Fan Zhou Ling Fish

Fan Zhou Ling Fish

　　Fan Zhou Ling Fish

　　Ling fish, [língyú] (scientific name: Cirrhinus molitorella) is a species of the family Cyprinidae in the order Cypriniformes of the class Actinopterygii. Common names include mud carp, snow carp, ling gong, and flower carp. It belongs to the order Cypriniformes and the family Cyprinidae. The type locality of this species is China. The body is elongated, the belly is rounded, the head is short, and the snout is blunt and rounded. The mouth is subterminal, with keratinized edges on the front parts of the upper and lower jaws, suitable for scraping attached organisms from the bottom of the water. In natural water bodies, ling fish graze on attached organisms (such as epiphytic green algae, diatoms, filamentous algae, etc.) on underwater rocks and other objects, and also consume organic matter in the mud.

　　They prefer to inhabit areas with higher water temperatures and begin to die when the temperature drops below 7°C. They are mainly distributed in the Pearl River system, Hainan Island, Taiwan, the Min River, the Lancang River, and the Yuan River. Ling fish primarily feed on plants, often using the keratinized edges of their lower jaws to scrape algae growing on underwater stones, including diatoms, green algae, as well as debris from higher plants and bottom detritus. They also enjoy eating pig manure, cow dung, and some commercial feeds such as peanut meal and rice bran. Ling fish reach sexual maturity at three years old; mature adults in rivers migrate in batches to specific river sections during the flood season to mate, chase each other, spawn, and emit a "cooing" courtship sound, laying semi-floating and semi-sinking eggs that drift downstream. The breeding season of ling fish is from late April to early July, with the peak period from early May to mid-June. Ling fish are bottom-dwelling fish with low oxygen requirements and can adapt to relatively eutrophic waters. When the water temperature is between 20–28°C, they can still feed normally even when the dissolved oxygen level is below 1 mg/L, and they do not suffocate even when oxygen levels drop to 0.24 mg/L. As a result, ling fish can be farmed at high densities, typically around 1,000 fish per 667 square meters (one mu = 667 square meters).