Where are the ice ones? Festivals of snow and ice figures in different countries. Where are ice fish found and their origin?

Pedigree of the white-blooded fish, history of discovery, appearance features, basic tips for keeping ice fish in an aquarium.

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Now the time has come when, entering the house or apartment of your friend or acquaintance, you no longer know at all who you can meet there and where this someone came from. Sometimes people, in pursuit of a goal, will stand out from the surrounding gray mass, or in order to emphasize their impeccable and original taste they may make very unusual actions, decisions and purchases. This may consist of new fashionable shoes, items of clothing in which, upon going out into the street, you can immediately become an object everyone's attention, sometimes not entirely approving. But in this matter, the main thing for a person is not to be admired - the main thing is to be different from everyone else or to have something that others don’t have.

But when it comes to style in clothes, expensive jewelry, the interior of an apartment or a super-new and ultra-fashionable mobile phone - it’s one thing, but there are also those among people for whom it is not enough to be special in appearance, they also make special friends from the large animal kingdom. It is impossible to meet anyone in a particular house: raccoons, hedgehogs, a wide variety of reptiles, snakes and even tigers and hippos. Yes, this is all a list of modern pets and this is not the entire list. Sometimes, when a person chooses which animal to bring into his home, he is not always guided by common sense and his tastes and preferences; most often it all depends on his financial situation, which in itself cannot but upset. It’s really a shame when animals, accustomed to living in freedom, become a means of emphasizing their financial situation or status in society.

This judgment, of course, does not apply to everyone, because there are also people who have dreamed of a monkey or a lemur all their lives and did everything possible to ensure that their cherished four-legged friend appeared in their home.

But not everyone is an ardent fan of big shaggy animals or snakes; there are people who really love aquariums. This large, beautiful container, inhabited by a wide variety of living creatures native to the sea and ocean depths, simply cannot leave anyone indifferent. There is probably no such person on our planet who, in a restaurant, in the office or at someone’s house, seeing fish swimming in an aquarium, would be able to pass by.

An interior item such as an aquarium, no matter what size it is, is always very appropriate in any room. Looking at it and its inhabitants, you can’t help but catch yourself thinking that the whole world around has stopped for a while and is in standby mode. Waiting for the viewer of this wonderful structure to fully enjoy the harmony of the water “space”, which seems to have superpowers to give a feeling of calm, put thoughts in order, and simply lift the spirits.

If you have decided to put such a house with fish in your house, but you don’t know who is so special and unique to inhabit it. It is worth paying attention to such a specimen as ice fish. You may know her from the pages of encyclopedias, the Internet, and, perhaps, sad as it may sound, her name can most often be found on the menu pages of expensive elite restaurants.

Today, people have increasingly begun to keep it in the house, as an ordinary aquarium fish; it is a truly beautiful living creature, and besides, by allocating a place for it in the home “water house”, you save this living beauty from ocean waters from the hands of poachers and the knives and frying pans of chefs.

Where are ice fish found and their origin?

Pike whitefish, common whitefish or common icefish - all these names hide the same living creature.

Champsocephalus gunnari is a representative of a large kingdom of animals, which a zoologist, a native of Sweden, assigned to the phylum Chordata, class ray-finned fish, order Perciformes, genus Pikewings and family Whitefishes in 1905.

The natural habitat of this white-blooded fish is great depths Antarctica, as some sources say, this pike plows the ocean waters at a depth of approximately 400–700 m from the surface of the water.

The history of the discovery of ice pike and interesting facts

In the distant??? century, the whaling industry was a very popular and fairly effective source of income for the inhabitants of Norway. It was the workers of this craft, returning home from another voyage, who told local residents amazing story that they allegedly managed to catch an amazing fish, completely different from all other inhabitants of cold waters. Its uniqueness, according to the whalers, lay in the fact that it had white or even completely transparent blood, like water, for this physiological feature they called it “ice” or “white-blooded”. Many, having heard this seemingly not entirely realistic story, did not attach any special significance to this story, because there was little that they could invent or that these hard workers could imagine.

