What is the swim bladder of the Chinese bahaba (Bahaba taipingensis) in the croaker family? Can it save lives? What does it eat to grow up? How much does it cost per jin on the market? How is it different from the large yellow croaker?

The Chinese bahaba, also known as jinqianmin and jinqianyu, is a protected animal in China, and it is expensive because its swim bladder has high value. At present, many people also breed it artificially, so what is the Chinese bahaba's swim bladder? Can it save lives? What does it eat to grow up? How much does it cost per jin on the market? How is it different from the large yellow croaker?

What is the swim bladder?

1. The Chinese bahaba swim bladder is the swim bladder of the Chinese bahaba, a fish of the family Sciaenidae. The medicinal value of the Chinese bahaba swim bladder, like fish maw, lies in its rich collagen. It is mainly used to treat liver-kidney yin deficiency, dizziness, soreness and weakness of the waist and knees, spermatorrhea, and diabetes. This species is distributed in the East China Sea and South China Sea of China.

2. Although the Chinese bahaba resembles the yellow croaker in body shape, its swim bladder is special in shape, being cylindrical with a broad, flat front end, and from each side extends a slender lateral tube (commonly called a "whisker") about as long as the swim bladder itself, which runs backward deep into the muscle layer of the body wall. The Chinese bahaba swim bladder is a precious traditional Chinese medicine tonic with special medicinal value. At present, 500 grams of dried swim bladder (white flower fish maw) sells for more than 120,000 yuan on the market.

Can it save lives?

1. The Chinese bahaba's swim bladder can save lives. Compared with the huge fish meat, merchants actually value the swim bladder weighing about one and a half jin inside the fish belly. The Chinese bahaba sells for an astronomical price because the swim bladder and other parts have high medicinal value. People in Hong Kong, China call it "jinqianyu", while people in Guangdong call it "huangjinyu". Old Huang, 60 years old, told reporters that in his childhood memories, local fishermen caught Chinese bahaba weighing more than 200 jin.

2. The Chinese bahaba, also known as jinqianmian. It is popularly believed that the Chinese bahaba is a top-grade tonic, especially its swim bladder (that is, fish maw), which nourishes the liver and kidneys, is very good at stopping bleeding, and is especially effective in curing postpartum hemorrhage in pregnant women, so it is very precious and has long been said to be "as precious as gold".

What does it eat to grow up?

The Chinese bahaba inhabits coastal waters at a depth of 50 to 60 m, and juveniles inhabit estuaries and nearby coastal areas. It is distributed in the East China Sea and the northern South China Sea. It is a carnivorous fish that feeds on small fish and large crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs, while juveniles feed on shrimp.

Latest market price:

1. Different parts of the Chinese bahaba have different values, and the most valuable is its swim bladder. A Chinese bahaba is generally sold in separate parts, namely the meat and the belly. Usually, the meat is resold to high-end hotels for diners to eat, at about 2000 to 3000 yuan per jin. The swim bladder and fish head can be used as medicinal materials and, after being resold layer by layer, finally flow to medicinal material dealers and pharmacies.

2. "Even the price of gold of the same weight cannot match the fresh maw (note: swim bladder) of the Chinese bahaba", the aquatic product expert said. The Chinese bahaba is commonly known as huangjinyu in the Guangdong area, and this saying is not false.

3. According to local old fishermen in Huangqi, decades ago Chinese bahaba were often caught along the coasts of Fujian and Zhejiang, and many of these old fishermen have eaten Chinese bahaba. In fact, the taste of the Chinese bahaba is ordinary; its meat is flaky and rather coarse, not as delicious as the large yellow croaker. It is said that the Chinese bahaba sells for an astronomical price because the swim bladder and other parts have high medicinal value.

Why is it so expensive?

1. The Chinese bahaba is a fish species endemic to China, distributed in the East China Sea and the northern South China Sea, and is a national second-class protected animal. It has an elongated, laterally compressed body and a slender caudal peduncle. Due to its scarcity and intensified fishing along the coasts, it is currently on the verge of extinction.

2. Before Liberation, Chinese bahaba were often caught along the coast of Zhejiang and regarded as a top-grade tonic, especially the swim bladder (commonly known as "fish maw"), which was extremely precious and had long been said to be "as precious as gold". The special effect of fish maw in nourishing the liver and kidneys is comparable to Korean ginseng, and it is very good at stopping bleeding, especially effective in curing postpartum hemorrhage in pregnant women.

3. Therefore, in the past, if an ordinary fishing village caught a Chinese bahaba, the whole village would celebrate and share it. The swim bladder was dried and treasured for emergency use when a woman bled during childbirth, which shows a glimpse of the simple folk customs.

