the second, supported by soft rays. The caudal fin is rounded. The pectoral fins are very large, they help to stay on the ground and make quick throws when moving. Due to the bottom lifestyle, a reduction in the swim bladder is observed, which is completely absent in species of the genus Etheostoma. The coloring of most species is very bright, variegated, as a result of a combination of different shades of pink, red, yellow, green and dark spots.

Darters are found in various types of reservoirs, but most of them prefer streams and small rivers with fast currents. They stay near the bottom, hiding under stones or, if the soil is sandy, burrowing into it. When danger approaches, they quickly, like an arrow from a bow (hence their English name darter), take off, move a short distance and, just as suddenly stopping, hide again under stones or in the ground.

Life expectancy is no more than 5–7 years. They become sexually mature in the third year of life. Females have a genital papilla, which is especially well developed in large individuals. During spawning, males of many species appear in nuptial plumage: epithelial tubercles develop on the lower part of the sides of the body and on the belly, and the brightness of the color increases. Many darters form pairs, and among them there are peculiar spawning games and fights between males. Species take care of their offspring by protecting their eggs. Others directly protect the eggs, but, being near the spawning ground, they are always ready to protect their spawning area from the invasion of other individuals. But there are species that, having buried their eggs to a depth of several millimeters, leave the areas and never visit them again.

Darters feed mainly on insect larvae: chironomids, mayflies and stoneflies. The lightning speed of their movements and ability to hide make it difficult for other fish to hunt them. But in some reservoirs they are an important food for sport fish, especially trout. They are used as bait when fishing. Some imitate the appearance of darters. The species diversity of darters is enormous; their fauna has not been fully studied.

Subfamily of pike perch (Luciopercinae). They have interhemal ossicles of the same size, spines in the anal fin are weak, and the lateral line extends onto the caudal fin. Pike perch-like species include pike perch, chops, and Romanian sculpin perch.

Genus of pike perch (Stizostedion, or Lucioperca). Pike perches have an elongated body, the ventral fins are spread wider than those of perches, the lateral line continues onto the caudal fin, and there are usually fangs on the jaw and palatine bones. The genus includes five species: common pike perch, bersh, sea pike perch live in the waters of Europe; Canadian and lightfin pike perch - in the eastern part of North America.

Common pike perch (S. lucioperca). Pike perch have 19–24 branched rays in the second dorsal fin, and 11–13 in the anal fin, the cheeks (pre-operculum) are bare or partially covered with scales, and the fangs on the jaws are strong. This is the largest representative of perch fish, reaching a length of 130 cm and a weight of 20 kg. The usual length of pike perch is 60–70 cm, weight 2–4 kg. The back of the pike perch is greenish-gray, with 8–12 brown-black stripes on the sides. The dorsal and caudal fins have dark spots, the rest are pale yellow. Pike perch is common in the basin of the Baltic, Black, Azov and Aral seas and in the Maritsa River, which flows into the Aegean Sea. The range of pike perch is expanding due to active human activity. At the end of the 19th century. it has been introduced into some UK lakes. In the 50s of the 20th century, pike perch was introduced into lakes Issyk-Kul, Balkhash, Biylikul, Chebarkul (Chelyabinsk region), and into the Ust-Kamenogorsk reservoir. Within its natural range, it is resettled in reservoirs where it was previously absent: in some lakes of Karelia, the Latvian SSR, in the reservoirs named after. Moscow, Moskvoretskaya system and other reservoirs.

The rate of egg development depends on the temperature: at 9–11°C the larvae hatch in 10–11 days, at 18–20°C – in 3–4 days. After absorption of the yolk sac, the larvae feed on zooplankton. In the second month of life, pike perch switches to feeding on large invertebrates: mysids, cumaceans, and also juvenile fish. If juvenile pike perch is provided with suitable food, it grows quickly and reaches a length of 10–15 cm by autumn. Pike perch feeds on relatively small prey; the main length of the prey of a large pike perch is 8–10 cm. Usually it swallows runaway fish, so its favorite food in northern lakes is smelt and roach, in central lakes it is ruffe, perch, bleak, roach, and in the southern seas it is sprat and gobies. Thus, pike perch feeds mainly on low-value fish. For 1 kg of mass it consumes 3.3 kg of other fish. This is less than what pike and perch need. Therefore, it is readily bred in different bodies of water. The growth rate of pike perch in different reservoirs is different. In northern lakes and reservoirs it grows much worse than in southern ones; semi-anadromous pike perch grows faster than resident pike perch in most populations. Accordingly, the age of puberty varies greatly. Semi-anadromous pike perch becomes sexually mature on average at the age of 3–5 years, resident pike perch becomes sexually mature at an average age of 4–7 years. Pike perch also have enemies. Invertebrates, especially cyclops, feed on its larvae. Young pike perch are consumed by perch, pike, eel, and catfish.

Pike perch is a very valuable commercial fish. Amateur fishermen also catch it. It is better to catch it in the morning, in the evening or at night. After the regulation of the flow of rivers in the southern seas of the USSR, the natural conditions for spawning pike perch deteriorated. Currently, most of the pike perch reproduce in special fish farms. It becomes an important commercial fish in reservoirs of the European part of the USSR, as well as in lakes Balkhash, Issyk-Kul, and in the Bukhtarma reservoir.

