Carp: description of fish, habitat, types of carp, what it eats

Carp is a fairly impressive fish belonging to the class of ray-finned fish species (Actinopterygii). Since the class includes many breeds that are of considerable size and have biological significance, they were identified in the series of the same name and the family of the same name, which includes up to 2 thousand unique and related taxa of the ichthyofauna. Only in the territory of the former CIS there are up to 130 varieties of cyprinids, with predatory, vegetarian or omnivorous habits.

Origin of carps

To date, many believe that carp does not belong to the species of fish created by nature, despite the fact that it lives in reservoirs with stagnant water, as well as in reservoirs with a weak current. According to them, carp is the result of hard, long-term work of breeders who managed to domesticate the wild river carp, which once lived in southern China and the Caspian Sea. In fact, this approach is a serious misconception, since wild carp has always been distinguished by both river and lake forms. The basis of the varieties is just the shape of the body. The form of carp, which inhabits water bodies with a fast current, is distinguished by a torpedo-shaped shape, elongated in length. The same forms that live in stagnant water bodies, where there is a lot of food and few predators, grow rapidly upwards, gaining weight.

It was this variety of carp, which easily survived the lack of oxygen, that was introduced by man, without any selection efforts, into many reservoirs on many continents. Only at the stage of the last 150-200 years, when the issue of biological improvement of species was on the agenda, some original breeds and hybrids obtained under artificial conditions appeared.

Such a name for fish as “carp” has no connection with the scientific world, since it was formed absolutely by accident in the XNUMXth century. This happened when the writer Sergei Aksakov mentioned this name in his writings. He quite often visited his homeland, where he traveled to various reservoirs and fished. On the Belaya (Agidel) River, he caught wild carps. Local fishermen called them “carp”, which means “silt fish”. This word is easy to remember, and it quickly captured the minds of many anglers. Scientifically speaking, wild and domestic carp are one and the same.

The lake form of carp is considered basic, as it is the most common and of commercial interest. They call it common carp, although other names such as typical, golden or scaly can be applied to it. Often in everyday life, carp is called korop, which corresponds to the Old Slavic name. Based on this, it is not difficult to imagine that our ancestors have long known about this fish.

Features of appearance and its dimensions

Common carp can be easily identified by a number of characteristic features. For example:

• The fish has a thick, tall and slightly elongated body.
• The body is covered with large, tight-fitting cycloid scales with a dark border.
• The sides are distinguished by a golden or yellow-brown hue.
• The belly is wide, light shades.
• The mouth is large, which can be extended into a tube.
• On the upper lip are 2 pairs of sensitive, but small whiskers.
• The eyes are high-set, with small pupils and a golden-green iris.
• The back is darker in color. There is also a long dorsal fin of a gray-olive hue with a characteristic, but shallow notch.
• The nostril openings are doubled.

Among other things, the carp’s body is covered with a layer of mucus, which reduces resistance to water movement, improves thermoregulation processes and protects the body from all kinds of parasites and infections.

In this case, the fish can grow to an impressive size, gaining considerable weight. There is official evidence that specimens were caught, more than one and a half meters long and weighing about 55 kg. The average size of individuals present in the catches of anglers is no more than 5 kg. Carp is considered a long-liver, as it is able to live more than 50 years. There are decorative varieties for which we will overcome the milestone of 100 years.

Interesting fact! In the Land of the Rising Sun, a 70-year-old Japanese inherited a carp that lived in a pond and was 35 years older than him. The Japanese treated the fish as a member of his family. He was offered several times to sell the carp for 20 thousand dollars, but the Japanese flatly refused.

natural habitats

Carp is found on many continents, within temperate and southern latitudes. It prefers to live in ponds with a weak current, as well as in ponds with stagnant water. His favorite places are lakes with a weak current, ponds, quarries, canals and reservoirs, in which a soft clay or sandy bottom prevails, with an abundance of aquatic vegetation. Lives in water areas with a depth of 2 to 10 meters. This fish prefers to be in areas where there are shelters of any origin, so carp are rarely found in open areas where a flat bottom prevails. His favorite areas are blockages of trees, submerged bushes, significant bottom irregularities, thickets of aquatic vegetation.

