Koppe

Animals
Habitat: Wild River Lech
Class: Fish

Koppe

Bull's head - is the name given to the Koppe (Cottus gobio) because of their large, thick head and their wide mouth common. On a stony stream bed, this 15 cm small brownish fish almost invisible at rest. The skin is smooth and scaleless. Its two dorsal fins with spiny rays and fan-shaped pectoral fins make the chub unmistakable.

The Koppe is a Groundfish. It has no swim bladder and is also a poor swimmer. It therefore moves jerkily across the bottom with its pectoral fins spread apart.

Rapidly flowing streams and Smaller rivers with gravel and stone bottoms are their habitat. It feels most comfortable in clean water with a high oxygen concentration and low water temperature. During the day it hides under stones, water plants or roots. Only at dusk does the bullhead go in search of insect larvae.

Spawning takes place from February to May. 100 - 200 eggs are laid under stones or in a kind of spawning pit.

Due to its high demands on water quality, the bullhead is very sensitive to pollution. As it has already become very rare, it is categorised as an endangered species in Austria.

The bullhead feels very much at home in the Tyrolean Lech and its tributaries. As part of a LIFE project, tributaries were reconnected to the Lech. The result is a significant improvement in the bullhead population

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