Only many, many years later, in 1954, scientists began to carefully study this mysterious fish and discovered the incredible - the Norwegian workers were right after all, its blood is not at all red, on the contrary, it is almost transparent with some turbidity or even “nebula.” The whole secret of this feature is that the hematocrit (the volume of blood cells in the blood) of this icy ocean dweller is zero, that is, neither red blood cells nor even the protein hemoglobin, which gives the red color to the blood of almost all living beings.

“No one values what they have here and now” - this expression may have once been said not at all about food, but in the case of ice fish on the territory of the Soviet Union, it could not have come at a better time. The thing is that around 1980, our Motherland had the opportunity to boast of the largest ocean fishing fleet in the world. Fish catches and supplies to the USSR broke all records; the amount of catch per Soviet resident was almost three times greater than the catches of American and English fishermen. In connection with such large-scale supplies of products from ocean waters, including ice fish, our people did not pay any special attention to this amazing pike and considered it a low-grade fish. Mostly they spoiled their kittens with it, since a kilogram of such an ordinary product on the market cost about 60–70 kopecks. No one was interested in any beneficial properties or special taste of the white blood from Antarctica.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the destruction of the Russian fishing fleet gradually crept up, soon ships began to leave the oceans, day after day the repair of old ships and the construction of new ones ceased, and people, step by step, began to leave such a previously profitable and so necessary craft.

Then on Russian markets they began to import fish with white blood, but it was already foreign suppliers and a completely different pricing policy reigned on the fish counters. The furry favorites of the Russian people no longer had the opportunity to enjoy such a delicacy as white-blooded fish meat, and over time, the people themselves could no longer afford such a luxury.
During this non-fishy time, we began to wonder why this pike-like whitefish became so expensive and inaccessible to the average employee. The solution to this mystery is very simple and even elementary. It's all about the special taste of this ray-finned fish. Almost every fish, every year and even day of its life cycle, absorbs a large number of different elements from the water in which it lives, in other words, with age, the fish body becomes heavily polluted. Ice fish is an exception to this rule, because the water in the native habitat of this Arctic beauty is one of the cleanest in the world, therefore the meat of this fish does not contain any harmful substances or compounds. Also, neither the fish itself nor a ready-made dish made from it emits a specific fishy smell inherent in many of its relatives, which is why it is so adored by people who do not eat fish products due to intolerance to this “aroma.” In terms of taste, ice pike meat is somewhat reminiscent of shrimp. There is a theory that this is due to the fact that white-blooded fish in natural environment habitat also carefully selects food for itself and prefers mainly krill for lunch - these are small marine planktonic crustaceans, characterized by very small sizes (only from 8 to 60 mm).

In no case should we fail to note the fact that the perch-like whiteblood is not just a fish, it is simply a storehouse of useful vitamins and minerals such as potassium, fluorine, phosphorus and many others. It contains over 17–18% pure protein, which is why it is simply a godsend for people who are planning to go on a diet. There are practically no elements such as magnesium and calcium in its configuration, for this reason its meat is so convenient to eat; there is almost no bone tissue in the body of ice fish.

A simple white-blooded pike is one of those rare representatives of the animal world of the planet that are not only tasty and extremely healthy, but also received from nature a very extraordinary appearance. Perhaps few people have had such an opportunity to see this lovely creation of nature alive, and at least not in frozen form. Indeed, today almost the only place Meetings with ice fish are fish showcases in supermarkets, fish stores and occasionally vegetable markets, where it quietly waits for its consumer, wrapped in a thick layer of snow and ice from the freezer.

But, if you have the opportunity to see this beauty actively swimming around the aquarium, you will be amazed by the elegance and grandeur of its outer shell.

The body parameters of an adult individual may be different, depending on the amount of food in the habitat of a particular icefish, as well as on the state of its physical health. The average body length of this perch-like inhabitant of Antarctic waters ranges from 30 to 80 cm, the body weight ranges from 200 to 1200 grams.

