Cyprinids of the Valdayka River, Russia

By Alexey Malyshev

The Valdayka River takes its origin in Lake Uzhin – one of the Valdaysky lakes group and flows into the Lake Piros. The water drainage belongs to the Baltic Sea basin. Its length is only 50 km. This meandering river is passing through two regions – Novgorod and Tver.

The three quarters of its length are shallow water areas of 20 meters wide in average with a fast or moderate current. There are also some rapids and rifts areas. Closer to its mouth the current weakens, the river becomes wider and deeper (up to 50 meters). Flowing through the pine forest the Valdayka River is being fed by the springs by 50%. There are very few residential settlements along the banks, the fact, which contributes to the preservation of its unique ichthyofauna.

The Valdayka River, which takes its origin in Lake Uzhin.

I have been studying this river for 20 years and in this article I wish to share my observations over these years. Many of the fish and invertebrates that I caught in the Valdayka River have been successfully kept in my private biotope aquarium. This first part is a detailed statement about the cyprinids inhabiting this stream.

The most common species is the river minnow Phoxinus phoxinus. This cyprinid occurs along the entire channel and keeps preferably in the coastal zone with sandy or silty-sandy soil. This species is not particularly attached to the vegetation and can be also found in open waters with no aquatic vegetation at all. It always swims in groups, often very large – of several hundred individuals. Groups are formed by age category.

River minnow Phoxinus phoxinus in the Valdayka River.

It is fascinating to observe river minnows in the deep – more than 1 meter – areas. The upper layers are occupied by small individuals, the middle ones by larger specimens, and near the bottom are found the largest fishes. Normally, during May-October minnows are sedentary and can be observed in this period of time in the same location.

With the onset of the winter season the river minnows accumulate in huge shoals – reaching several thousand speciemens – and move to winter in the deeper sections of the river. Here they feed on zooplankton, diatoms, and midges that fallen into the water. Phoxinus phoxinus spawn from late April to early May in the habitats with a fast current and on stony ground by gluing their eggs to the substrate. The river minnows are the main food source for predatory fishes.

The second most abundant cyprinid is the bleak (photo 3) Alburnus alburnus, which also inhabits the entire channel. It generally stays in the upper and middle (larger) layers of the water column. This species is distinguished by an interesting feature – young speciemens (up to 5-6 cm) spend the night near the water surface, larger ones – near the bottom. Small individuals can form joint shoals with other commensurate cyprinids. Large ones swim exclusively with their own kind.

Alburnus alburnus, in the Valdayka River.

Alburnus alburnus feeds on pelagic invertebrates and terrestrial insects that have fallen into the water. Food is rarely collected from the bottom. To spawn they prefer the areas with coastal vegetation.

The third in a row can be called the common roach Rutilus rutilus. This fish also lives along the entire channel. It is not tied to some particular soil, nor to aquatic vegetation. Near the shore you can see only young specimens – no more than a year old fish. In a rule, they do not form one-species shoal, but always mix with other cyprinids. Larger ones live in a deeper areas.

Rutilus rutilus, in the Valdayka River.

By the nature of their diet, they are omnivores. They feed on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, vegetation and detritus. The roach’s number varies from year to year. Sometimes there are too many of them, and sometimes there are just single individuals (as in 2020). Spawning occurs in late April upon the coastal vegetation during floods.

Of the small pelagic fish, it is worth paying attention to the schneider Alburnoides bipunctatus. This is a rare fish and some time ago was a candidate for the inclusion in the Red Book of Russia. In the river it does not occur everywhere. This species can only be seen in a shallow areas with strong or moderate current upon the sandy-rocky substrate. Here it keeps in groups – small schools of 10-15 individuals – and does not accept other fish in the team. Just sometimes you can see a proportionally small chub attached to the group of schneider.

Alburnoides bipunctatus, in the Valdayka River.

In the shallow area one can see quite often the gudgeon (photo 7-8) Gobio sp. I put the sp mark for a reason. Since it is very different from the common gudgeon Gobio gobio, which should be found in this area. In the first line, his body is shorter and, accordingly, there are fewer spots on the sides. On the pectoral and pelvic fins it shows the marks in the form of short stripes, while in the common gudgeon these fins are transparent. Perhaps a new undescribed species.

Gobio sp., in the Valdayka River.

The gudgeon is active during the day and swims near the bottom in small groups. The largest specimen is the leader of the group and swims ahead of the rest. They feed on benthic invertebrates. Gobio sp. are especially fond of molluscs of the genus Sphaerium and detritus. This species mostly lives on the sandy substrate. The most interesting thing is that the lakes (at the source and inflow) of Valdayka do not have sand. It is only found in the river bed itself. Gudgeon spawn on the sandy-rocky soils in a depth. The spawning happens at night. The fish eggs stick to the ground.

Sphaerium sp., in the Valdayka River.

There are also many chubs Leuciscus cephalus in the river. They inhabit the entire channel (except for the mouth). This species prefers to stay over the silty-sandy ground with large stones and boulders. The juveniles live near the shores. It does not form groups, but is joins other cyprinid species. The adult fish are either solitary or live in groups of 3-5 individuals.

Leuciscus cephalus, in the Valdayka River.

Juveniles feed on aquatic invertebrates and terrestrial insects fallen into the water, large ones predators – practice cannibalism and feed on smaller fishes. They also pluck on filamentous algae. Large specimens might reach over 3 kg in weight. Leuciscus cephalus spawns from April to the end of May on fast rifts over pebble ground. The fish eggs are glued to the stones. This species avoids standing water, therefore, it is not found at the mouth of the river. In the Valdaika River is found the long-bodied form.

