Rudd
For the onset of winter, all living things prepare in their own way: migratory birds fly to the south, forest animals stock up on warm fur coats and food supplies, and some even cozy places for hibernation. But how do fish hibernate? After all, rivers and lakes are covered with thick ice for long winter months!
Winter pits
Different fish species survive this difficult period unequally. Many species of heat-loving fish, such as bream, carp, tench, gather in huge schools in October-November and go to wintering pits. Here they spend about 3 months practically without movement, like herring in a barrel! In those fish that are at the very bottom, bedsores are even formed on the belly. Moreover, fish of the same species and age hibernate together. The fish cling to each other, and the cold is no longer so terrible for them.
Catfish are attached higher, near the wintering pits. This is due to the fact that in the pit itself, already a month after the formation of the ice cover, there is less oxygen, which catfish do not like very much.
Ice hunting
Predatory fish do not hide in wintering pits. But for some reason, the inhabitants of such pits are not touched either, although they could have thus ensured themselves a satisfying existence for the whole winter. Perhaps predators also have their own notions of justice?
For the most part, pike, perch and pike perch hunt for those fish for which the ice shell over their heads does not care, and they do not leave their usual habitats - these are roach, bleak, verhovka and ruff.
The semi-darkness formed under the ice layer creates especially favorable conditions for predators for hunting. In the early days of winter predatory fish they hunt especially actively, and fishermen call this predator's zhor "first-ice".
Winter is a joy
There are some fish for which winter is not a burden, but on the contrary - the most the best time of the year! Such is the burbot. Warm water depresses him. In summer, when the water temperature is above 15 C, the burbot stops feeding and hibernates, hiding under the coastal burrows, under large stones or driftwood. And if the temperature rises above 27 C, this fish dies altogether! Only in autumn, when it cools down noticeably in the rivers, the burbot wakes up and begins to feed.
Traveler fish
Some fish do not want to change their usual way of life in winter. They prefer to move to warmer waters. So, for example, anchovy, which lives in the Sea of Azov, eats intensively in summer, accumulating fat. With the cooling of the water, it migrates through the Kerch Strait to the Black Sea and hibernates there, sinking to a depth of 100 - 150 meters, where the water is warmer.
Frozen fish
And if the reservoir is shallow, stagnant and freezes through in winter? There are such lakes in the Arctic. Their inhabitants, the common crucian carp and the black fish Dallia, burrow into the silt with the onset of winter. When such bodies of water freeze to the very bottom, fish often find themselves frozen into the ice. But, even being in ice captivity, they do not die. In the spring, when the reservoirs thaw, Dallia comes to life and in the short polar summer manages to fatten up and leave offspring. These are the incredibly hardy inhabitants of the water!
Frosty winter is a special time in the life of river and lake inhabitants. Dense ice depletes atmospheric oxygen saturation in water. The snow cover reduces the access of sunlight to the under-ice space. Water lowers the temperature, which is why most cold-blooded animals become lethargic, inactive.
Some fish, like amphibians, go into winter hibernation (hibernation). In water bodies freezing to the bottom, crucian carp and small black fish Dallia, together with newts and frogs, burrow into silt until spring, suspending all life processes. Other fish, obeying natural instincts, implement their specific behavior patterns.
Wintering options for fish
Common options for wintering fish:
- gregarious sedentary existence in wintering pits;
- active twilight life (for predatory species);
- entry into the winter spawning phase;
- seasonal migrations;
The special physical properties of water help to transfer wintering favorably to the inhabitants of ice. Fresh water acquires the greatest density at +4 degrees Celsius. Cooling down in the under-ice layer to this temperature, the water sinks down before reaching the critical freezing point. Convection rotation of warm and cooling layers does not stop until the entire reservoir has cooled to +4, which happens only in very shallow ponds and lakes.