The body of the white-blooded fish is naked, absolutely not covered with scales. Looking at it closely, one gets the impression that it is completely transparent and through the body of the ice fish you can see the world around you, but this is not so, due to the fact that there are no red blood cells in the blood, the skin does not have a peculiar “fish blush”, Therefore, the shine on the light body of the fish creates such an amazing effect. The fabulous body of the inhabitant of the cold waters of the ocean is decorated with wide stripes, which are placed transversely and painted in dark shades. Also on the body of this ray-finned pike you can easily notice the lateral longitudinal lines, most often there are two or three of them.

The head of the ice fish in relation to the size of the entire body is very large, somewhat oblong in shape and, as it were, slightly flattened in the upper part. The mouth and large jaws in their morphological structure are very reminiscent of pike, which, in all likelihood, is where one of the names of the ice fish came from, which is sometimes also called sea pike, which is not at all true, because this name is borne by representatives of a completely different fish family.

If you have had the fortunate opportunity to see this wonderful fish swimming in someone’s aquarium and you have an irresistible desire to contemplate such a fabulous creation of nature in your home, we can say that in our modern era, nothing is simply impossible. And getting such a rare and not quite familiar pet is still absolutely possible. You just need to seriously look for a person who sells wonderful white blood not only to supermarkets and restaurant-type establishments, but also into the hands of lovers of exotic pets.

To ensure that your pet ice pike feels completely comfortable and cozy in your home, you will need to work a little, and, of course, shell out some money.

First you need to think about where she will live. Like all other fish, for its habitat in apartments it needs an aquarium filled with water, but when choosing a glass housing for such an original oceanic specimen, do not forget that its size is tens of times larger than the well-known and beloved multi-colored aquarium fish, such as guppies, mollies , corydoras catfish, ternetsia and many other miniature “animals” covered with scales. For this reason, for an ordinary whiteblood, you need to choose a home of such dimensions that it will not only fit, but can also swim freely around its property.

If you have decided that you need an aquarium with ice fish, then it is better that it be its personal apartment; it cannot be said that it poses a threat to the life of other species of fish, but the conditions in which it is accustomed to living are already It's a completely different matter. After all, the optimal water temperature for fish with white blood is 2–7 degrees, which not every living creature can withstand. Perhaps, after some time, you will be able to accustom this lover of cold weather to more acceptable temperature conditions, but this must be done by gradually increasing the temperature of the water by 1-2 degrees, but initially launch it into climatic conditions that are more familiar to it.

It's very difficult to achieve this low indicators thermometer in the aquarium, for this purpose in specialized pet stores it is possible to purchase special cooling devices for home aquariums. There is a lot of information on the Internet about how to construct such devices with your own hands without spending much money. But this is suitable if a person needs to lower the temperature by several degrees, and in your situation, the water needs to be very cold, and this temperature must be maintained at a constant level.

We cannot ignore the fact that ice fish in their natural environment have chosen the purest waters for their habitat. Therefore, even at home, your fish should always be in clean water, because no one knows how its aesthetic organism will react to various contaminants.

Also in the ocean, the white blood prefers to eat a kind of delicacy in the form of krill, so at first it is better to find its favorite dish, but after some time after the fish has adapted to the conditions of the aquarium, you can also try to treat it with regular fish food.

Moscow often hosts various events where you can see ice sculptures. Whatever they are called: and ice sculpture exhibitions, and ice sculpture festivals, ice sculpture competitions, in different ways. Such exhibitions and competitions always attract many visitors. Both adults and, most likely, children are interested in seeing, examining, looking at various scenes embodied in ice. The flight of fancy of the creators of the ice sculpture is wide, and their artistic abilities are vast. high level, so sometimes real masterpieces are cut out of ice, which later in the spring it’s a pity to part with. At least put it in the refrigerator!)

Ice sculpture festivals are held annually in many Moscow parks. On some of them you can not only see ice sculptures, but also see how they are created, and perhaps even learn how to make them. Master classes are held for those interested.

