Description
Small shoaling cyprinid, typical of pools, ponds and standing waters with abundant vegetation. In Austria it is protected all year round and is considered near threatened.
How to identify it
Upturned mouth with thickened lower jaw, very short lateral line, blue stripe on the flanks. It differs from the bleak (Laube) in its almost absent lateral line.
Appearance
Slender, slightly compressed body, green-brown back, silvery flanks, white belly, blue stripe along the flanks. Large eyes. Females somewhat larger and stockier.
Habitat and habits
Small still or slow waters: ponds, oxbows, gravel pits, ditches, with dense vegetation. It lives in shoals near the surface, generally in the top metre, avoiding current.
Where it lives
From northern and central France to the Volga and the Caspian; absent from Italy, Iberia and Great Britain (where it is introduced in some areas). Native in Austria.
Conservation status
IUCN: least concern (LC, 2024). Austrian Red List: near threatened (NT).
Can be confused with
Bleak (Laube, Alburnus alburnus): lateral line complete from head to tail.
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
