Fun Zander Fish Facts For Kids
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The zander (Sander lucioperca), also known as European pike perch or sander, is a fish species. They are also known as ray-finned fishes native to Europe. This fish was first introduced to southern Europe, Great Britain, and Western Europe. European pike perch were introduced as a popular game fish in the native range of Europe.
Apart from this fish's popularity as a game fish, zander fish are a very popular and valuable non-vegetarian food of Europe. They are famous because for their tender and soft meat which is easy to eat with only a few bones, and their exquisite taste.
Here on our page, we have many interesting facts about the zander fish for everyone to enjoy. Let's have a look at these interesting facts, and if you like these, you can read about the silver dollar and paddlefish facts.
Zander Fish Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a zander fish?
The zander fish is a species of bony fish that is native to Western Europe.
What class of animal does a zander fish belong to?
The zander fish (Sander lucioperca) belongs to the class of Actinopterygii fishes and the genus of Sander. The various species that belong to the same Percidae family are darters, ruffes, sauger, and walleyes. The sauger and walleye are almost identical to the zander species, so much so people often confuse them.
How many zander fish are there in the world?
The zander fish is very common in parts of Europe where it was first introduced, and also in other neighboring countries. For this reason, the exact population of pikeperch fish is hard to estimate because they can be in vast numbers like millions.
Where does a zander fish live?
The distribution of zander fish is in various parts of Asia and Europe. They come from various sea basins like the North Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, Aral Sea, British lowland rivers, and the Aegean Sea.
Apart from Europe and Asia, they are also found in neighboring regions and countries like North Africa, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Siberia. Zander fish were also introduced to Spiritwood Lake in North Dakota.
What is a zander fish's habitat?
The zander fish is an invasive species that prefers a habitat in different lakes and freshwater rivers. They are found particularly in deep eutrophic lakes, brackish water habitats, estuaries, and coastal lakes.
Who do zander fish live with?
One of the main characteristics of zander pike perch is that they prefer to live solitary lives. They sometimes feed on each other which is why they do not trust each other and live separately. They only come together when the breeding and spawning season starts.
How long does a zander fish live?
The maximum lifespan that a zander fish has been to known to live for was 17 years of age. The young mature at a maximum age of four years.
How do they reproduce?
The breeding and spawning season of the zander fish species starts from April to May. Males and females come together and perform the process of mating.
Usually, the male is the main parent who takes care of the eggs, while the female leaves after the distribution of eggs. The male zander species protect the nest and give food to the little fry and take care of them until the young zander fish are old enough to survive on their own.
What is their conservation status?
The conservation status of zander fish is categorized as a Least Concern species. As this fish species is found in the many lakes and rivers of Eurasia, they are not going to be vulnerable anytime soon. However, the introduction of this species to the Michigan Lakes could result in them affecting the ecosystem with their large size and weight.
Zander Fish Fun Facts
What do zander fish look like?
The zander fish is the largest fish species of the family, with a muscular and long body in length. The body of a zander is very common with brown, yellow, and green colored upperparts and dark-colored vertical bars.
The spiny dorsal fins are covered with black spots on yellow and gray scales.
While the dorsal fin has a split which is covered with 10-20 spiny soft rays and spines. They are a fish species that contain both the spines and soft rays on their dorsal fin with a single spine on the gill cover.
The zander has a sharp and strong set of teeth that are so hard that it can easily tear other fish apart with their teeth and swallow them whole.
How cute are they?
With the strange appearance of this species, the zandar fish is not in the category of the most cute-looking fishes in the water or river.
How do they communicate?
Zander fish communicate with each other through vibrations produced by their body, particularly with the gill cover and fins. Apart from that, they also use smell, color, and sound for communicating with each other.
How big is a zander fish?
The zander fish is a large in length species of fish. They could be around 15.5–31.5 in (39.3–80 cm) in length. They are much larger than the rosy barb fish that is 3.14 in (8 cm).
How fast can a zander fish swim?
The range of speed that the zander fish can swim is not scientifically researched yet. Like every other species of fish, these hard teeth zander fish also swim at a high range of speed.
How much does a zander fish weigh?
The weight of an average large teeth zander fish can be up to 24 lb (10.8 kg).
What are the male and female names of the species?
There are no such specific names for the males and females species of zander fish. They are referred to as a male zander and a female zander.
What would you call a baby zander fish?
A baby zander fish does not have any specific name. They are just known as little fry like every other infant of fish.
What do they eat?
The zander fish is a carnivore species that prey on other species of fishes like smelt, common roach, European perch, smaller zanders, and northern pike. They are also seen feeding on other zanders.
Are they poisonous?
Zanders are not a dangerous species for humans as there are no previous reports stating that these fishes have attacked any human. However in the U.K., there is a sport known as angling and fishermen are called anglers.
There is a rule among anglers that during the sport that if a zander is caught in the hook, they should not be returned and must be killed on the spot.
Would they make a good pet?
Theoretically, you can keep zander as a pet. However, the best option is not to keep them as your personal pets as they are fish who prefer to live deep inside the water, which is difficult for a human to recreate.
Apart from this, these fishes eat other species of fish, so they are likely to kill their tank mates.
Did you know...
The zander is very rich in vitamin B and protein. These fishes contain a high amount of vitamin B1 and B2, which is good for metabolism and good for eating.
What is the difference between the zander and walleye?
Zander and walleye fish are species in the genus Sander and there are so many similarities between them that one can easily get confused. The differences between the zander and walleye are the length, weight, and distribution of these species.
The zander is known to be heavier and larger in length than the walleye. The walleye are found in the North American region, while the zander is found in the European region.
Are there zander fish in the U.S.?
The zander is not a famous and common species in the U.S., but you can still find these fish over there. Unfortunately, the only place where you can find the zander is in Spiritwood Lake in North Dakota.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these rainbow cichlid facts and Arctic char interesting facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable zander fish coloring pages.
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