What do carp eat

Carp is considered unpretentious and fairly omnivorous fish. Since the mouth of the carp has a special design, the fish easily filters the bottom soil, releasing nutrients. Thanks to this mouth design, the fish mainly feeds from the bottom. Therefore, the bottom method of catching carp prevails. The pharyngeal teeth of the carp are quite sharp, and the dense and wide lips are adapted for grinding fairly hard objects of food. The basis of the carp diet includes:

• Larvae, worms, small crustaceans.
• Insects, mollusks and tadpoles.
• Caviar of other types of fish.
• Aquatic vegetation, vegetables and cereals.
• Leeches and detritus.

Moulting crayfish and barley are considered the favorite food of carps. In places where carp is found, you can hear a characteristic crunch, which indicates the crushing of shells by fish. This is often misleading for inexperienced anglers. Large specimens can swallow gaping fry, but carps do not specifically hunt them. This fish has excellent hearing, which allows it to hear a bloodworm swarming in the ground or an insect that has fallen into the water from a distance of tens of meters.

Best biting period

They catch carp from May, when the water warms up to 10 degrees, and until autumn (until September, sometimes until October).

Favorable factors for fishing: turbid water with a moderately rising level, warm stuffy cloudy weather, weak southwest or southeast wind with decreasing atmospheric pressure (especially early in the morning and evening – before sunrise and after sunset), as well as 12 – 24 hours before the weather changes for the better.

Lifestyle features

After hatching, carp fry gather in numerous flocks, but as they grow older, these flocks break up into smaller flocks, which is associated with changes in the diet of the fish. In the end, trophy individuals begin to lead a separate way of life. The highest degree of carp activity falls on the warm period, starting from April and ending in October.

The first peak of active feeding of carp falls on June, when the fish, starving after spawning, begins round-the-clock feeding. With the advent of the summer heat, it is better to catch carp early in the morning or late in the evening. If the street is rainy cloudy weather, then the carp feeds throughout the day, both day and night.

The second peak of active feeding begins in August and continues until the end of October. This is due to the arrival of cold weather and the carp begins to actively stock up on nutrients for the winter. During this period, he actively hunts and takes any bait. Therefore, at this time, carp often becomes part of the catch of amateur anglers. Carp hibernates in wintering pits, where there is a weak current along with other representatives of their family. During this period, the carp practically does not eat until spring, being in a state of suspended animation.

Reproduction

Carp spawns quite late, when the water begins to warm up to at least +18 degrees. As a rule, this is the end of May or the beginning of June, which indicates the thermophilicity of this fish. Individuals become sexually mature at the age of 3 to 5 years. When females are ready to spawn, they are accompanied by several males of the same age. They go to shallow water, up to half a meter deep, overgrown with aquatic vegetation. Caviar throwing is carried out in 2-4 days, while caviar is laid in separate portions. In general, the female, depending on age, is able to lay from 0,2 to 1 million eggs. After a maximum of 6 days, fish fry appear from the eggs. After birth, they still feed on useful substances that are stored in the yolk sac for some time. As soon as the fry gets stronger, he goes to free swimming and begins to feed on zooplankton.

