Carp fish: features of behavior and life

The most common type of fish on the globe is crucian fish, it is freshwater, ubiquitous, tasty and loved by many. You can find it in any, even the smallest pond, while catching it is often done on the most primitive gear. Next, we offer to learn everything about carp from A to Z.

Description

Crucian carp is a very common genus of ichthy inhabitants; it can be found both in lakes and ponds with stagnant water, and on rivers with a moderate course. Belongs to the class of lecheperid fishes, order cyprinids, family cyprinids. There are different species, since the distribution area is very large. It is not difficult to distinguish it from the rest of the population of the water area, for this it is enough just to see it with your own eyes.

This is a memorable “personality”, the description is better presented in the form of a table:

In length it can reach 60 cm, and weight at the same time up to 5 kg.

How many years does a crucian live? The duration depends on many factors, among which the species is of prime importance. The ordinary one has a duration of 12 years, but the silver one is inferior to it in this, no more than 9 years.

Habitat

These representatives of cyprinids are very unpretentious, they are suitable for almost any body of water for living. You can find it without problems in crystal clear rivers, in ponds with a lot of silt and vegetation. Only mountain rivers and lakes are not to their liking, in such a water area they do not take root at all.

It is now difficult to determine where the well-known fish comes from, it is known in many countries of the world thanks to human intervention. Economic activity allowed him to spread to:

• Poland
• Germany;
• Italy;
• Portugal;
• Hungary;
• Romania;
• Great Britain;
• Belarus;
• Kazakhstan;
• Mongolia;
• China;
• Korea.

Northern reservoirs are no exception, the cold waters of Siberia, Kolyma, Primorye have become almost native for a representative of the carp family. Carp is not considered a curiosity in the USA, Thailand, Pakistan, India and other exotic countries for us.

Diet

This representative of cyprinids is considered omnivorous, for it there is practically no inedible product. However, its preferences vary depending on the stage of development and age:

• the fry, which has just appeared from the egg, uses the contents of the yolk bladder for normal life;
• daphnia and blue-green algae to the taste of individuals who continue to develop further;
• monthly passes to bloodworms and other small river insect larvae;
• adults have a more varied table, this includes annelids, small crustaceans, insect larvae, roots of aquatic plants, stems, duckweed, algae.

Some of the representatives become real gourmets, because of human intervention, boiled cereals, bread crumbs, dough with butter have become almost the norm for them. It is using these features that you can catch a large number of this ichthyite. However, crucian carp is often capricious, on the same day on the same reservoir it can take absolutely different baits.

Types

Carp predator or not? This representative of cyprinids is classified as a peaceful species of fish, however, sometimes large individuals can afford to feast on fry of their own kind. But not everyone is capable of this, some species of the genus are completely herbivores.

The genus includes several species, each of which will differ from its relative in appearance. Let’s consider the most numerous in more detail.

Golden or common (Carassius carassius)

This is a long-liver among its kind, the maximum individual can live up to 5 years, while in terms of parameters it can reach:

• length 50-60 cm;
• weight up to 6 kg.

Puberty occurs at 3-4 years of age, while ordinary or golden has the following distinctive features:

• the body is laterally flattened, rounded and high;
• the dorsal fin is high, colored brown in the same way as the caudal;
• single anal and paired abdominals have a reddish tint;
• the scales are large, have a copper tint;
• there is no pigmentation on the belly, but the back has a brown color.

He has a habitual habitat in Europe, while the prevalence starts from the cold waters of Britain, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, and ends in Italy, Spain, Macedonia, Croatia. It is easy to meet a crucian carp of this species in Asia, China and Mongolia are native to it, as well as the Asian part of Russia, namely swampy small ponds.

Silver (Carassius gibelio)

Previously, he lived only in the Pacific Ocean, the breeding of crucian carp of this species, begun in the middle of the 20th faith, helped him to move to decent distances. Now the silver representative of cyprinids can be found in:

• North America;
• China;
• India;
• Siberia;
• Far East;
• Ukraine;
• Poland;
• Belarus;
• Lithuania;
• Romania;
• Germany;
• Italy
• Portugal.

Silver has more modest dimensions when compared with its golden relative:

• length up to 40 cm;
• weight no more than 4 kg.

Life expectancy is 8-9 years, very rarely there are individuals who managed to reach 12 years.

External differences in silver are as follows:

• body shape is very similar to other members of the genus;
• the scales are also large, but have a silvery or slightly greenish color;
• the fins are almost transparent, have a pinkish, olive, grayish tint.

The redfin carp belongs to this species, the silver one was simply able to adapt to the conditions of a single reservoir and changed its appearance a little.

