perch sunny

The fish is native to the USA. You can also find acclimatized forms in the rivers of Western Europe flowing into the Black Sea.

Description

The length of the fish in nature is up to 24 cm, in an aquarium up to 15 cm. The body is high, stocky, strongly flattened laterally. On the gill cover there is a skin process. Young fish are gray-green to brownish-yellow in color, against this background there are 5–8 green-blue, shiny transverse stripes and a large number of red spots. Adults are brownish in color with a pattern of irregular, shiny blue-green stripes. On the head there are spots of different sizes of dark red or reddish yellow color. Gill covers are shiny, green with dots and stripes of dark red. The skin process is black with an orange-red edging behind. The fins are greenish to golden yellow, with dark spots at the back of the dorsal fin. The female is smaller than the male, more faded in color, without the edging of the skin process, and if it is, then it is colored yellow.

Sun perches are peaceful fish. Territoriality appears only during spawning. Usually sun perches are kept in a group in an aquarium with a volume of 80 liters or more. You can choose others as neighbors large species fish. In the aquarium, shelters, thickets of plants and a place for swimming should be organized. For water, aeration, filtration, replacement of 20% of the volume of water once a week is necessary. Aquarium lighting 0.5 W/l or more. You need to feed solar perches with live food (bloodworm, daphnia), also vegetable (they love vallisneria) and substitutes.

Breeding

To breed solar perches, a pair of the most active fish is selected from the entire group and placed in a spawning tank with a volume of 150 liters or more. In the aquarium, the soil should consist of a layer of sand, 7 cm of various stones and shelters for the female. Illumination and water values ​​are the same as for maintenance. Filtration and aeration are required. The water temperature should first be lowered to 12°C in winter time year, and in spring increase to 20-22°C. With the help of tail blows, the male makes a hole in the ground 20-150 cm in diameter and about 5 cm deep. Spawning occurs in this hole after the male’s violent courtship. Spawning lasts about 1-2 hours, and during this time the female throws more than 1000 eggs. After spawning, the female must be removed, and the male remains to care for the eggs. Incubation of eggs is 3–5 days, and after another 3–8 days, the fry begin to swim. After that, it is recommended to lower the water level to 15-20 cm. You need to feed the fry with ciliates, rotifers. The male watches the fry for a week, leads them around the aquarium. As soon as the fry begin to blur different sides, the male is removed from the spawning ground. It is recommended to grow fry at a temperature of 25 ° C, and also to change 1/4-1/3 of the water every day.

Usually has dimensions from 20 to 40 cm, weight can reach up to 0.6 kg.

• The back is olive in color with a bluish tint.
• Sides - with transverse dark stripes and orange spots.
• The head and whole body are strewn with a large number of red and green spots.
• Fins - yellow, caudal - with a small notch.
• The mouth is small, with bluish lips and small teeth.

The male has small black ears with a red border. The female has reddish-yellow ears with a faintly pronounced edging or without it at all.

Where to catch sun bass

It was originally distributed in North America, in the territory between the Gulf of Mexico and the Dakotas. Later brought to Europe as aquarium fish, but soon appeared in the freshwater rivers of the Black Sea basin.

Sun perch lifestyle

It tolerates high summer temperatures well and can live in the upper water layers in the heat. It swims not very willingly, often keeps in one place, fluffing its fins. In winter, it sleeps at the bottom of the reservoir, without experiencing a lack of oxygen. Spawns in late May - late July. During spawning, the female lays up to 30 thousand eggs in several portions in the nest, which the male builds. It also protects and preserves the embryos, providing water circulation with its fins for oxygen access.

The larvae hatch on the second day and at first feed on daphnia, ciliates and cyclops. As they grow, they switch to insect larvae, small fish and crustaceans.

Adults can cause great damage to fisheries and pose a threat to the reproduction of other fish species, because. feed on fry.

How to catch sun bass

A popular object of amateur and sport fishing. It is well caught in open waters and in winter - from ice.

Sports and Fitness

American sun perch in Ukraine. Is it possible to eat sun perch and how to catch it?

July 28, 2014

In the lower reaches of many northwestern rivers flowing into the Black Sea, a water inhabitant is often found, which locals called a king. This fish is a sun perch, so named for its unusually beautiful color.

