hi everyone it's liam here from a shot
of wildlife and in today's video
we're going to take a chip beneath the
surface to discover some of the common
fresh water fish
that live in the uk let's dive in
the eurasian minnow is the smallest
species that features on this list
growing to a maximum length of just 10
centimeters and a top weight of just 16
grams
their bodies are torpedo shaped and they
have a dark line running down each side
from their heads to the base of their
tails
in the spring and summer male minnows
that are in breeding condition
become a darker colour and have dull
patches of red
at the base of their fins and under
their chins
they are found all across the uk usually
in streams and rivers
but also in standing water such as lakes
and ponds
minnows are omnivores with their
forward-facing mouths they take food
from the surface
from the sediment and from in the water
column
this food includes insects crustaceans
plant matter
and both their own and the eggs of other
fish
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northern pike can grow to almost five
feet in length and to more than
20 kilos in weight
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they are ferocious predators equipped
with a paddle-shaped tail that allows
them to burst through the water
at high speed to catch their prey
this prey can include mammals water
birds
other fish and sometimes they will even
eat each other
they are well camouflaged and lurk
amongst aquatic vegetation
using their large eyes to spot
unsuspecting prey
before snatching it in their mouths full
of razor sharp teeth
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another predatory freshwater fish is the
perch
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these are much smaller than pike growing
to around 30 centimeters
and weighing up to three kilos
perch have tiger-like stripes running
down their bodies
and their dorsal fin which stands high
on top of their back
is notoriously spiny
when perch are young they live in small
shoals feeding on invertebrates and
crustaceans
but as they get bigger they become more
solitary and start to take larger prey
such as amphibians and small fish
perch are found across the whole of the
uk and they're common in canals
slow flowing rivers lakes and ponds
gudgeon are a familiar species to many
anglers as they are the first fish that
most people catch when they start
out gudgeon only grow to around 15
centimeters
and to less than 90 grams
they have downturned mouths and spend
most of their time searching the
sediment for food
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gudgeon are very common across england
but only sparsely recorded in scotland
and wales
and there have only been a handful of
confirmed records in northern ireland
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roads are a rather standard shaped
silver fish they have orange eyes and
fins
and are common in lakes ponds ditches
and slow flowing rivers
they can grow to a length of around 35
centimeters
and the largest ever recorded in the uk
weigh just
over two kilos
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roach sometimes form massive shoals of
similarly sized fish
especially in winter they have an
omnivorous diet that includes
invertebrates crustaceans
and aquatic vegetation
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chub were found in flowing waters across
all of mainland britain
but are absent from northern ireland
they are streamlined in shape and have a
very large mouth which they use for
grabbing food
as it drifts by in the current
small chubby mainly invertebrates and
vegetation
but they can get to more than 40
centimeters in length
and the larger fish often become more
predatory
eating crayfish amphibians and other
small fish
chub have a dark outline to their tail
and dorsal fin
which can be seen from above the surface
and sets them apart from other similar
looking species
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well unfortunately that's all got time
for in today's video you may have
noticed
that i didn't include some of the common
species that live in the uk
but that is because i haven't managed to
film them yet hopefully
i will include them in part two of this
video now if you did enjoy this video
you might also like this one here where
i take an underwater look at some of the
amphibians of the uk
or this video here where i discover some
of the birds
that live along our waterways thanks for
watching
and i'll see you next time
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you