Roger's Angling Pages
The Weatherfish Misgurnus fossilis		Loach family Cobiditae

This fish is one of the largest of the Loach family. It lives almost all over Europe, from France to the Volga in the U .S.S.R., but it is not found in Britain or Scandinavia. It has a long, yellow to brownish black, belt-like body, which is between 20 and 30 cm in length and it has 10 barbels around its mouth. Its underside is yellow to orange in colour .

It likes lower reaches of slow-flowing rivers, but can also be found in still pools. I t usually lives half-hidden in the mud of side bays, swamps or completely overgrown areas. It starts looking for food with the onset of night. In waters with insufficient oxygen it makes use of an additional intestinal breathing system. With each gulp on the water surface it takes in an air bubble which travels to the back part of the intestine, where it is absorbed into the blood. At the same time it releases surplus air from the anal opening with a whistling noise. In winter it hides deep in the mud. In spring when breeding the female sheds several thousand eggs on to a tangle of water plants, usually in inaccessible places.

The Weatherfish has no economic or sporting value, but anglers regard it as good bait for catching large predatory fishes, such as Catfish. Because of its small oxygen requirements it is sometimes put into aquaria to forecast weather changes, since during sudden changes in barometric pressure it swims restlessly around the walls of the tank and periodically rises to the surface.