Barbel (Barbus barbus)

The barbel populates the middle course of the river, choosing sections with fast flowing water and a hard bottom (rock, gravel).

The barbel’s body shape resembles a low, flat racing car. Thanks to its lower jaw and a far-protruding mouth it is perfectly adapted to searching for food on the bottom of the river. With its hard lips it can heave small stones and look for worms, crayfish and insect larvae underneath. Its roe is poisonous. It’s a kind of natural protection of their eggs from being eaten by other animals.

With the increasing pollution of rivers the number of sites where the barbell can develop properly becomes smaller, especially since juveniles are very sensitive to any decrease in the content of oxygen in the water.