History of the American Guest

For the first time, kings were brought to Russia in 1965 from the reservoirs of the floodplain of the Prut River. Their home is North America. Initially, they appeared in Europe, where in 1877 for the first time offspring were obtained from them. Soon, the sun perch began to breed in ponds, and once in the Danube, settled in the lower reaches of the rivers flowing into the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Excellent adaptability to changing living conditions allowed the kings to become quite widespread in the waters of Europe.

Sunny perch continues to settle today. This is facilitated by the fact that the fish reaches sexual maturity already by the year. Males actively guard the clutch of more than three hundred eggs.

The sun perch, of course, impresses with its beauty: blue spots with a neon sheen adorn the entire body of the fish. It has golden-yellow fins, and a black dot with a scarlet border is striking on the gill cover.

Habitat

Currently, this fish of the perch family is found even in the middle reaches of the Dnieper. Almost all rivers and even reservoirs in Ukraine are rich in it. It easily tolerates noticeable increases and decreases in water temperature, it can easily overwinter in a pond covered with ice.

American sun perch is caught in Ukraine all year round. But it bites especially well in sunny weather. Apparently, thanks to this, he got his original name.

Living in rivers or lakes, the sun perch always keeps close to the shore. Accordingly, it is easier to find it there than in the middle of the river. Preferring shallow depths - up to a maximum of two meters, the sun perch moves in small flocks, keeping the direction either along the grass cut or along the coastal edge. The fish, as it were, patrols its territory.

In such a place, sun perch are caught easily and quickly. And some flocks, generally occupying a certain area, do not leave it for a long time. Most often this is a place under shrubs or overhanging trees, as well as a clearing in algae or reeds.

Fishing

The sun perch, whose photo shows its resemblance to the American piranha, is a predator. He has a small mouth, so he eats only small crustaceans, insects, worms, caviar. But despite its small mouth, this food-hungry fish even swallows fry of other inhabitants of the reservoir.

Based on this, experienced fishermen use large hooks of a rather large number - the tenth - when catching kings. The best treat for this fish is maggot, although when fly fishing for dry flies, it swallows the hook almost completely.

I must say that some consider the sun perch to be a “weedy” fish, which, rapidly multiplying, begins to exterminate the caviar of more valuable, commercial species, thereby causing harm.

Tackle

They say that the sun perch has become so prolific that it can be caught everywhere, even for spinning. At the same time, he pecks often and greedily. Today it is caught very little, because it is not a trophy, due to its small size.

If the king does not respond to the spinner, then you need to try to mount the equipment, which is a small jig. A crawl or earthworm impaled on a hook is an attractive delicacy for this inhabitant of water bodies. Such equipment helps to catch even a very passive perch, regardless of where the fishing is carried out - in open water or on ice.

Features of fishing

Many believe that the most suitable season for catching sun perch is the spawning period. Indeed, in this case, the fish is perfectly visible in shallow water. But if the moment is missed, and the king goes deeper, then it becomes much more difficult to determine its location. In this case, complementary foods help a lot.

Those who purposefully go fishing for kings, before the start of fishing, walk along the shore and throw a little bloodworm into the water. Feeding collects simply a huge amount of potential prey, and bites begin to follow after casting. Fishing with silicone bait is not recommended, since the mouth of the sun perch is very small, and it is difficult for the fish to swallow even inch twisters.

Fishing in winter

With sharp bites in winter, the fisherman has to very often put the next bait on the hook. Therefore, for more intense ice fishing in these "hot" spots, a bait is better suited that will attract sunfish with its smell, as well as taste and play. Another prerequisite is that the bait should hold well on the hook.

In the middle of winter, sun perch sometimes take it so carefully that the angler often does not notice the bite. In some cases, the fish, taking the bait, rises up with it. Therefore, experienced "hunters" must distinguish even the weakest bites in order to make a reliable strike.

It is better to catch perch in a darkened tent or “at a glance”, shading the hole with something. This makes it possible to clearly see what is happening under the ice layer. And if the water is also transparent, then you can even see how the fish swallows the bait.

If the bait is at a considerable depth or the reservoir is already cloudy, then, most likely, it will not be possible to observe such a picture. However, if you take a bait with a very bright color, then you can notice when it disappears.

When fishing for sun bass from the ice, the float is difficult to follow, so many anglers install a flashlight. If you raise the light source high, then the hole will be better visible, regardless of the power, whether it is a small candle or a very large lantern. And the play of light and the brilliance of the tackle will attract such fish as the sun perch.

