Sharpbelly
Encyclopedia
The sharpbelly, Hemiculter leucisculus, Korean sharpbelly, or common sawbelly is a tropical freshwater
and brackish water
fish
belonging to the Cultrinae
sub-family of the Cyprinidae family. It originates in large streams and reservoirs in China
, Japan
, Hong Kong
, Korea
and the Amur River basin. It has become established as an exotic species in several other countries, including Iran
, Afghanistan
, and the former Soviet Union
, where it has displaced local species. It was originally described as Culter leucisculus by S. Basilewsky in 1855, and has also been referred to as Chanodichthys leucisculus and Hemiculter leucisculus warpachowskii in scientific literature.
The fish reaches a size of up to 23.0 centimetres (9.1 in), and is native to freshwater and brackish habitats with a pH
of 7.0, a hardness
of 15 DH, and a temperature of 18° to 22° C
(64° to 72° F
). It is green-gray on the back, and white in the stomach.
The main bulk of the diet includes zooplankton
, insect
s, crustacean
s, algae
and detritus
. It is of minor commercial importance, primarily in China, where it is canned. In Hong Kong, it is not favored as a table fish because the flesh is unpalatable and very bony.
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
and brackish water
Brackish water
Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
belonging to the Cultrinae
Cultrinae
The Cultrinae are a subfamily of cyprinid fish.-Recognized Genera:* Chanodichthys* Culter* Erythroculter* Hemiculter* Ischikauia* Megalobrama* Parabramis – White Amur Bream* Sinibrama...
sub-family of the Cyprinidae family. It originates in large streams and reservoirs in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and the Amur River basin. It has become established as an exotic species in several other countries, including Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, and the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where it has displaced local species. It was originally described as Culter leucisculus by S. Basilewsky in 1855, and has also been referred to as Chanodichthys leucisculus and Hemiculter leucisculus warpachowskii in scientific literature.
The fish reaches a size of up to 23.0 centimetres (9.1 in), and is native to freshwater and brackish habitats with a pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
of 7.0, a hardness
Hard water
Hard water is water that has high mineral content . Hard water has high concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. Hard water is generally not harmful to one's health but can pose serious problems in industrial settings, where water hardness is monitored to avoid costly breakdowns in boilers, cooling...
of 15 DH, and a temperature of 18° to 22° C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
(64° to 72° F
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
). It is green-gray on the back, and white in the stomach.
The main bulk of the diet includes zooplankton
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...
, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
and detritus
Detritus
Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
. It is of minor commercial importance, primarily in China, where it is canned. In Hong Kong, it is not favored as a table fish because the flesh is unpalatable and very bony.