What varieties of mandarin fish are there? With a complete picture gallery
Mandarin fish is also called gui fish, chrysanthemum fish, flower fish, etc. It is a very ferocious carnivorous fish, widely distributed in our country, basically found in lakes and rivers everywhere. The flesh of mandarin fish is tender and delicious, with no small bones, suitable for the elderly and children to eat, and its nutritional value is also relatively high. Below let us take a look together at what varieties of mandarin fish there are? With a complete picture gallery.
I. What varieties of mandarin fish are there?
1. Bigeye mandarin fish
The bigeye mandarin fish, also known as sow shell, thin-spined fish, sheep-eye gui fish, etc., has a body shape similar to the mandarin fish, with larger eyes, and the rear end of the upper jaw does not reach the rear edge of the eye. Its living habits are similar to those of the mandarin fish; it likes to inhabit flowing-water environments in rivers and lakes, is ferocious by nature, feeds on fish and shrimp, and the largest individual can reach about 5 jin. Its flesh is delicious, with few small bones, and it is a precious fish species.
2. Topmouth culter mandarin fish
The topmouth culter mandarin fish, also known as gui fish, osmanthus fish, fat mandarin fish, season flower fish, chela fish, flower crucian carp, etc., is distributed in almost all rivers, lakes and streams from Guangdong in the south to Heilongjiang in the north of our country, and is most abundant in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It is a warm-water precious bottom-dwelling fish. In recent years, artificial cage aquaculture has been carried out in Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang, but the fry supply has not yet been solved.
3. Spotted mandarin fish
The spotted mandarin fish, also known as rock mandarin fish, resembles the mandarin fish in appearance, has 4 gill rakers, 104 to 124 lateral line scales, small dark round spots on the head, and many ring-shaped spots on the sides of the body. It can live in both rivers and lakes, is distributed in all river systems south of the Yangtze River, and especially likes to inhabit flowing-water environments. Its individuals are not large, generally 100 to 300 mm in body length, and its yield is not high.
4. Wavy mandarin fish
The wavy mandarin fish, also known as scabby-head gui, iron mandarin fish, flower mandarin fish, sow shell, etc., lives in rivers with relatively good water quality and, like other mandarin fish, is a high-oxygen bottom-dwelling freshwater fish. It often inhabits stone cracks at the bottom of rivers and slow-flowing areas with abundant aquatic plants. It is ferocious by nature and is a small carnivorous fish that likes to eat small fish and other invertebrates. Its individuals are relatively small, with a common body length of 100 to 150 mm. Its numbers are relatively few, and it is distributed in river systems such as the Yangtze River and the Pearl River.
5. Dark mandarin fish
The dark mandarin fish, also known as slate mandarin fish, tea leaf, stone mandarin fish, wubujuan, etc., has a laterally compressed body, an arched back, a terminal mouth, upper and lower jaws of almost equal length, a relatively small mouth, the rear end of the upper jaw reaching the middle of the eye, large eyes, 6 to 8 gill rakers, 64 to 70 lateral line scales, about 10 pyloric caeca, and a dark body color.
6. Liuzhou mandarin fish
The Liuzhou mandarin fish is currently distributed only in the Liujiang River in Liuzhou, Guangxi, and mostly lives in deep water and rock caves. It likes to eat small fish and shrimp and is a carnivorous animal. Its body is laterally compressed, low and flat behind the head, and its dorsal margin is a shallow arc. Its mouth is large, and the lower jaw protrudes beyond the front of the upper jaw. Its eyes are relatively large, located on the upper side; the teeth on the upper jaw are villiform. Its characteristics are slightly similar to those of the spotted mandarin fish.
II. Living habits of mandarin fish
Mandarin fish generally inhabits still water or slow-flowing water bodies, and is especially most numerous in lakes with lush aquatic plants. In winter it is not very active and often overwinters in deep water, generally not completely stopping feeding. When the weather turns warm in spring, it swims to the shallow-water areas of rocky banks to seek food; at this time, both male and female fish have the habit during the day of lying on their sides in depressions at the bottom of the lake, and at night they move and forage among the aquatic plants. It mainly feeds on other fish. Feeding is relatively poor in January and February, most vigorous in June and July, and the feeding intensity declines slightly during the reproductive period. Mandarin fish usually reaches 2 winters of age, and in the Northeast it must reach 3 winters of age to reach sexual maturity. Parent fish gather in May to July at night to spawn in gently flowing water environments. June to July is the peak spawning period, and the number of eggs carried is 30,000 to 200,000.
The predatory method of mandarin fish differs from that of other carnivorous fish. Mandarin fish often hides among the branches and roots of aquatic plants, or lurks by underwater earth ledges and culverts, or hides among cracks in jumbled rocks, motionless like a stone, and uses the patches on its body to confuse other fish, causing them to lose their vigilance. When passing fish or shrimp swim nearby, it suddenly pounces and captures them. Choosing a location for fishing mandarin fish is crucial. The place where the hook is cast must have two conditions: first, the water flow is rapid, and second, the riverbed is covered with or piled with rocks, with rock cracks and cave formations. This is because rocks are places where mussels, snails and clams gather, and such crustacean and mollusk habitats are also living areas for river shrimp. Dense river shrimp provide natural food for mandarin fish, which inevitably attracts schools of mandarin fish to live there.