Acta Carp. Occ. 17: 1-12, 2026 | https://doi.org/10.62317/aco.2026.002

Contribution to the knowledge of the ichthyofauna in the Slovak section of the Vlára River, with emphasis on the distribution and ecology of the Bulgarian golden loach [Sabanejewia bulgarica (Drensky, 1928)]

Peter Križek1,2, Tibor Krajč2, Radim Kočvara3
1 Odbor ichtyológie a ekológie rybárskych revírov, Slovenský rybársky zväz – Rada Žilina, ul. Andreja Kmeťa 20, 010 01 Žilina, Slovensko
2 Voda a ryby – spoločnosť pre ochranu vodných biotopov Slovenska, Rudina 278, 023 31 Rudina, Slovensko
3 Zářičí 92, 678 11 Chropyně, Česká republika

The work aimed to evaluate the current state of the ichthyofauna in the Slovak section of the Vlára River, paying particular attention to the distribution and selected population characteristics of the Bulgarian golden loach (Sabanejewia bulgarica). As part of the ichthyological survey, a total of 17 fish species belonging to 10 families were recorded at four localities in the longitudinal profile of the river. The barbel and grayling zone’s characteristic rheophilic species dominated in terms of abundance (A. bipunctatus, G. obtusirostris, P. phoxinus, S. cephalus a B. barbus). The Bulgarian golden loach was present at all monitored sites, with the highest abundance and biomass recorded in the section above the town of Nemšová (719 individuals per hectare and 1.02 kg per hectare, respectively). The length structure of the captured individuals corresponded to size-based cohorts of age categories II–IV (1+ to 3+). In terms of habitat requirements, the golden loaches mainly inhabit the shallow sections of the river with a coarse gravel- stone substrate covered by detritus or sand. These sections have a prevailing moderate current and a water depth of up to 50 cm. Our findings also confirm the continuous spread of S. bulgarica in the Slovakian section of the Vlára River, from its confluence with the Váh River to the state border with the Czech Republic. The results highlight the importance of maintaining migratory permeability and the stability of microhabitats as fundamental conditions for the long-term persistance of the species in this basin.

Keywords: Cobitidae, Váh River basin, White Carpathians

Received: November 24, 2025; Revised: January 9, 2026; Accepted: January 13, 2026; Published online: January 1, 2026  Show citation

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Križek, P., Krajč, T., & Kočvara, R. (2026). Contribution to the knowledge of the ichthyofauna in the Slovak section of the Vlára River, with emphasis on the distribution and ecology of the Bulgarian golden loach [Sabanejewia bulgarica (Drensky, 1928)]. Acta Carpathica Occidentalis, 17, Article 1-12. https://doi.org/10.62317/aco.2026.002
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