Anabas testudineus

Climbing fish ( Anabas testudineus )

The climbing fish ( Anabas testudineus ) is a freshwater fish of the genus climbing fish. He can leave the water and seek other waters. In Southeast Asia, the climbing fish is an important food fish alive offered, which kept moist survived several days.

Features

The climbing fish can reach a length of 23-25 ​​cm TL. The coloration of live specimens is light to dark green. The underside is very bright, the top of dark olive color. At the head, the belly side, running lengthwise strips on the rear edge of the gill cover there is a dark spot. His head is scaly, are four to five rows of scales between the eye and the rear edge of Vordeckels. On the interrupted lateral line are 26-32 scales. The scales are large and arranged regularly. The iris is golden reddish.

• Fins formula: Dorsal XVI-XX/7-10, Anal IX-XI/8-11

Distribution and habitat

The climbing fish is widespread in Southeast Asia. The range extends from India to the Wallace line including China.

The climbing fish lives in fresh water. It inhabits medium to large rivers, canals and irrigation ditches, lakes and ponds, swamps and rice fields.

Way of life

To walk through the land of climbing fish moved undulating its body and uses its spiny gill covers, breathing via doing about his labyrinth organ. It can thus cover insertion of up to 180 m in one night.

Climbing fish eat plant food and fish fry.

Name

The name climbing fish goes to the apparent discovery of a live fish at a height of about 1.5 meters above the ground in a tree back ( Daldorf, 1779). Olson et al. However, that result from reports, the fish can actually climb trees, exceed the ability of the fish.