But there are places where you can see ice sculptures not only in winter, but all year round. In the park on Krasnaya Presnya there is ice sculpture exhibition, which is open to visitors both in the cold and warm seasons. A constant temperature of -10°C is maintained here, thanks to which the ice does not melt and all sculptures are preserved in the form in which they were created.

The ice sculpture gallery is located at the Vystavochnaya metro station. Address- st. Mantulinskaya, 5. I have never been to Vystavochnaya, and I must say, it’s quite interesting station. Coming out of the metro, we find ourselves on the embankment of the Moscow River with a view of one of Stalin’s skyscrapers and the building of the Government of the Russian Federation. The weather was cloudy, the photo also turned out sad. On the right is a bridge across the river, not an ordinary one, but some kind of shopping bridge. The skyscrapers of Moscow City are right there. I didn’t take a photo because... It started to rain, so I didn’t take out my DSLR. But I want to come here in the summer and take a walk along the embankment. It’s a pity that they don’t depart from here, although there seems to be a pier. Maybe someone local, write in the comments, do water buses go from here?

From the metro to the ice sculpture exhibition, walk a maximum of 10 minutes, along the embankment, past the Expo Center and the tennis court (see map above). We go into the park, there are signs where to go, but... in the park we see only one building, suitable in size, it is already clear where the gallery is located.

On Krasnaya Presnya, the ice sculpture museum is open daily from 11:00 to 20:00. Ticket price for adults – 350 rubles, for schoolchildren, students, pensioners – 250 rubles, for children – 50 rubles, for disabled people and WWII participants, admission is free, photography is also free, which is good, because This is not as common as we would like. But on the other hand, there is a suspicion that its cost is simply included in the ticket price)).

On Saturdays at 12:00, the gallery also hosts a free master class on carving ice sculptures. I managed to film it; the sound, although not very good, was still filmed with a camera and not a video camera. And the video weighs 2 gigs, so if anyone has a slow Internet, sorry, it will take a long time to load.

A few photos from the master class.

How to do that, you say?

Haa, now I’ll make you a flower!

Finally, we go into the room itself with ice sculptures.

The ice sculptures in the gallery are based on Russian fairy tales. To my shame, I realized that I did not recognize some of the plots and did not remember the names of the fairy tales. It’s good that a family with children came with us, and the grandmother told her grandchildren, and for one, me, who was who and where.

A squirrel gnawing on precious nuts and servants guarding it from the fairy tale about Tsar Saltan. The pink color in the photo is a special highlight. Since all the ice sculptures in the Gallery are transparent, backlighting adds glamor.

The Little Humpbacked Horse, the Firebird and Ivan Tsarevich.

The crow and the fox from Krylov's fable. A fox, in my opinion, is more like a marten. Only in the photo did I notice that it was broken in two places and glued together.

Nightingale the Robber.

Baba Yaga on the stupa. Her head is a little too big.

Emelya and pike.

Serpent Gorynych and... I don’t remember who fought him, but Gorynych had already knocked out his teeth, judging by the photograph.

A plot from the fairy tale "Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf."

A hut with snacks for a rainy day.

This is probably the swan princess.

A mosquito, truly a piece of jewelry.

About 10 minutes later, my friend couldn’t stand the cold, despite the fact that we were wearing autumn clothes, and ran away from the gallery. I looked at and photographed the sculptures alone. I accidentally found a grandmother with a broken trough. She was so small that hardly anyone paid attention to her.

The Golden Cockerel. I didn’t see him right away either.

Ecology

Many of these natural wonders Only scientists can see them, since they are located in cold, sparsely populated areas of our planet.

Here 10 Most Beautiful Ice Formations nature ranging from glaciers, frozen waterfalls to ice caves and icebergs.

1. Blue River, Greenland glaciers

This amazing blue river was formed by melting Peterman glacier in Greenland, which filled low-lying areas with blue water. Places filled with water change seasonally, which changes the shape of the river each time. The bright blue color comes from glacial silt.

