The living habits and nutritional value of Red Chegong broadfin bream

Zacco platypus belongs to the order Cypriniformes, family Cyprinidae, and genus Zacco platypus. Commonly known as: peach blossom fish, double-tailed fish, red Chegong, red winged fish, white glutinous fish, fast fish, stone fish ("Compendium of Materia Medica"). English name: Pale chub.

The body is long, flat on the sides, and round in the abdomen. The head is short, the snout is blunt, the mouth is positioned slightly upward, the lips are thick, and the eyes are small. The scales are larger and slightly rectangular, with an axillary scale extending backward on each side of the base of the pelvic fin. The lateral line is complete, slightly curved downward at the pelvic fin, and then rises to the middle of the caudal peduncle after passing the anal fin. During the reproductive season, the male body appears in "wedding dress", with many pearl stars appearing on the head, snout, and anal fin rays. The first to fourth branched fins of the anal fin are particularly extended, and the whole body has bright wedding colors. In life, the body color is bright, with a black-gray back and a silver-white belly. There are 12-13 vertical black stripes on the sides of the body, and there are many irregular pink spots between the stripes. The pelvic fins are light red and there are many black spots on the pectoral fins. The dorsal and caudal fins are gray, and the trailing edge of the caudal fin is black.

The living habits of this type of fish are similar to those of horsemouth. The two fishes often flock together and like to swim in shoals with fast currents and sandy bottoms. It is more common in the tributaries of rivers, but rare in deep-water lakes. It feeds on planktonic crustaceans, as well as some algae, small fish and humus on the bottom of the water.

The broad-finned catfish is widely distributed in China, North Korea, and Japan. In my country, it is distributed in the Heilongjiang, Yellow River, Yangtze River, Pearl River, Lancang River and various streams along the eastern coast. It is especially common in mountain streams. The average individual is about 14 centimeters, and the largest individual can be up to 20 centimeters long. The average individual weighs 25 grams, and very few weigh 50-100 grams. Although it is small, it is relatively fat, has high fat content, and has a high yield. It is one of the common edible miscellaneous fish. A special small fishery is formed in the mountainous areas of southern provinces and is one of the main economic fish in the mountainous areas. Its meat can be used as medicine. If the internal organs and scales are removed from it and used fresh, it has the effects of detoxification and insecticide. It is mainly used to treat boils, scabies and other diseases.

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