Moderlieschen

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Moderlieschen
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Moderlieschen ( Leucaspius delineatus )

Systematics
without rank: Otophysa
Order : Carp-like (Cypriniformes)
Subordination : Carp fish-like (Cyprinoidei)
Family : White fish (Leuciscidae)
Genre : Leucaspius
Type : Moderlieschen
Scientific name of the  genus
Leucaspius
Heckel & Kner , 1858
Scientific name of the  species
Leucaspius delineatus
( Heckel , 1843)
about finger-length adult Moderlieschen
Eggs ( spawn ) deposited in ribbons
Swarm of young moderlies caught in the remaining pool of a drying pool
Typical for Moderlieschen is the elongated shape with blue-shimmering, otherwise silver flanks (here a dead young animal on land)
The eyes are very large in relation to the body; the upper mouth is directed strongly upwards

The moderlieschen ( Leucaspius delineatus ), also Mali Nchen , Modke , Mudchen , Mutterloseken , Schneider carp , Sonnenfischchen , Witting or dwarf Laube called, is a European Kleinfischart from the family of carp fish and is thereby "Anglo-language" to the white fish counted.

features

The fully grown Moderlieschen is 6 to 9 cm long, rarely 10–12, whereby the Rogner (female) is somewhat larger and more obese than the Milchner (male). The body is streamlined and slightly flattened on the sides. The back is brown-green, the sides silver, the belly whitish. A more or less blue shimmering longitudinal stripe runs over the sides of the body, which can be clearly seen especially on the tail stalk. The scales are arranged in longitudinal rows of 44 to 48 each. The mouth is above and pointed straight up. The eyes are relatively large; the short side line is only visible on the first 7–12 scales. The animal has two pectoral fins, two ventral, a 10–11-rayed dorsal, a 14–20-rayed anal and a caudal fin. The attachment points of the fins are usually slightly reddish, but the fins themselves have a translucent yellowish or whitish color. A keel-shaped abdominal edge is pronounced between the pelvic and anal fin.

The sexes can be differentiated on the basis of the anus opening (urogenital opening), which is deep in the male, while in the female it has three outgrowths.

Occurrence

The distribution area extends in Europe from northern and central France in the west to the Volga and the Caspian Sea in the east. The altitude distribution is concentrated in the lowlands. The species is absent in Great Britain, southwest France, on the Iberian Peninsula , in Italy, largely on the Balkan Peninsula and in Scandinavia (except Denmark, Scania ).

Moderlieschen inhabit standing and weakly flowing, mostly smaller bodies of water (fresh water), for example floodpumps, ponds, peat hollows, quarry ponds and swampy ditches. As schooling fish, they live socially in surface water up to a depth of about one meter. They avoid strong currents; but they like to stay in the dense vegetation of the shore region.

food

The species feeds on phyto- and zooplankton as well as insects, which are captured near the surface. Specifically, mosquito larvae , algae , water fleas and hoppers belong to the food spectrum . Air insects such as mosquitoes flying over water are also captured. Although, based on gastric analyzes, it has been assumed up to now that Moderlieschen are not predators of amphibian spawn or larvae, current laboratory experiments show the opposite.

Reproduction

The spawning season extends from April to June and takes place in three to five stages when the water temperature is over 18 ° C.

The eggs are about 1 mm in size, colorless and are laid as spawning ribbons by the female on previously cleaned stems, undersides of leaves of aquatic plants, pieces of wood or roots near the surface of the water. That Moderlieschen would lay their eggs in spirals is probably a common misconception. They hatch after around 10 days of embryonic development.

The male takes care of the brood by guarding the clutch until it hatches and supplying it with fresh water by pushing the stem and moving its fins. It also smears the eggs with a bacteria-inhibiting secretion.

Sexual maturity occurs at the end of the first year of life.

Spread

Moderlieschen can also colonize new habitats through passive alien distribution: The spawning bands can attach to the legs of water birds and thus be introduced into another body of water. Hence the name “Moderlieschen” - it is derived from “motherless”. In floodplains, the fish remain in floodpumps after floods.

Economic importance, use

Moderlieschen has hardly any economic importance - except in the pet trade as cold water aquarium fish and garden pond fish . It is occasionally used by anglers as bait fish (but note the all year round closed season in some federal states!), For example for catching pikeperch . The Moderlieschen is suitable for relatively small garden ponds. It is resistant to cold and ice, but susceptible to a lack of oxygen as well as increased nitrate and nitrite values . The water hardness should be around 15 dGH, the pH value around 7. Due to its eating behavior, the species reduces the algae problematic in small ponds. However, the water temperature should not rise significantly above 20 degrees Celsius unless there is active ventilation of the pond.

Since the fish are sociable, you should keep at least 10 animals together. The Moderlieschen is quite likely to reproduce, often several generations can be found in garden ponds. As a result of the peculiarity of catching mosquitoes from the air, Moderlieschen occasionally land on the bank or on water lily leaves.

The fact that Moderlieschen react sensitively to environmental stimuli such as changes in water chemistry is used, for example, in the Berlin waterworks, where the animals are used as bioindicators for drinking water quality.

Danger

The Moderlieschen is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN in the Red List of Endangered Species as Least Concern . However, local threats from drainage of wet areas are identified.

This fish species is classified in the Red List of Threatened Species of the Federal Republic of Germany in hazard category 3, i.e. as endangered . The reasons for this are the loss of near-natural small bodies of water and their impairment through pollution, eutrophication , weed removal, non-natural expansion and other management measures.

The federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany keep their own Red Lists in which various hazard categories are specified.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ T. Leu, B. Lüscher, S. Zumbach, BR Schmidt: Small fish (Leucaspius delineatus) that are often released into garden ponds and amphibian breeding sites prey on eggs and tadpoles of the common frog (Rana temporaria) . Amphibia-Reptilia 2009, No. 30, pp. 290-293
  2. ^ A. Arnold, H. Längert: Das Moderlieschen In the series: Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei No. 623, Magdeburg 1995, p. 76
  3. ↑ www.bwb.de
  4. ↑ Leucaspius delineatus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M., 2008. Accessed March 7 of 2010.
  5. ↑ Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany. (PDF 429.39 KB) (No longer available online.) In: Binot & al. 1998 register, page 119. German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, archived from the original on March 1, 2016 ; Retrieved March 7, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfn.de
  6. ↑ Online query of the Moderlieschen in the Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany and its federal states. science4you, accessed March 7, 2010 .

Web links

Commons : Moderlieschen ( Leucaspius delineatus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files