2. Glacier waterfalls, Spitsbergen archipelago (Svalbard)

Svalbard, or as it is also called Spitsbergen, is archipelago in the Arctic, located in the northern part of the kingdom of Norway. Despite the proximity to North Pole, Svalbard is a relatively warm place due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. This is a large area of islands, which 60 percent covered by glaciers.

Some of these glaciers form small waterfalls from melting snow and ice, which can be seen in the warmer months. Huge Broswelbryn Glacier located on the second most big island– The 200 km long North-East Land is covered with hundreds of such melting waterfalls.

3. Ice cave, Iceland island

This amazing cave Svínafellsjökull lagoons in Iceland was created by the volcanic ice cap Vatnajökull V national park Skaftafel. The beautiful blue color was formed as a result of the ice compacting over many centuries, squeezing out all the air. Because there is no air in the ice, it absorbs a lot of light, giving the cave a unique texture and color.

Safest visit an ice cave in winter, and for better visibility - after a period of rain. Many of those lucky enough to be inside the cave heard cracking sounds. However, these sounds do not occur because the glacier is about to collapse, but because it is constantly moving.

4. Briksdalsbreen Glacier, Norway

Briksdalsbreen- one of the most famous arm glaciers of Jostedalsbreen- the largest glacier located in Norway.

It ends with a small glacial lake located 346 meters above sea level.

Tourists from all over the world come to admire the Briksdalsbreen glacier, located among waterfalls and high mountains.

5. Ice Canyon, Greenland

This Ice Canyon in Greenland 45 meters deep was created by meltwater as a result of global warming. Along the edge of the canyon you can see lines that show layers of ice and snow that have formed over many years.

The dark deposits at the bottom of this channel are cryoconite, dusty material formed as a result of weathering. It is deposited on snow, glaciers and ice caps.

6. Elephant's Foot Glacier, Greenland

This huge glacier, called the Elephant's Foot, is located in northern Greenland. The gray area at the bottom of the glacier is the melting zone, which was formed from the meltwater of the channels. Almost perfect round form glacier has diameter about 5 kilometers.

7. Frozen wave, ice floes of Antarctica

Although at first glance it may seem that there is a huge wave in front of you that has frozen, it was not formed from a wave of water.

Actually it's blue ice, which is formed when compressed air bubbles are forced out. Ice appears blue because when light passes through its thick layer, blue light is reflected and red light is absorbed.

The ice itself formed over time, and repeated melting and freezing gave the formation a smooth appearance.

8. Striped Icebergs, Southern Ocean

This phenomenon is most often seen in the Southern Ocean. Striped icebergs may have blue, green and brown stripes and are formed when large chunks of ice break off ice shelves and fall into the ocean.

For example, the blue stripes formed when the ice sheet filled with meltwater and froze so quickly that bubbles did not have time to form. Salty seawater containing algae can cause green streaks. Other colors usually appear when sediment is caught by a sheet of ice as it falls into the water.

9. Ice towers of Mount Erebus, Antarctica

Constantly active volcano Erebus is perhaps the only place in Antarctica where ice and fire meet. Here at an altitude of 3800 meters you can find hundreds ice towers reaching up to 20 meters in height. They often emit steam, some of which freezes inside the towers, expanding and lengthening it.

10. Frozen waterfall

For example, Fang Falls in the city of Vail in the USA turns into a huge column of ice in especially cold winters, reaching 50 meters high and 8 meters wide.

The day Niagara Falls froze

During long periods winter frosts, a crust of ice may form on some parts of the waterfall. Several years ago, photographs appeared on the Internet that showed frozen Niagara Falls , presumably taken in 1911.

In fact, the photographs were most likely taken in March 1848, when water flow stopped due to ice jam for a few hours. The entire waterfall did not freeze completely, and some streams of water still broke through. Niagara Falls froze for the second time in history in 1936 due to severe frosts.

11. "Penitent Snows", Andes Mountains

Calgaspores or as they are also called “penitent snows” or “penitent monks” are amazing ice spikes that form on the plains in the highlands, such as the Andes mountains, which are located at an altitude of 4000 meters above sea level.