Differences from the large yellow croaker:

Appearance characteristics

In fact, the Chinese bahaba and our Jiaocheng large yellow croaker both belong to the yellow croaker category. In addition, there are also the Maire's croaker, small yellow croaker, Mi-iuy croaker, white croaker and bearded croaker, and they are also called the "seven brothers of yellow croaker". This is because they all belong to the family Sciaenidae of the class Osteichthyes, and their biggest feature is the well-developed otolith, with a fish stone in the head.

The Chinese bahaba is a fish species endemic to China. It has an elongated, laterally compressed body, a slender caudal peduncle, and a protruding snout. The head is covered with cycloid scales, and the body is covered with silver-dollar-like ctenoid scales. The dorsal side of the body is brownish gray with orange-yellow, the ventral side is grayish white, and there is a black spot under the axil of the pectoral fin; the eyes are like copper bells and located on the upper side; the mouth is terminal with an oblique cleft; the teeth are small, with the outer row of teeth on the upper jaw and the inner row of teeth on the lower jaw enlarged; the dorsal fin is continuous; the second anal fin spine is thick and long, and the caudal fin is wedge-shaped. It is a rare and precious fish.

The Chinese bahaba has a long spindle-shaped body, with a raised back, and the abdomen from the pectoral fin to the anus is relatively straight, while from the anal fin to the caudal peduncle it narrows rapidly upward; the back of the fish head is splayed, medium-sized, and laterally compressed; the snout is slightly pointed, and the snout length is greater than the eye diameter, while the eye diameter is greater than the interorbital distance; the mouth is anterior, and the mouth cleft slopes downward and sideways from the snout tip, reaching below the anterior edge of the eye; the upper and lower jaws have teeth, which are sharp and fine; the body length is 3.4 times the body height, 4 times the head length, and 3.8 times the caudal peduncle length; the caudal peduncle length is 3.4 times the caudal peduncle height; the head length is 5.75 times the eye diameter, 7.2 times the interorbital distance, 3.8 times the snout length, and 2.9 times the mouth cleft length.

The yellow croaker, Larimichthys (D. S. Jordan et Starks, 1905), also known as huangyu, is the collective name for a genus of yellow croakers in the genus Larimichthys of the family Sciaenidae. It lives in the East China Sea, and there are two hard stones in the fish head, called fish brain stones, hence it is also called shishouyu (stone-head fish). The white swim bladder in the fish belly can be made into fish maw, which has a hemostatic effect and can prevent hemorrhagic purpura.

The yellow croaker has a laterally compressed, elongated body and is golden yellow. The large yellow croaker has a slender caudal peduncle, smaller scales, a body length of 40 to 50 cm, and 25 to 27 vertebrae; the small yellow croaker has a shorter caudal peduncle, larger scales, a body length of about 20 cm, and 28 to 30 vertebrae.

The body is laterally compressed, and the caudal peduncle length is about more than 3 times its height. The head is relatively large and has well-developed mucous cavities. The lower jaw protrudes slightly. There are 56 to 58 lateral line scales, and 8 to 9 scales between the origin of the dorsal fin and the lateral line. The dorsal fin has 9 to 11 fin spines and 27 to 38 (generally 31 to 33) fin rays. The anal fin has 2 fin spines and 7 to 10 fin rays, and the second fin spine is equal to or slightly larger than the eye diameter. The body is yellow-brown, the ventral surface is golden yellow, and each fin is yellow or grayish yellow. The lips are orange-red. The swim bladder is relatively large, with a round front end, and has 31 to 33 pairs of lateral branches, and the anterior and posterior branchlets finally split from each lateral branch are equal in length. There are 2 white sagittal otoliths in the skull. There are 26 to 27 vertebrae, sometimes 25.

Habitat environment

The Chinese bahaba lives in estuarine waters where sea and fresh water meet, with a salinity of 0.5-18‰, and sometimes swims upstream in search of food as far as the freshwater part of the estuary; it likes sea areas with deep water, fish reefs, and relatively slow currents; the Chinese bahaba gathers in schools when the water is clear and disperses when the water is turbid.

The small yellow croaker migrates to the coast in spring, and after spawning from March to June, it disperses in offshore waters to feed, returns to the deep sea in late autumn, and overwinters in the deep sea in winter. Yellow croakers generally have omnivorous feeding habits and mainly feed on fish and shrimp. Yellow croakers belong to the class Osteichthyes and the family Sciaenidae. Their morphology is similar and their habits are similar. The fishing methods are basically the same or similar. This type of fish has a laterally compressed, elongated body and is golden yellow. The large yellow croaker has a slender caudal peduncle, smaller scales, a body length of 40 to 50 cm, and 25 to 27 vertebrae; the small yellow croaker has a shorter caudal peduncle, larger scales, a body length of about 20 cm, and 28 to 30 vertebrae. The small yellow croaker migrates to the coast in spring.