Fish, lamprey family
Brook lamprey
- Maximum length
- 21cm
- Best water temperature
- 5–12 °C
- Water today (4.7 °C)
- Tolerates it, but slowed down
About the species Brook lamprey
How to recognise it
Not a true fish but a jawless vertebrate: a snake-like body without scales or paired fins, seven gill openings on each side of the head and a mouth shaped like a sucking funnel.
Where it lives
Clean streams and small rivers with a gravel and sandy bottom. The larvae live for several years buried in fine sand and mud; adult lampreys no longer feed.
Classification under the decree
Decree of the Ministry of the Environment of the SR no. 381/2018 Coll. on fisheries.
Classification
A native species of fish or lamprey (Section 13, paragraph 1 of the decree).
Closed season, minimum size and daily limit
What the Fisheries Act says about brook lamprey. For guidance only; check it in the fishing regulations of the district.
Species protected all year
Section 10, paragraph 1, point i of the decreefishing prohibited
this species may not be fishedoutside this period
You must not keep a fish of this species. If you happen to catch one, return it to the water as gently as possible.
Summary of Act no. 216/2018 Coll. and Decree no. 381/2018 Coll. (as of 6 Nov 2026). It may be out of date or contain an error, and exceptions apply on some waters. The permit and the fishing regulations of the district are binding. The fishing law, rule by rule.
Water temperature and requirements
At what temperature the species is active and how well today's water suits it.
Tolerates it, but slowed downTypical water in Slovakia is 4.7 °C today. The species tolerates this temperature (1 to 15 °C), but the water is colder than the ideal 5 to 12 °C. Fish tend to be slower and pickier.
- tolerates 1 to 15 °C
- best 5 to 12 °C
- typical water today 4.7 °C
- Length
- up to 21 cm
- Oxygen
- Requires a lot of oxygen
Sizes and the tolerated temperature range come from the FishBase database. We estimated the best temperature from that range, so it is only indicative. In a particular water, fish behave according to the weather, air pressure, oxygen and food.
Where it was recorded
Fishing districts around which a record of this species exists (GBIF).
We do not yet have records of this species at any fishing district. The data are supplemented from the GBIF database.
Catches of Brook lamprey
Approved catches by anglers on this portal.
Nobody has logged a catch of this species yet. Be the first; once approved it will appear here and on the leaderboard.
Similar species
Photo credits
- Brook lamprey: Photo: Ra Boe at German Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ukrainian brook lamprey: Photo: Geomyces.destructans, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Minimum sizes, protection periods and permitted fishing methods are set by the fishing regulations and the conditions of the specific fishing district. Check them before you fish.