Calgaspores can reach heights from a few centimeters, resembling frozen grass, and up to 5 meters, giving the impression of an icy forest.

They are believed to have formed due to strong winds in the area and sunlight, which causes the ice to melt unevenly and result in strange shapes.

12. Kungur Ice Cave, Russia

Kungurskaya ice cave – one of the most large caves peace and the most amazing wonders of the Urals, which is located on the outskirts of the city of Kungur in Perm region. It is believed that the cave is more than 10 thousand years old.

Its total length reaches 5700 meters, inside the cave 48 grottoes and 70 underground lakes, up to 2 meters deep. The temperature inside the ice cave varies from -10 to -2 degrees Celsius.

Kungur Ice Cave has gained popularity among tourists due to its ice formations, stalactites, stalagmites, ice crystals and ice columns. The most famous grottoes: Diamond, Polar, Meteor, Giant, Ruins, Cross.

In the mountains of Shanxi Province in China is the country's largest ice cave - an 85-meter underground structure in the shape of a bowling pin - located on the side of the mountain. Its walls and floor are covered with a thick layer of ice, and large icicles and stalactites hang from the ceiling to the floor. Ningwu Cave has one unique feature: it remains frozen throughout the summer, even when outside temperatures rise to summer highs.

Throughout Continental Europe, Central Asia and North America There are many such ice caves where winter lasts all year round. Most are located in colder regions such as Alaska, Iceland and Russia, where low temperatures throughout the year help keep the caves frozen. However, ice caves can also be found in warmer climates.

Ningu Ice Cave in China. Photo credit: Zhou Junxiang/Image China

Most of these caves are so-called “cold traps”. These caves have conveniently located crevices and exits that allow cold air to enter in winter, but through which warm air cannot penetrate in summer. In winter, cold, dense air settles in the cave, displacing any warm air that has collected here, which rises up and leaves the caves. In summer, cold air remains in the cave because relatively warm air rises and cannot enter it.

The ice inside the cave also acts as a buffer, helping to stabilize the temperature inside. The ice immediately cools any warm air coming in from outside before it can cause significant warming inside the cave. Of course, under its influence the ice melts, but the temperature inside the cave remains almost unchanged. There is also the opposite effect: in winter, when very cold air enters the cave, any liquid water freezes, releasing heat and preventing the temperature in the cave from falling too low.

Ice caves also require sufficient water for the right amount of time to form. In winter, the climate should be such that there is enough snow on the mountains, and in summer the temperature should be high enough to melt, but the air in the cave does not warm up too much. For an ice cave to form and maintain itself, a delicate balance between all these factors must be maintained.

The largest ice cave in the world is the Eisriesenwelt, located in Werfen, Austria, about 40 km south of Salzburg. The cave stretches for more than 42 kilometers. Photo: Michael & Sophia/Flickr

Decorah Ice Cave in Iowa, USA, is one of the largest ice caves in the American Midwest. The cave remains relatively ice-free during the fall and early winter. During this period, cold winter air enters the cave and lowers the temperature of the stone walls. When the snow begins to melt in the spring, melt water seeps into the cave and freezes upon contact with the still cold walls, and in May-June the ice layer reaches a maximum thickness of several centimeters. Ice often remains inside the cave until late August, while outside temperatures rise above 30 degrees.

A similar phenomenon is observed at the Coudersport Ice Mine in Pennsylvania. This is a small cave where ice only forms in the summer months and melts in winter. Photo credit: rivercouple75/Tripadvisor

Booming Ice Chasm in Canadian Rocky Mountains in Alberta is known for its incredible acoustics. It is said that when the stones fall off and fall to the cave floor, 140 meters down, it causes a rumbling echo. The cave was discovered only in 2005 with the help of Google Earth. Photo: Francois-Xavier De Ruydts

Ningu Ice Cave in China. Photo: Zhou Junxiang/Image China

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