Did you notice such a phenomenon? Decades ago, ditches, ponds, and rice fields were full of loaches, and you could catch a few slippery loaches with a net or even bare hands, but now there are fewer and fewer loaches in the gutter ponds, why have these loaches disappeared?
What kind of animal is a loach?
Loach is a freshwater fish belonging to the loach family, a creature in the genus Loach. Loach is slender , with adults ranging from 10 cm to 40 cm long, with a slightly raised back and a variety of colours such as black, brown, yellow and orange-red.
Loach has a strong ability to adapt to the environment, mainly distributed in freshwater rivers, lakes, swamps, ponds and ditches around the world. The environment in which they live has very low requirements for water quality, temperature, light, etc.
The habits of loaches
Loach is a very flexible fish with a small head and a slender body, which can swim quickly in the water. Loach can survive in harsh environments, such as water rich in toxic substances or lack of oxygen.
When the water source is sufficient, the loach can breathe through the gills, when the water dries up and only the mud and sand remains, the loach can breathe through the intestines, and its tentacles, lateral lines and other parts are very sensitive.
Loach is an omnivorous fish that feeds zooplankton such as rotifers, clades, copepods and some aquatic plants.
What is the value of loach
Food value: Loach meat is tender, delicious, rich in protein, fat, minerals and vitamins and other nutrients, is a very nutritious food.
In traditional Chinese food culture, loach is widely used in various dishes in cooking, such as loach soup, loach grilled fish, etc. Loach not only has a unique flavor, but also meets the various nutritional needs of the human body.
Medicinal value: Loach also has certain medicinal value. Loach is rich in protein, fat, minerals and vitamins, which has a certain preventive and therapeutic effect on hypertension, anemia, diabetes and other diseases.
Ornamental value: Loach can be kept in fish tanks as a type of ornamental fish. Because the shape of loach is special, colorful, lively and interesting, it can bring people a very pleasant visual experience.
At the same time, because loach is relatively simple to keep, it has become the choice of many pet lovers.
Environmental value: Loach is an omnivorous fish, so it has certain ecological value, they can clean up sediment in water bodies and promote water quality improvement.
At the same time, while eating small invertebrates and small fish, loach can also control their numbers, which is conducive to maintaining ecological balance.
Economic value: There are loach aquaculture farms all over the mainland, because the market demand for loach is very large, and it is a very valuable economic fish. Loach culture process is simple, fast growing, and relatively cheap, so it has become the preferred fish for the majority of farmers.
Decades ago, loaches were all over the ditch ponds, and recently there are fewer and fewer wild loaches, what's going on?
Changes in the ecological environment: With the process of urbanization and industrialization, people's damage to the ecological environment is becoming more and more serious, which has a great impact on the survival of loach. Water pollution, ecological damage and other problems have adversely affected the habitat and reproduction of loach.
Deterioration of the water environment: Due to the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization, the pollution problem of the water environment has gradually become serious. The excessive discharge of ammonia nitrogen, nitrate and other substances in the water body leads to acidification of the water environment, which affects the survival and reproduction of loach.
Overfishing and illegal fishing: Loach is widely used for cooking in traditional Chinese food culture, which has led to overfishing of wild loach. At the same time, some illegal fishing practices have also exacerbated the decline in loach populations.
At last
Loach has strong adaptability and vitality, they are not only an important food raw material, but also have certain ecological value.
However, due to the process of urbanization and industrialization, changes in the ecological environment, the continuous deterioration of the water environment, and the combination of overfishing and illegal fishing, the number of loaches is decreasing.
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