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Winter pits and predators under the ice
Winter cooling is the time when the growth of aquatic vegetation and plankton stops. Fish, the food supply of which is scarce, reduce their vital activity, huddle in flocks, looking for suitable places for wintering. Individuals of the same age and size gather in wintering pits. So it is easier for them to endure the cold, densely huddling in flocks. Mucus plentifully excreted on the surface of the scales helps to withstand the cold, minimize energy consumption. Most likely, it is she who scares away predators, the population of fish waiting out the cold remains untouched throughout the winter.
This behavior is typical for thermophilic bream, carp, and tench. Fat reserves stored in summer allow you not to worry about nutrition. About three months fish spend inactively in wintering pits, so that in individuals closest to the bottom, bedsores form on the belly.
Twilight predatory fish feel good under the ice. Perch actively hunts both in the light and in areas shaded by ice, becoming a frequent prey of fishermen - ice fishing masters. The pike prefers darker deep spaces, keeping close to perch and roach flocks, catching ruffs, bleaks and verkhovki. The same fish, which do not change their usual places of existence in the cold season, are also hunted by the deepest twilight predator - pike perch. Winter fishing pike perch is possible only in dark depths at a considerable distance from the coast.
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Whitefish and burbot time
Catfish are somewhat more active, looking for places near the boundaries of wintering pits, on elevations of the bottom, near rapids, more saturated with oxygen. Significant body weight allows the catfish not to be afraid of rapid hypothermia. However, the most staunch fans of "winter swimming" are burbots.
Burbot - winter fish The temperature regime in the under-ice world is favorable for burbot. This fish does not like warm water, warmed up in summer shallow water to a temperature of 27 ° C, it becomes fatal not only for juveniles, but also for adults. In summer, the fish leads an inactive lifestyle, hiding under driftwood, boulders and in holes. Zhor of burbot begins with an autumn cold snap, when the water cools down to temperatures below +15 degrees. The winter chills add activity. It is during severe frosts that burbot spawns on areas of the bottom covered with small stones.
Whitefish inhabiting the water bodies encircling the north of our country, from the European to the Far Eastern part, also enters the phase of active reproduction in autumn and early winter. Bottom organisms serve as food for whitefish, as well as caviar of fish spawning in winter, it also eats its own.
Winter migrants
In the warm season, a decorative pond on a personal plot does not require special care. Only on very hot days do you have to deal with water bloom. However, with the onset of cold weather, you need to make a lot of efforts so that the reservoir and its inhabitants winter safely and with the arrival of spring they again become the center of attention in the country. Prepare the pond for winter long before the onset of cold weather. Before the beginning of leaf fall, cover it with a net so that foliage does not get into the water. If this is not done, then in the spring the leaves will begin to rot under water, and all beauty will be ruined. But with the onset of the first night frost, it must be removed so that it does not freeze into the ice. If leaves do get into the pond, catch them with a net or with a water vacuum cleaner (skimmer - surface suction pump). Bottom cleaning- This is a mandatory procedure, regardless of whether you have a wintering pond or not. Everything that accumulates at the bottom - silt, garbage, fish food - decomposes and forms disease-causing gases that can poison the inhabitants of the reservoir. Therefore, do not ignore cleaning. This can be done with a rake. Remember to keep the pond clean for the winter. Already from the beginning of autumn, start constantly monitoring the night air temperatures. At the moment when the night temperature approaches 5 ° C, turn off the pressure pumps (if any) and disconnect them from the filter. If the equipment is equipped with special protection against freezing, it can be safely left in the pond for the winter. But if there is no such protection, then all auxiliary elements are removed from the water, washed with a weak saline solution, dried and transferred to a warm and dry place, where they are stored until spring. Store pumps and hoses rolled up in a container filled with water. To prepare the reservoir for winter, initially you need to assess the scale of the upcoming actions. This largely depends on its size. Let's figure it out. Small bodies of water are not left for wintering at all. A pond with an area of up to 20 square meters and a depth of up to 0.8 m in winter will freeze to the very bottom, regardless of its origin (artificial or natural). Therefore, you need to extract everything from it. plants and living creatures... Then the water is pumped out and the walls and bottom are manually cleaned. After that, the pond is half or 2/3 full clean water so that in winter it does not accumulate