Many, even if they did not buy, they probably saw a medium-sized fish with silvery scales and red fins on the belly on the market. This is the roach - the most numerous unpretentious freshwater fish from the carp family. True, in some regions it is called a chebak, a sorogo or a taranka.
Do not be surprised if the question of the appearance of such a common fish as roach confuses someone. After all, there are so many of this medium-sized silvery fish with reddish fins in Russian rivers and lakes that in each separate area it was given its own name. In the south, the roach is called a ram or ram, in the north it is called a wildcat, and in Western Siberia and the Urals it is called a chebak. Carpenter, tile - fishermen fondly call her.
In the lower reaches of the Volga, roach is called vobla, since it is its close relative. However, the vobla is characterized by larger sizes (up to 35 cm) and it lives in salty sea water (Caspian Sea). Calling the roach "ram" is also not entirely correct, since it is an elite inhabitant of the Sea of Azov. Roach is freshwater fish. In order not to confuse it with other similar species, it is important to understand the main characteristic features.
Many-faced roach
The wide distribution area forces the fish to change somewhat according to the habitat, so it is impossible to say unequivocally what the roach looks like. It depends on the quality and temperature of the water, nutrition, age. Usually roach has a narrow body, no more than 20 cm long with silvery scales, which can also have a golden color. I must say that the size of the caught fish is often the same, because it is the young individuals that are caught on the hook. Adult roach are cautious, but experienced anglers sometimes manage to catch fish up to half a meter long. Such cases have happened in the Siberian-Ural region.
Large roach can sometimes be confused with rudd, because both have reddish fins. Although the body of the rudd is much wider, as it grows older, the body of the roach can also expand, and the fins from yellowish-pink turn into intense red. To distinguish large roach from rudd, you need to pay attention to the color of the iris of the eyes - in roach it is yellow with an orange spot. In medium-sized roach, only the pelvic fins have a red tint, and they are grayish green on the back and tail. Another significant difference is the structure of the mouth: rudd captures food from above, and roach from below. Therefore, the head of the latter is more elongated with the lower lip slightly protruding upward.
Features of the roach habitat
Roach is an unpretentious fish from the carp family, which is equally comfortable in a pond, in a lake, or in a river. She needs very little water movement. Fish caught from the pond will be covered with a lot of mucus on their scales. Individuals prefer to keep in packs and never go far from their brothel. The roach feeds on duckweed, filamentous algae, but at a time of abundance of fry, it will not give up on them. An adult fish prefers to be at a depth of only 20 cm from the bottom of the reservoir. Only after a flood or heavy rain does the roach rise to the surface for a short time.
During the spawning period, the number of roach in flocks increases several times, and the scales of males acquire some roughness, which disappears by the end of spawning. In the morning hours, you can watch thousands of fish simultaneously soar above the surface of the water and flop on it, going deeper. Experts say that it is mainly males who jump to the surface, which are forced to do so by females, which are several times larger in number. They gather in the hundreds under one molar, which fertilizes the flowing eggs.
For all its abundance, roach has no commercial value due to its small size and bony. However, many are attracted by the cheapness of fish and there are amateurs on it who salt, dry, fry the fish in hot oil, after which small bones are practically not felt when eaten.