Is it possible to eat kings

This is asked by those for whom they are exotic. There is only one answer: of course. This fish is perfect for baking in foil on a fire right on the shore of a pond. In general, sun perch has a very pleasant and delicate taste. It has moderately firm white meat. Fish at home is suitable for all types of cooking, but it will turn out especially juicy if you fry it in oil.

Dear colleagues! Today I want to talk with you about such an interesting fish called sun perch. This fish is quite common in the lower reaches of most rivers that flow into the Black Sea in its northwestern part. The fishermen even called him - king. Most likely, the reason for this name was the beautiful color of the fish. Even N.F. Zolotnitsky wrote about his beauty, who could not even find words and emotions to characterize it in more detail.

Females differ from males not so bright blue color and a coral catkin near the edge of the protrusion of the gills. The females have these earrings, but they are yellow, while the males are red. Both in females and in males, the fins have a golden yellow hue. This fish got into our reservoirs back in 1965 from North America. Perch came to Europe in 1877 by Begg, who received the first offspring from this fish. As a result, in a short period of time, perch massively settled in the waters of Western Europe. When the fish got into the Danube River, it was able to get into other rivers that flow into the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Today, solar perch can be found even in the middle part of the Dnieper. main reason successful resettlement of this fish along our rivers is the interest of aquarists in this individual.

Those specimens that were caught in nature reached a length of about 15 centimeters, but in aquariums they do not grow more than 10 centimeters. The fish is quite easy to acclimatize in any aquarium and a couple of adults will need a capacity of 60 liters. As an aquarium soil, it is better to take washed pebbles. It is not advisable to use better in pots or floating in the water column. During spawning, they simply tear the plants out of. The main food for adult perches is tubifex, bloodworm, daphnia, or give scraped meat.

Sunny perch easily gets along with traditional aquarium fish, but during spawning their character changes dramatically. If there are several males in the bank, then they each occupy their own territory and guard it. With the lower blade of the tail, the male pulls out in the aquarium soil a round depression of the correct shape with a depth of 5 cm and a diameter of 20 centimeters. In the process of preparing the nest, he constantly hangs over the nest and drives all uninvited guests away from him, even the female. If the aquarium is small and there are several males in it, then the edges of the holes will be closely spaced, which will immediately lead to clashes between the males.

As soon as the construction of the nest is completed, the male begins to drive the female to it. She swims there and settles down at the very bottom of the spawning hole and the male is right there. She begins to rub against each other and the spawning process has begun. In total, this procedure takes about an hour. The female can lay up to 300 eggs at a time. A small caviar will stick to the pebbles, the male pushes the female out of the pit and carefully guards her, while chasing all the fish.

It is quite interesting to observe the behavior of the sun perch if there are several males and one female in the same aquarium. All males prepare nests, all participate in spawning, but the right to be the first to take care of a female from a stronger male. With pectoral fins, daddy creates a current of water over the caviar, blowing out dead caviar and any debris from it. Larvae from eggs will appear in two days if the water temperature is within 20-24 degrees. The larvae themselves are very small. If spawning is productive, the fry's eye iris becomes silvery, and the nest begins to turn silver.

After 6 days, small things crawl out of the nest, and the male's attempts to return them to their homeland are not crowned with success. Just at this time, it is desirable to plant the male. All small things will be concentrated in one corner of the can. Starter feed for fry will go small living dust. Despite the fact that young perches eat decently, they grow quite slowly and very unevenly. If at the age of one month the fry reach 5-6 mm in length, then at the age of two months it ranges from 0.7 to 2.3 centimeters. For this reason, from the age of three months, the fry are sorted by size so that the larger and stronger ones do not kill the smaller ones. Sun perch is considered unpretentious aquarium fish and for him the conditions of detention are not particularly important. They overwinter superbly in frozen ponds and easily tolerate temperatures of 30 degrees. This fish can be kept in a pool, park pond or large aquarium.

Thirty centimeter sunbaths are a by-catch of spinning fish when fishing for largemouth bass on the N American continent. The sun perch is considered an invasive species, found in water bodies in the south, especially in small ponds and lakes.