a lot of snow, which will then melt for a very long time. If the winter is very cold, don't be lazy - make a small hole in the pond. By creating a kind of air cushion under the ice, you will significantly speed up the process of melting and warming up the pond in spring. Bodies of water an area of over 20 square meters and a depth of more than 1 m can be left full for the winter. However, before that, they also clean the bottom and remove all equipment (filters, pumps, etc.). Before the cold weather sets in, you need to take care of the aquatic plants. Swamp and shallow plants cut almost at the root. Those of them that are not frost-resistant are covered with burlap or leaves. And if possible, it is better to get such plants and send them for the winter to a room where there will always be a small (about 5 ° C) positive temperature and a minimum amount of light. Only reeds are left to winter in their place. It will be a source of oxygen for wintering fish. Water lily, yellow capsule, elodea, swamp, vodokras, duckweed, calamus, marigold, hostu, equilegia, sitnik left for the winter in a pond. However, it is advisable to cut off several buds and keep them warm. If the plants, for some reason, do not survive the winter, they can be grown from the buds left behind. And heat-loving plants ( water hyacinth, pistia, nile papyrus, pontederia, marsh iris, tropical water lilies) is taken out of the reservoir and placed for the winter in a container with water, the temperature of which should be at least 10-15˚С. The water in the containers is changed every 2-3 weeks, while the lighting in the storage area should not be intense and bright. The wintering pond should contain as many plants as possible. This will help maintain biological balance in it. Changing habitat is stressful for fish. And the best option for them would be to spend the winter in their familiar, familiar reservoir. But this is not always possible. In the case when the pond is less than 1.5 m deep, the fish will freeze. The main step in preparing fish for winter is changing the diet. In autumn, feed can be given less than, for example, in summer. And with the onset of cold weather, the fish stop feeding altogether. Because in winter they have to get used to getting food on their own. To leave the fish to winter in their permanent place, you can purchase special equipment (pond heaters and aerators) that will help maintain the water temperature within normal limits. If it is not possible to use all this equipment, you can make a small hole and spill it with boiling water. But remember, you cannot make an ice hole with an ax, since the shock wave can harm health and physical condition inhabitants of the reservoir. Heat-loving ornamental fish ( cold water trout, carp koi, gold fish, verkhovka, minnow) do not leave to winter in the reservoir. A large aquarium is usually prepared for them in advance. The conditions in it should be comfortable enough for the fish so that they do not hibernate, but at the same time a little harsh so that in the spring, when they are launched into an open pond, they do not die. The wintering place should be spacious enough. For each fish up to 10 cm long, you need at least 10 liters of water. The aquarium should be equipped with a water filter and an oxygenation system. The water temperature should be at the level of 10-12˚С. If there is no aquarium, for the winter the fish can be moved into a large barrel with a water temperature of 15 ° C, in which a recirculating filter is installed. Under these conditions, fish can be kept indoors until spring with little light. To complete pond preparation on summer cottage you need one important event. To prevent the freezing water from damaging the walls of the pond in winter, several logs or rubber balls are lowered into it. During severe frosts, the reservoir is additionally covered with straw, boards or burlap. However, if fish hibernate in it, it is not recommended to leave such a shelter for a long time (fish need light to maintain life). Also in winter, you need to constantly clean the surface of the pond from snow and do not forget to monitor the presence of ice holes .. If you take proper care of the decorative reservoir in the fall, then it will survive the winter without much hassle and loss. And in next year he will again delight you with a picturesque view and coolness. You will learn how to prepare fish for winter in this article. Fish to prepare for the winter season begins in summer - in August, to be more precise, in the middle of it. Preparation for cold weather is due to the fact that the fish begins to swim near the coast and eat a lot. She does this in order to survive winter fasting without problems. Indeed, with the onset of cold weather, she feeds mainly on the reserves of her fat, which she ate in August. It should be noted that at the beginning of November, the active collection of stocks is temporarily suspended. The fish starts to eat again when the first ice appears on the water. Closer to winter, fish gather in schools in order to winter. They descend into the very depths of rivers and lakes. Their body is covered with a thick layer of mucus, like a fur coat. As we mentioned above, the fish spend the whole winter at the bottom of the reservoir. After