category: food/groceries: fish: freshwater fish

Freshwater fish, de.: Süßwasserfische

Freshwater fish are fish that spend part or all of their lives in freshwater. About 5000 species of freshwater fish exist. Their habitat covers about 2 percent of the earth and consists of lentic and lotic ecosystems. Lentic ecosystems are those with still water, such as lakes, swamps and ponds. Lotic are the ecosystems of rivers, streams and springs. Those two habitats are very different. Living conditions in them are influenced by environmental conditions and water composition. Most freshwater fish species are specialised in a certain sub-ecosystem within these two categories.

Migrating fish spend some of their time in salty seawater. Many reproduce in fresh water and spend their adult life in the sea. Some other species hatch in seawater and spend their adult life in freshwater. A very specialised ecosystem is that at the mouth of rivers, where fresh and saltwater mix. Specialised freshwater fish and some saltwater fish that tolerate low salinity like the flounder may share these areas.

Some freshwater fish are:

• Grayling
• Allis shad
• Common barbel
• Carp bream
• European chub
• Whitefish
• Twait shad
• Silver bream
• Common Dace
• Crucian carp
• Common carp
• Salmonidae ( Salmon, Trout, Charr)
• Common bleak
• Moderlieschen
• Common Nase
• Ide or orfe
• Common roach
• Burbot, junkfish, lawyer or ling
• Asp
• Common rudd
• Tench or doctor fish
• Sturgeon
• Smelt
• Wels catfish
• Zander
• Zarte