The sun perch, like the largemouth bass, was brought from America to Europe in the second half of the 19th century. brought for its attractiveness as an object fishing. The sun perch was introduced due to its beauty for breeding in aquariums and ponds. This is a small fish unusual color, the most colorful of the perch family. In North America, it lives in shallow waters or places with slow flowing water, such as the Mississippi Delta. After the sun perch was brought from Europe, it got into open water bodies and is now often found in Western Europe. In Russia, it is found in the lower reaches of the rivers flowing into the Black Sea. There were cases of catch in the Kaliningrad region.

This fish is most widely distributed in the Danube basin. The first sunfish caught by an angler who usually catches a roach is a concern because often anglers don't know what kind of fish it is. Therefore, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the appearance and description of this small freshwater representative of the perch family.

BIOLOGY OF SUN PERCH

The natural habitat of the solar perch (lat. Lepomis gibbosus) - North America. In Europe, it is occasionally found in the central part of the continent; it is not found in the Iberian, Balkan, Apennine and Scandinavian peninsulas.

In their native waters of the Lake District of Canada and the Mississippi Delta, sun perch love to be in abundantly vegetated warm water. It prefers shallow coastal areas of rivers and lakes, where in summer it occurs at a depth of 1-2 m. In winter it descends deeper. Spawns from May to June. In shallow water with a sandy bottom, the female digs small holes. The male takes care of the eggs and fry first, then both parents.

Initially, young individuals feed on plankton, later on invertebrates and small fish. The sun perch is very voracious. Most often it is found in flocks of up to 20 pieces.

Aggressive sun perch attacks both natural lures for bottom fishing, and artificial lures for spinning and fly fishing.

BODY

Humpbacked and arched, laterally flattened body in the form of a disk. The back is olive-green, the shiny, bluish flanks are covered with bright, round red and orange spots. A similar bright spot is present at the narrow end of the gill covers. Shiny blue and orange stripes run along the sides of the head.

HEAD AND MOUTH

A small mouth opening is slightly directed upwards. Shiny blue and orange spots are located along the head.

FINS

Long, undivided dorsal fin with 10 hard and 10-12 soft rays. Anal fin with 2-3 hard and 8-12 soft rays. Large, with 12 rays, pectoral fins (almost 2/3 of body length). Large caudal fin with soft rays at the end.

EYES

Fairly large eyes are located at the top of the head.

WORLD OF SUN PERCH

Sunny perch often becomes by-catch for spinners when catching largemouth bass in America, and in Russia it occasionally comes across when catching a donk and a whitefish float rod.

In America, the largest specimens of sun perch reach 30-40 cm in length, in Russia - about 15 cm. The species was artificially bred in Europe, with the exception of Northern Europe. It was first introduced in 1877 to France for sport fishing and garden pond decoration. In 1880, this species already appeared in. The solar perch has no commercial value and is also not an object of targeted amateur fishing. Thanks to his appearance the sun perch is prized by aquarists. In many regions it is considered an invasive species that endangers the population of native fish species, as the sun perch destroys their fry and eggs.

In Canada, its tasty and fragrant meat is also used in the manufacture of canned fish. Due to the fact that in their homeland this fish reaches a weight of up to 0.5 kg, as well as the popularity of catching perch for spinning in the North American continent, sun perch are often caught by spinningists in those reservoirs where largemouth bass reign.

WHERE IS THE SUN PERCH?

Heavily vegetated reservoirs with relatively warm water, in which there are many shelters among branches or stones that have fallen into the water, are the places where sun perch can most often be found.

Sun perches forage by swimming in flocks into rivers during migration and in search of food. You can expect several perches to bite in one place.

In reservoirs with slow flow and relatively warm water, perch are found both among the vegetation near the shore and in shallow water in the river.

On the big river perches not only stick to overgrown banks, they can also be found on a flat-bottomed area. Such places can be fished from the shore both by spinning and from a boat in the coastal zone, making casts into the middle of the river.

Flocks of sun bass like to be among the piles under the footbridges. There are always small fish darting about; you can also hunt worms clinging to piles.

In deep lakes, perch, like other predators, are often found on an underwater slide or on its slope. You can find a lot of small fish here. To search for an underwater slide in large bodies of water, an echo sounder is useful.

This place is an excellent hiding place for both small and large sunfish. It is worth using hook-proof lures, spinnerbaits and other jigs with a secure hook.