Zahrte
The zahrte has a long body and an inferior mouth lying below a fleshy snout. Its belly behind the pelvic fins has a scaleless keel. The back is blue- grey and the belly a clear white. In the breeding season its colouring becomes darker and the front part of its body' along with its paired fins turn bright orange. The zahrte is a semi-migratory fish, inhabiting the lower reaches of large, slow- flowing rivers. It can also be found in lakes, where it often has a local economic importance. It spawns in May and June on a stony bed against strong current. Its food consists mainly of bottom-living invertebrates. It reaches a length of 30 to 40 cm and a weight in excess of 1 kg.
This fish is commonly found in the Weser, Elbe and other eastern European rivers as far as the Neva. It also lives in southern Finland and Sweden and has a number of geographically differentiated forms, of which Vimba vimba carinata lives in the Danube and Vimba vintba melanops in the rivers of southern Bulgaria and the lakes of northern Austria. Its economic importance is negligible as it can only be caught in large numbers in few rivers and lakes.
Maximum size and weight:
40 cm, 2 kg.
Identifying characteristics:
Inferior mouth and fleshy, overlapping snout. Scaleless keel starts behind pelvic fin