Another relative, but more rare, lives side by side with the chub. This is the common dace Leuciscus leuciscus. It inhabits the same biotope zones as the chub. And one can often observe the shoals of chub and dace swimming nearby. They also spend the night not far from each other. By photographing these fish at night I saw such a picture – a chub is sleeping on the bottom near a large boulder, and a dace on the other side of the same stone.

Leuciscus leuciscus, in the Valdayka River.

Its diet is similar of that of a chub, except for fish. Leuciscus leuciscus dislikes slow flowing water. Usually it can be seen on sandy-rocky ground. This species is loyal to the absence of underwater vegetation. It spawns together with the chub on rifts and on rocks.

Another relative of the chub and dace to inhabit the river is the ide Leuciscus idus. Actually, the ide lives at the mouth of the river, where the width and depth are much greater than at the source and in the centre of the channel (photo 14), but for the last 2 years it has occupied the central sections of the river. In 2020 their number has exceeded that of the roach. Which is strange: after all, the ide does not like a fast current, shallow water and sandy-pebble soils. There is one more feature of the ide – at night its fins become almost transparent.

Leuciscus idus, in the Valdayka River.

The ide lives in small groups, often together with the roach. It feeds on aquatic invertebrates and terrestrial insects fallen into the water. Large ides also grab fish. They spawn on rifts and in fast currents on the rocky substrate.

Mouth of the Valdayka River.

The white bream Blicca bjoerkna stays in the river from late April to early June. Then it moves into lakes or at the mouth of a river, since it does not really like the fast current.

Blicca bjoerkna, in the Valdayka River.

The appearance of the white bream in the centre of the channel is directly related to the flowering of plants: white bream adores feeding on these flowers. The raids on flower thickets are carried out in large flocks. At the same time, flowers – underwater buttercup Ranunculus aquatilis – have a narcotic effect on fish.

The underwater buttercup Ranunculus aquatilis, in the Valdayka River.

They partially lose their orientation, the sense of danger is dulled and you can come close to them and catch them almost with your hands. In addition to the vegetation the silver bream feeds on caddis larvae, other insect larvae, small mollusks. While saying in the river Blicca bjoerkna prefers silty soils and dense thickets of vegetation. It moves from the end of May to the mouth of a river or to a lake to spawn, where it lays eggs on the coastal flora in shallow water (group spawning).

They partially lose their orientation, the sense of danger is dulled and you can come close to them and catch them almost with your hands. In addition to the vegetation the silver bream feeds on caddis larvae, other insect larvae, small mollusks. While saying in the river Blicca bjoerkna prefers silty soils and dense thickets of vegetation. It moves from the end of May to the mouth of a river or to a lake to spawn, where it lays eggs on the coastal flora in shallow water (group spawning).

Ballerus ballerus in the Valdayka River.

The freshwater bream Abramis brama is quite abundant in the river mouth (photo 19-20). There are some large specimens. This species does not go much up the river, since it does not like fast currents and competitors in food.

Abramis brama in the Valdayka River.

Abramis brama mostly feeds on benthic animals – molluscs, worms, insect larvae. With the help of its a retractable mouth it extracts its food from the ground at a depth of 10 cm. Prefers sandy or silty-sandy soils. The freshwater bream spawns on coastal vegetation in the same location where it lives. Active all year round.

One more species never ascends up the river – this is rudd Scardinius erythrophthalmus. It keeps to the reed section of the river. A rudd feeds on filamentous algae and detritus. The adults include in their diet also the invertebrates. This species lives in groups. It prefers to stay over silty or earthen soil. Scardinius erythrophthalmus spawns in the period from the late May to early June on underwater vegetation.

Scardinius erythrophthalmus in the Valdayka River.

At the mouth of the river one can find another representative of the cyprinids – tench Tinca tinca. It is usually found at the bottom near vegetation or in thickets of reeds. Tinca tinca loves muddy soil. It feeds on detritus, invertebrates and plant fragments. From the end of September it goes into deep pits, where it hibernates. At this time tench does not feed. Spawns from late May to July.

Tinca tinca in the Valdayka River.

The Valdaika River, although it is considered a small river by geographic standards, has small tributaries and small floodplains that look more like swamps. Fish also live in the floodplains.

Small floodplains in the Valdayka River.

One of the inhabitants of the floodplains is the golden carp, Carassius carassius. Golden carp lives in the shallow silted areas with the dense vegetation. It feeds on aquatic invertebrates, vegetation and detritus. If there is not enough food, it collects terrestrial insects that have fallen into the water from the surface. Spawns in the same place, does not migrate anywhere. This species is active until the end of October. It buries itself in silt for the winter.

Carassius carassius in the Valdayka River.

The second inhabitant of the floodplain bogs is belica Leucaspius delineatus. They live in large flocks. It feeds on zooplankton and insects that have fallen into the water.

Leucaspius delineatus in the Valdayka River.

Contrary to the opinion that the belica lives only in a stagnant water, in fact, it does not avoid a moderate current, since there were cases of its capture in the main channel. The belica spawns on the lower part of plants floating on the surface. The photo shows a specimen infected with a parasitic worm, the host of which are the fish-eating birds. The worm do not harm the fish themselves. Recently, all belica that I came across are infected with this worm.

A wide aquarium with a large bottom area will work for most of the above mentioned species. Coarse sand and stones of various sizes are poured on the bottom. You can place 1-2 driftwoods. At home, you can populate the tank with several commensurate species that will swim together in one shoal (like minnows at the bottom).

The biotope aquarium, Valdayka River.

To simulate the flow, you need to install a pump. Good filtration is also required. The fish are fed with frozen and live food, also dry food will due. The fish feel quiet well at room temperature 20-25°C. They can also support up to 30°C. Here are shown Alburnus alburnus and Rutilus rutilus in a biotope aquarium.