Stick Fish

Stick Fish

　　Stick Fish, also known as Ink Fish or Dongpo Fish, is widely distributed in the Jinsha River, Daguan River, and Baishui River basins in the Zhaotong region. The Baishui River is where Stick Fish reproduce most abundantly and are most plentiful. In the Baishui River sections of Luokan in Zhenxiong County and Luowang in Yiliang County, there is a place called "Stone Dragon Crossing the River," where lush green mountains and bamboo forests line both banks, and the rushing river flows through moss-covered rocks, appearing especially clear — making it an ideal habitat for Stick Fish. Every year during the lunar calendar dates of the 17th, 18th, and 19th of the second month in spring, thousands of Stick Fish gather here to spawn, a phenomenon that has become a regular occurrence.

　　This natural phenomenon of Stick Fish activity in the Baishui River not only showcases their strong reproductive capacity but also forms a unique local natural landscape.

　　Stick Fish are slightly cylindrical in shape, with a wide and flat head, a large mouth, and a lower jaw. The edge of the lower lip is split into a fringe-like structure, and the lower lip forms a broad oval suction disc with a fleshy pad in the center, a free outer edge dotted with papillae, and no barbels. The dorsal fin lacks hard spines and has a concave outer edge. The paired fins are positioned horizontally. As a bottom-dwelling fish, it uses its suction disc to cling to stones on the riverbed, feeding on algae and plant debris attached to the rocks. Commonly found at lengths of 200–300 millimeters, they can grow up to around 700 millimeters. With thick, tender flesh rich in fat, Stick Fish are one of the important economic fish species in the Zhaotong region.