Freshwater
European bitterling
Rhodeus amarus
Acheilognathidae
Facts
Characteristics
- Length
- Up to 11.2 cm
- Body shape
- Streamlined
Care
- Group
- Missing
- Smallest aquarium
- 47 liters
- Diet
- Missing
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Behavior
Water values
Smallest tank
Range
NativeIntroduced
Lives wild in Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, and 21 more countries.
Introduced to Armenia, Denmark, Estonia, and United Kingdom.
More about the species
Description
Occurs most abundantly in still or slow-flowing water with dense aquatic vegetation and sand-silt bottom as lowland ponds, canals, slow-flowing rivers, backwaters and oxbows, where mussels are present. Found among plants over sand and muddy bottoms in shallow waters. Remarkable for its habit of deposing its eggs in the cavity of bivalves (Unio). Feeds mainly on plants and to a lesser degree on worms, crustaceans, and insect larvae. Formerly used for pregnancy tests: females injected with urine from pregnant women protruded their ovipositors. Live span is exceptionally up to 5 years but most individuals do not survive the year of their first reproduction and population sizes fluctuate greatly over the years.
Other names
Other scientific names
- Cyprinus amarus
- Rhodeus amarus meridionalis
- Rhodeus genitalis
- Rhodeus lucinae
- Rhodeus sericeus
- Rhodeus sericeus amarus
In other languages
- Bitterling
- Europæisk bitterling, Bitterling
- Katkerokala
- Bitterling
Articles
All articles
How to set up an Asian aquarium5 min read
Two aquariums from Southeast Asia: calm forest streams and peat swamps with soft, brown water, and fast mountain streams with cool, oxygen-rich water.
How to set up a European aquarium5 min read
A coldwater aquarium with European fish and plants, without a heater. The water follows the seasons, and summer heat is the biggest problem.
How to add new fish4 min read
From the store to the tank: how to get the fish used to your water, why you should add only a few at a time, and what to watch for in the first few days.
Quarantine for new fish3 min read
Why new fish should live in a tank of their own for a few weeks before they move in, what you need, and what to look for.