all, the water does not freeze there even in severe frosts. TO winter period in fish immobility, lethargy are noted. Each type of fish hibernates differently. For example, carp and crucian carp burrow as much as possible in the mud, which is at the bottom of the reservoir, and survive until spring. They are absolutely motionless. Most of the fish hibernate - these are catfish, bream, tench, roach. The fish lays down on the bottom of the reservoir or simply buries itself in the silt. How fish winter: informative stories in pictures, fairy tales, riddles for children. Fishes by winter they gather in flocks to winter. They sink into the depths of rivers and lakes. Their bodies are covered with mucus like a fur coat. Fish spend winter deep at the bottom. At the bottom, the water does not freeze even in the most severe frosts. By winter, the fish becomes immobile, lethargic. Fish hibernate in different ways. Crucian carps, carps
burrow into mud at the bottom of the reservoir and survive until spring. They are immobile and lose their appetite. Many fish hibernate - catfish, tench, bream, roach.
They lie on the bottom or bury themselves in the silt. It is difficult for fish under the ice in winter. The algae begin to rot, the air becomes less and less under the ice, and it is difficult for the fish to breathe. Therefore, people break ice holes in rivers through which clean air flows under the ice. Predatory fish don't even sleep in winter - burbot, pike, perch.
Burbot a very nimble and voracious predator - like a wolf, only an aquatic one. He eats fish, frogs, caviar. Burbot loves very much cold water... Burbot hunts at night. And when the water becomes warm again, the burbot turns into sluggish and motionless. Trout, whitefish, salmon
also love cold water. In autumn, they make holes at the bottom - nests, lay eggs in them. In the spring, small fish - babies - will appear from this caviar. They are called "fry". Read fun stories and fairy tales to the children about how fish hibernate. For the first time Morozko walked through the forest and wet his feet. On the ground, there were still autumn puddles, in the swamps - there was a lot of water, and forest lakes from the downpours even came out of the banks. As soon as it pops, the ice cover is ready. Leaned over puddle, tries on the lid. And from the puddle, weak voices: Further it goes. TO swamp got out. Further it goes. On Lake came out. Like this! - Morozko says. - Now it's my time - to walk through the forests and fields. If I want - I will have mercy, but if I want - so I will destroy everyone. And it is unaware to Morozka that all the aquatic inhabitants are safe and sound. And spring will come - he will print all the Morozkin caps! The frost covered ponds, rivers, lakes with a thick ice cover. Only in an ice-hole, as in an outlet, is the transparent, quieted water visible. Summer puffy head catfish walks slowly in the deepest places, moving his long mustache, looking out for a hole or pothole, which would be deeper and more spacious. He loves to lie in such holes. He will get enough sleep during the day, and at night he goes hunting: he will grab the fish, and he will grab the crayfish, and eat the frog. But in winter he lies in the pit completely motionless. Wide, flat bream before wintering, as soon as the first ice appears off the coast, it quickly rises to the surface, overturns on its side in the water and lies there for several minutes, as if saying goodbye to light and air. And then headlong rushes into the depths and lays down on the bottom. Breams lie in rows, like wood in a woodpile, without any movement. Carp choose a muddy bottom and bury themselves in the mud. Sometimes they will find a soft pit and settle down in it with the whole herd. Cheerful, agile perch loves stones and half-rotten trees that have fallen to the bottom. Closely clinging to each other, dropping their red fins, perches fall asleep in such places for the whole winter. They fall into the sand of the herd with a wide ribbon minnows and ruff. Above, under the very ice, near grasses and reeds, silvery herds stand motionless roach. Pike and walleye
doze in rows in dark hollows. Gluttonous pike does not sleep well. Narrow, with predatory eyes, with a huge mouth, no, no, and she walks along the river, swallows sleepy fish. But her movements are slow, not like in summer, when she rushes at prey with lightning. And only one burbot throughout the winter he walks lively and merrily along the river. He walks nimbly between sleeping fish herds, looking for and swallowing young sleepy fish. But time will pass by spring, the sun will drive away the ice and look into the river. The fish will wake up and swim, inflating their gills ... And the burbot will no longer rush after them. Sluggish, half asleep, he will start looking for a place to hibernate. It will be hammered under a stone or under a stump and fall asleep like a dead person for the whole summer, until the very frost. - Miracles under the ice! All fish are sleepy - you alone, Burbot, cheerful and playful. What's the matter with you, huh? We clean the bottom
We remove the equipment
Preparing the pond for wintering
Wintering aquatic plants
Wintering fish
The final stage of preparing the pond for wintering
How do fish prepare for winter?
