Coregonus albula

Vendace (Coregonus albula )

The vendace, whitefish or Kaisermaräne (Coregonus albula ) is a freshwater fish of the family of salmon (Salmonidae ).

Features

The vendace has a slim body shape. It acts similar to herring, but like other whitefish an adipose fin. The mouth appears upper constant, since the lower jaw protrudes slightly. The sides and belly are silvery, while the back is colored blue-green. The length can be up to 35 inches, but is on average only about 25 centimeters.

Occurrence

They come in Northern Europe from Britain prior to the Northwest of Russia. New restocking support a further settlement in Germany, mainly in the former open-cast mines, which have been flooded. These provide a favorable habitat, such as the Leipzig New Lakeland. They not only live in fresh water, but also occur in the Baltic Sea in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. They live up to a water depth of about 30 meters. In northern Germany, and they are particularly east of the Elbe. A particular growth form is located in the Feldberg Lakes. The males have a medium-sized mouth and grow up to 20 centimeters long, the females have a constant upper jaw and up to 17.5 inches long. Both have a strong stomach.

Way of life

The vendace is a stationary swarm of fish free water, usually larger and more nutrient-poor lakes, but can also occur as a migrant form in the Baltic Sea. The food consists exclusively of zooplankton. The spawning maturity occurs two to three years. The spawning season is later than the autumn circulation at equal temperature 4-7 ° C, which corresponds to the months of November to December. The approximately two millimeters large eggs are delivered through sand, gravel or water plants. The developing time is 100 to 120 days, due to the low temperatures.