Types of carp with a photo

In addition to the common carp, which is considered the most hardy representative of this large family, there are other artificially cultivated species in fish farms, lakes and reservoirs.

mirror carp

This type of carp is considered the result of successful breeding work aimed at increasing the fecundity and weight of the fish. The mirror carp first appeared in Germany in the early 19th century under the same name. This type of carp differs from the original species in the presence of larger fins with fewer bony rays, as well as faster weight gain and the shape of the scales on the body. As a rule, in a mirror carp, the scales cover only part of the body, in the form of rounded mirrors. Depending on the location of the scales on the body of the fish, there are several types of mirror carp – framed, scattered and linear. Due to the fact that mirror carps have a strict attachment to the food base, consisting of mollusks and cereals, this factor greatly simplifies the process of keeping fish in artificial reservoirs.

naked carp

Naked carp appeared as a result of further work of breeders on mirror carp. The main difference between the species is the complete absence of a protective cover in the form of scales. It has another name – leathery carp. At the same time, a minimum number of large scales is allowed in the back area, as well as at the base of the caudal fin.

Interesting to know! Naked carp have a rather weak immune system and are susceptible to infection by various parasites. In connection with this fact, the species is not of great economic importance, but is bred for amateur and sport fishing.

carp

As a result of fierce forage competition between 2 species, it was necessary to control the number of super-prolific crucian carp in order to prevent the predominance of small livestock.

Having set such a goal for themselves, in the 1980s a special breed was bred in Russia – carpocarp, which was distinguished by unique characteristics: rapid weight gain, high nutritional value and inability to reproduce. In addition, the hybrid has other features: the head and color correspond to crucian carp, and the body – to carp. Thanks to its unique characteristics, in just a couple of years of life, the fish gains weight of almost 2 kg.

Carp koi

As early as the XNUMXst and XNUMXnd centuries, the Chinese were engaged in crossing closely related generic taxa. As a result, it was possible to obtain unique offspring from wild carp and local crucian carp. This offspring is now known to all aquarists, as they called the decorative species “goldfish”. This hybrid represents the body of a carp and has retained the ability to reproduce independently. At the same time, his body color is either white or red. Further crossbreeding resulted in pink and spotted varieties.

Interesting fact! This fish, bred in China, quickly found its way to Japan, where it became widespread among rice farmers far from easily accessible areas. Weather conditions cut off people from civilization for a long time, leading them to protein starvation. And then this problem was solved at the expense of this unpretentious fish, which was kept in special water tanks intended for irrigation of rice fields.

The word “koi” in Japanese means “carp” and is used to refer to this unique taxon, which can grow up to 1 meter in length. The Japanese also use another term “nishikigoi”, which means “brocade carp”. At least 80 breeds of this carp were bred, and the mirror carp also took part in this. These species are now kept in backyard or carp ponds in various parts of Japan. As a rule, this is done for the purpose of cultural and aesthetic enjoyment.

Siamese carp

Siamese carp, which is also called the giant barbel, is considered the most numerous representative of this family. This fish prefers to lead a peaceful way of life, feeding mainly on phytoplankton, algae, plants, cereals and fruits. Despite such a “diet”, some individuals grow to an impressive size, gaining weight of the order of 50 kg, or even more. There is evidence that fishermen came across individuals weighing up to 300 kg and up to 3 meters long.

Nutrition Facts of Carp

Despite the fact that carp meat is quite bony, it is quite tasty. In addition, it contains polyunsaturated fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6. There are only 100 kcal per 115 grams of meat, which makes it indispensable for dietary nutrition. If the fish is fried, then its energy value increases by 2 times, which should be known to those who follow their figure. For those who want to get rid of extra pounds, it is better to eat boiled fish, stewed or baked in the oven. The meat of this fish contains all the necessary nutrients, so necessary for the normal functioning of the human body.

Regular consumption of fish dishes helps to strengthen bone tissue, normalize mental activity and the functions of the cardiovascular system. This slows down the aging process and strengthens the immune system.

In conclusion

Carp is not only a tasty fish, but also a strong one, so catching it gives anglers a lot of positive emotions. There is even a category of anglers called “carp anglers”, who are engaged exclusively in carp fishing. And this is not surprising, since it is not so easy to catch a trophy carp, since adults are quite cautious and you have to sit for hours waiting for a single bite. But what!