Redfin - Scardinius erythrophtalmus
One of the most beautiful fish found in the water bodies of Kyrgyzstan.
It is widespread in the water bodies of the Chui Valley, in the Chu River from the city of Tokmak to its lower reaches, where the redfin ranks among the most numerous fish populations in the floodplain lakes and backwaters. The favorite habitats of the redfin are quiet or slow-flowing bays with soft, muddy bottoms overgrown with aquatic vegetation. It avoids areas of the river with fast currents and murky water, as well as places devoid of aquatic plants. The redfin reaches sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 4 years.
Externally, it resembles the roach in body shape but differs from it with its bright red fins and upwardly slanted mouth. The back is dark gray or dark greenish, while the sides are silvery-white with a bronze sheen. During spawning, the redfin forms schools that, flashing their red fins, move vigorously in the upper layers of the water.
The redfin prefers water bodies rich in aquatic vegetation and rarely appears outside of its zone.
In the water bodies of the Chui Valley, the spawning of this fish begins from early May to the end of July inclusive. It spawns in batches, meaning in several sessions with breaks of a few days, laying its eggs on underwater vegetation. During spawning, a great number of redfin individuals sometimes gather in spawning grounds, swirling as they rise to the surface of the water and then slowly descend, moving horizontally. Such "courtship games" of the redfin in spawning grounds, resembling a swarm of bees, were observed in early May 1958 at the Svetly backwater in the lower reaches of the Chu.
The redfin is quite prolific: a female measuring 23 cm had 83,750 eggs, while one measuring 10 cm had 3,520 eggs, indicating that fecundity increases with the age and size of the females.
In terms of diet, the redfin is a typical phytophage, primarily feeding on algae. Among the plant components of its diet, filamentous algae predominates. In addition to algae, in a study of 100 examined intestines of redfin, remnants of insects, dragonfly larvae, and caddisfly larvae were found. In two cases, a stickleback was discovered, which was presumably swallowed along with its nest of filamentous algae.
The typical weight of a redfin ranges from 100 to 150 g at most. Its growth rates depend on habitat conditions.
Fish