Bersch (S. volgensis) differs from pike perch in that it has no fangs on the lower jaw and the preoperculum is completely covered with scales. The length of the bersh is less than that of the pike perch: it reaches 45 cm and weighs 1.2–1.4 kg. Lives in the rivers of the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas, mainly in the lower and middle reaches. This is mainly a fish from the lower reaches of rivers, but it enters the Caspian Sea and is common in the southern reservoirs - Tsimlyansk, Volgograd, Kuibyshev. As you move north, the timing of spawning shifts from April–May in the Volga delta to May–June in the Kuibyshev Reservoir. After hatching, the larvae feed on small zooplankton, and when they reach a length of 40 mm or more, they switch to feeding on benthos. The transition to predatory feeding on fish (underyearlings of carp and perch fish) is observed in bersha in the second year of life. Bersch, more than 15 cm long, feeds exclusively on fish. Due to the lack of fangs and a relatively narrow throat, it cannot capture and swallow large prey. The length of the victim ranges from 0.5 to 7.5 cm, but usually 3–5 cm. Adult bershis are intensively fed in the spring by overwintered yearlings and in the fall by grown-up fingerlings of fish; in the summer the intensity of their feeding decreases.

U sea ​​walleye (S. marina), like the common one, there are fangs on the jaws, but it differs in the number of branched rays on the anal fin, of which it has fewer (15–18 versus 19–24). Sea pike perch, common in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, occasionally enters the mouths of the Danube and Bug; pike perch, living in the middle and southern Caspian Sea, avoids desalinated areas. Its length reaches 50–60 cm, weight up to 2 kg. Sexual maturity occurs at 2–4 years. The caviar is larger than that of ordinary pike perch. Depending on the size, fertility ranges from 13 to 126 thousand eggs. For breeding it approaches the shores. Spawns in spring on rocky ground. Sea pike perch cares for the eggs and protects them from being eaten by numerous gobies. This fish is a predator whose food consists of sprat, silverside, juvenile herring, and shrimp. Its commercial value is small.

North American pike perch – lightfin (S. vitreum) and Canadian (S. canadense)– according to a number of morphological characteristics, it is closer to sea pike perch than to ordinary pike perch. In terms of distribution, relative to salinity and size, the lightfin pike perch is to some extent an analogue of the common pike perch, and the Canadian pike perch is similar to the bersha. The range of the former extends along the Atlantic coast, from Quebec, through New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, then along the western slope of the Appalachians going south to Alabama and east to Oklahoma. In the north and along the Mackenzie River, lightfin pike perch almost reach Arctic waters. The range of Canadian pike perch is narrower. On the north it is bounded by the basin of the Saskatchewan River and James Bay, on the east by the western part of Virginia, on the south by the Tennessee River in Alabama and the Red River in Texas. The western border lies in the states of Kansas, Wyoming and Montana. Both species prefer large rivers and lakes. Lightfin pike perch enters the desalinated areas of some bays of the Atlantic Ocean.

The dull yellow-olive color on the back and sides of the lightfin pike perch turns white on the belly. There are 6–7 transverse stripes on the sides. The presence of a dark spot at the caudal fin and on the back of the first dorsal fin, and the peculiar silvery or milky-white color of the end of the lower lobe of the caudal fin make it easy to distinguish it from the Canadian pike perch. They differ from each other in the number of pyloric appendages. The lightfin has three and they are long, while the Canadian pike perch has 3–9 (usually five) and is short. The maximum weight of lightfin pike perch in catches is 4.8–6.4 kg, with the exception of 8 kg, and Canadian pike perch – 3.2 kg.

The fertility of lightfin pike perch is 25–700 thousand eggs. Spawning usually occurs at night; after spawning, pike perch leave the spawning area and do not care about the laid eggs. Depending on feeding conditions, juveniles grow up to 10–30 cm over the summer. In the southern part of its range it matures in the third year and lives no more than 6–7 years. In the north it grows more slowly, matures in 4–5 years, life expectancy increases to 12–15 years. This fish is a favorite object of sport fishing. Much about the life of pike perch has become known thanks to the observations of amateur fishermen. It turned out that they prefer to stay in the bottom layers of water, near sand spits, forming small clusters. Actively takes bait after sunset; bait that closely imitates the live fish it feeds on in nature is the best.

The genus chop (Zingel, or Aspro) differs from ruffes in the fusiform-cylindrical shape of the body, two noticeably spread dorsal fins, and the smooth lower edge of the preoperculum. The genus includes three species: common, small and French chop.

Common chop (Z. zingel) lives in the Danube and its tributaries, from Bavaria to the delta, and in the Dniester. The body color is grayish-yellow, with four dark brown stripes on the sides. Reaches a length of 30–40cm, maximum length 48cm. It stays near the bottom, and in large rivers it is found in the channel part; feeds on bottom invertebrates and small fish. It spawns in March–April in the riverbed, on pebbles. The caviar is small and sticky.

Small chop (Z. streber) distributed in the Danube and its tributaries, like the common chop, and in the Vardar River (Aegean Sea basin). Compared to an ordinary chop, it has a more runny body; stays in areas with even faster currents. The French chop (Z. asper) lives in the Rhone basin; in appearance and lifestyle it is close to the small chop.

Sculpin perch (Romanichthys) with one species R. valsanicola. First described in 1957. from small tributaries of the upper section of the Arges River (Danube basin). Shows significant convergent similarities with the American Darter. The preopercular bone has a smooth edge. The pectoral and ventral fins are quite large, there are two dorsal fins, and the genital papilla (genital papilla) is well developed. Sculpin perch reaches a length of 12.5 cm. It lives in mountain streams, usually hiding under stones; its food is the larvae of stoneflies and other rheophilic species. Probably, it can already be classified as an endangered species, since the construction of dams, deforestation, use of land for agricultural crops, and water pollution with chemicals have greatly changed the ecological situation in its habitat. The reduction in its numbers was facilitated not only by abiotic factors, but also by the aggravation of competitive relations with some loaches and cyprinid fish, which turned out to be more adapted to the changed conditions.