How fish winter
How fish winter: informative tales and stories for children.
E. Shim. You are all covered.
And Frost's legs are in felt boots. Unable to spank.
Morozko sneezed, sniffled at his nose. And then he got angry and began to pat each other with mittens.
I made small lids for puddles.
For swamps - more cover.
For ponds and lakes - very large lids of strong green ice.
Morozko took them in an armful and went to seal the water.
- Now, - he says, - I will cover all this slush.
- Frost, Frost, do not seal the puddle, do not lower the lid!
It looks Frosty, and in a puddle of all living creatures it is full: here there are swimming beetles, and water-loving beetles, and whirligig beetles, here water spiders, fleas and larvae ... Scurrying, scurrying around!
I tried it on - bang! - and instantly sealed a puddle.
- Now, - he says, - and here I will pick up the lid!
And voices are heard from the swamp:
- Morozko, Morozko, do not lower the lid, do not seal the swamp!
Lo and behold - and there are a lot of inhabitants: frogs, newts, snails swarming.
- Enough! - said Morozko. - Outlived. You are all covered!
I tried it on - bang! - and instantly sealed the swamp.
- Now, - he says, - I'll find the biggest cover!
And voices are heard from the lake:
- Morozko, Morozko, do not lower the lid, do not seal the lake!
Lo and behold - the lake is full of fish. Here and pike, perch, and minnows, and every small fry, fry underyearlings.
- Enough! - said Morozko. - Outlived! You are all covered!
Measured, took aim - bang! - and a thick ice cover lay on the lake.
Morozko boasts, walks through the forest, crunches on ice, taps on the trees.
- I am the only master here!
Beetles and larvae sank to the bottom, buried in the soft silt.
The frogs buried themselves in the mud, the snails closed the entrance to the sink with lime doors.
The fish found the hole deeper, lay down in a row, sleep.
And for those who do not sleep, people made a hole in the ice.
- Breathe yourself, - they say, - to your health!
Of course, living under the ice is not too fun. But nothing. You can hold out until spring.
L. Karpova. How fish winter.
V winter river gloomy and dull. The sun does not shine through the water, sand does not shine, water grasses do not bloom ... In deep silence among the hills and valleys of the river bottom they stand motionless fishes. They stand in large herds, with their heads all in one direction. They do not move their fin or tail. Only the gills rise slightly - they breathe. Even in autumn, fish gather in herds and choose a place for wintering.N. Sladkov. Perch and burbot.
- And the fact that for all fish in winter - winter, and for me, Burbot, in winter - summer! You, perches, doze, and we, burbots, play weddings, caviar with a sword, rejoice, have fun!
- Ayda, brothers-perch, to Burbot for the wedding! Let's disperse our sleep, have fun, eat some burbot caviar ...