What is the difference between rice field eel and loach, and which one is more nutritious?
The rice field eel and the loach are aquatic products we often eat, and they also look very similar, and both taste very delicious and are rich in nutrients. Today I will introduce to you what the differences between the rice field eel and the loach are. Which one is more nutritious?
1. Differences between the rice field eel and the loach
1. Differences in species and family
The rice field eel, also called eel, field eel, field, long fish, blood fish, luo fish, and scaleless young master, belongs to the order Synbranchiformes and the family Synbranchidae.
The loach, also called fish loach and loach fish, belongs to the suborder Cyprinoidei and the family Cobitidae. It can be eaten and used as medicine, and is called the “ginseng of the water&rdquo.
2. Morphological characteristics
The rice field eel has a slender, snakelike and rounded body, with a body length of about 20-70 cm, and a maximum length of up to 1 m.
The loach has a shorter and flattened body, only three or four cun, with a laterally flattened tail, a relatively pointed head, a small horseshoe-shaped mouth, 5 pairs of barbels, 3 pairs on the upper jaw, and small eyes.
3. Living habits
The rice field eel lives at the bottom of water bodies, mainly inhabiting muddy waters such as rice fields, lakes, ponds, rivers and ditches, and even swamps, flooded fields or wetlands; the rice field eel is a fierce carnivorous fish that can prey on various small animals, such as insects and their larvae, and can also swallow frogs, tadpoles and small fish.
The loach likes to inhabit the bottom layer of still water, often appearing in lakes, ponds, ditches and the surface layer of silt rich in plant debris at the bottom of paddy fields, and has strong adaptability to the environment; it mainly feeds on plankton, aquatic insects, crustaceans, debris of higher aquatic plants and algae as its main food sources.
In fact, the simple way to distinguish the rice field eel from the loach is: the one with a pointed mouth and whiskers is the loach, the one with a big head and no whiskers is the rice field eel, the one with a pointed tail is the rice field eel, and the one that is wide and flat is the loach.
2. Which is more nutritious, the rice field eel or the loach?
In fact, these two foods, the rice field eel and the loach, are about the same, and both have very high nutritional value. Both contain low fat components and little cholesterol, and are high-protein, low-fat foods, very suitable for elderly people to eat.
The rice field eel is sweet in taste and warm in nature, and enters the liver, spleen and kidney meridians. It can replenish qi and blood, strengthen bones and muscles, and remove rheumatism; it is also rich in various nutrients, including protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron and other mineral elements; in addition, the blood of the rice field eel is toxic, and accidental ingestion will irritate the oral cavity and digestive tract mucosa. Generally, eating it cooked will not cause poisoning.
The loach is sweet in taste and neutral in nature, and enters the spleen, liver and kidney meridians. It tonifies the spleen and kidneys, promotes diuresis and detoxifies; it also contains various nutrients, including protein, carbohydrates and minerals, among which the content of vitamin B1 is relatively high.
The above is an introduction to the differences between the rice field eel and the loach. In fact, they are still quite easy to distinguish. If you do not know how to tell them apart, you might as well buy two and compare and observe them yourself!