The species perfectly adapts to almost any habitat conditions, sometimes changes its appearance, this was the reason for choosing it as the basis of a new one, which was artificially bred.

Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

This species was bred artificially, silver was taken as the basis. There are more than three hundred subspecies, almost all of them are suitable only for breeding in aquariums.

Goldfish will differ in different ways:

• length from 2 cm to 45 cm;
• body flattened, ovoid, elongated, spherical;
• the color is very diverse, there are fish of all colors of the rainbow;
• fins long short, developing like a butterfly, veiled;
• the eyes are both very small and huge, bulging.

It is this species that is called the Chinese crucian carp, it is most popular in this country, but other countries of the world are buying it up as a decorative decoration for any artificial reservoir.

Japanese (Carassius cuvieri)

It will be possible to find representatives of this species in the waters of Japan and Taiwan. It has no special distinguishing features, except that its body is slightly elongated than that of silver.

The maximum length of the fish reaches 35-40 cm, but the weight does not exceed 3 kg.

Recently, anglers claim that a lot has appeared on the reservoirs over the course. In appearance, crucian carp is no different from individuals from a pond or lake, but its capture is more exciting.

Spawning

Sexual maturity, namely the ability to spawn, in crucian carp occurs at 3-4 years of age. At one time, the female, on average, can lay up to 300 eggs, and for fertilization, she does not need to have a male carp nearby. But, first things first.

The spawning period begins in the middle lane at the end of May-beginning of June, the main indicator here is the water temperature. Spawning will be possible only at 17-19 degrees Celsius, the process itself takes place in several passes, the intervals at which are never less than 10 days.

The caviar of a representative of cyprinids is yellow and has high stickiness, it is the latter indicator that helps it to securely gain a foothold on underwater vegetation or roots. Further development depends largely on the male, and not necessarily from the same species.

To continue the genus in the absence of a sexually mature male crucian carp, females can fertilize eggs:

• bream;
• carp;
• carp;
• roach.

Milk of goldfish can also take part in fertilization, although it will not be complete. As a result of gynogenesis, this is the name of this process, only females from laid eggs will be born.

Spawning can continue until August.

Features of behavior

Carp in the wild grow more slowly than with artificial breeding, the reason for this is nutrition. In the natural environment, the fish will not receive everything they need in the right amount, they constantly need to look for food for themselves. With artificial cultivation of food, there is more than enough, often it is simply in abundance, especially so that representatives of cyprinids grow faster and gain weight.

How fast does crucian carp grow in a pond? Natural growth looks like this:

• in the first year of life, the fish gains a maximum of 8 g;
• by the end of the second, she already weighs about 50 g;
• at the age of three, an individual has a body weight of 100 g.

An adult trophy for a fisherman from a wild pond weighs 500 g. And grown on feeding often reaches 5 kg at the same age.

Behavior features include:

• the possibility of reproduction without a male of the same genus;
• sitting out unfavorable conditions in silt;
• excellent adaptation to almost any living conditions;
• omnivorous.

How many years does crucian carp grow in the pond, and what methods can be used to catch it?

Fishing methods

Catch carp all and sundry. It is possible to catch such fish even with the most primitive tackle, however, quite a few modern ones have been invented for crucian carp. From early spring to late autumn apply:

• donk with a rubber shock absorber (elastic band);
• float tackle;
• carp killer for a different number of feeders.

The angler mounts each of them in his own way, so to speak, for himself. There are many ways and options, in the future we will tell in more detail about each of them.

It is difficult to get this representative of cyprinids from ice. How does carp winter? It simply burrows into silt during severe frosts to a depth of 0,7 m and waits there for adverse conditions, including severe drought.

Interesting about crucians

Although our pet is known to many, it has its own secrets and secrets, which we will now slightly reveal:

• for catching, garlic or anise drops are often added to the bait, these smells will lure even the most sluggish crucian carp with complete pecking;
• they began to artificially breed in China, and this happened in the distant seventh century AD;
• goldfish are often used by scientists for scientific purposes, they were the first fish inhabitants to go into space;
• their sense of smell is excellent, a strong-smelling bait is able to attract the attention of fish from afar, located at a decent distance from it;
• the most sensitive organ is the lateral line, it is she who will tell the crucian about the food, the location of the potential danger, the approximate distance to a certain object.

Carp is often used for artificial cultivation, many paid ponds are populated with this particular genus. Carp quickly grow and develop with proper food, in a couple of years it will be possible to catch the first ones.

Carp fish is very common around the globe. There are plenty of carp species, many are included here, there is also red crucian carp. They are caught by different methods, and which one is the most successful is determined by the angler himself.