Description
Introduced Asian species that feeds by filtering plankton.
How to identify it
Very small scales, silvery colour, low-set eyes below the line of the mouth, upturned mouth, keel on the belly.
Appearance
A large, compact fish, bright and almost uniformly silver, with the back only slightly darker. The eyes sit very low on the head and the wide mouth points upwards, suited to filtering water. The scales are so small that the body looks smooth. Compared with the tolstolobik pestrý, the head is less out of proportion, there are no dark spots on the flanks and the ventral keel is longer. It is told from the common carp and grass carp at a glance by its low-set eyes.
Habitat and habits
It comes from the large rivers of East Asia and in central Europe is found mainly in ponds, lakes and reservoirs where it has been stocked for farming or to control algae. It filters phytoplankton almost non-stop, so it does not look for food on the bottom but stays in open water, mid-water or near the surface. It lives in large shoals and prefers warm water. It is easily frightened and sometimes leaps out of the water. Compared with other cyprinids it suffers more when oxygen is scarce.
There's more in the app
This species' bite index, recommended baits and methods, and the rules of the day for every water. Offline too.
Soon on Android and iPhone
