Fish rescue from oxygen deficiency

Aeration of water bodies is a process of water saturation with air, in other words, with oxygen. It is important and necessary for the life of all inhabitants of the reservoir, including aquatic plants. Aeration has a beneficial effect on fish and their activity, contributes to the establishment of the necessary ecological balance in the water basin.

All fish breathe oxygen dissolved in the water, so its content is crucial for them. It is much harder for water animals to breathe, and not only because there are 21 times less oxygen in the water, but also because water density is 800 times greater than air density. Oxygen is necessary for fish to ensure aerobic energy exchange in individual development, and they can do without it for the shortest time only in early stages.

The lack of the oxygen dissolved in the water can lead to the death of fish and the development of various diseases. In winter, aeration works clean water from harmful gases that accumulate under the ice cover and have a serious negative effect on the oxygen conditions in the reservoir. There are different threshold concentrations of oxygen in water for different species of fish. The optimal amount of oxygen dissolved in water is about 12-13 mg/l in winter and 6-8 mg/l in summer.

To combat the extermination and within the Year of Specially Protected Natural Reservations of the Republic of Tatarstan the experts of Spassky Nature Sanctuary together with the Leading Ichthyologist of Middle Volga branch of Glavrybvod Rustam Safiulin, on the lakes of the nature monuments “Chistoye”, “Bezymyannoe”, “Atamanskoye” located in Tri Ozera Village of Spassky Municipal District, took melioration measures to rescue fish from oxygen starvation. Using a gasoline ice pick, more than 90 holes have been drilled through the thick ice layer on the lakes to place the straw in order to prevent freezing and provide access to oxygen, which will help save the lives of many underwater inhabitants of the lakes.