(Cyprinus carpio carpio)
The Genus is the rank between Family and Species
Cyprinus is a Genus of fish in the Cyprinidae Family
Maximum size 1.5 M (60 in) long,
Maximum published weight 38 kg (84 lb)
Maximum reported age 65 years
Kingdom Animalia (animals)
Phylum Chordata (vertebrates and several closely related invertebrates)
Class Actinopterygii, (ray-finned fishes)
Order Cypriniformes, (carps)
Family Cyprinidae, (Minnows or carps)
Genus Cyprinus
Species Cyprinus carpio carpio
Including Wild common carp,
Aischgrund carp, Carp, Common carp & Mirror carp.
The Family Cyprinidae, named after the Greek word Kypris, another name for Aphrodite, consists of the carps and some of the fish known as minnows.
Characteristics
The fish in this family originate from North America, Africa and Eurasia. The largest fish in this family is the Giant Barb (Catlocarpio siamensis), which may grow up to 3 m (10 ft). The largest North American species is Ptychocheilus lucius. On the other hand, many species are smaller than 50mm (2 in); the smallest freshwater fish is, in fact, a cypriniform, Danionella translucida, reaching 12 mm at the longest. All fish in this family are egg-layers and the breeding habits of most is one of non-guarding of the eggs, however, there are a few species that build nests and/or guard the eggs.
Economic significance
Cyprinids are highly important food fish; they are fished and farmed across Eurasia. In land-locked countries in particular, cyprinids are often the major species of fish eaten, although the prevalance of inexpensive frozen fish products made this less important now than it was in earlier times. Nonetheless, in certain places they remain popular for food as well as recreational fishing, and have been deliberately stocked in ponds and lakes for centuries for this reason.
Several cyprinids have been quite introduced to waters outside their natural range to provide food, sport, or biological control for some pest species. The carp and the grass carp are the most important of these, for example in Florida. In some cases, these have become invasive species that compete with native fishes or disrupt the environment, carp in particular can stir up the riverbed reducing the clarity of the water making it difficult for plants to grow.
Numerous cyprinids have become important in the aquarium hobby, most famously the goldfish, which was first imported into Europe around 1728 but was cultivated by the Chinese well before then. Other popular cyprinids kept in aquarium include the barbs, danios and rasboras.
The Common carp or European carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a widespread freshwater fish distantly related to the common goldfish (Carassius auratus), with which it is capable of interbreeding. It gives its name to the carp family Cyprinidae. Common carp are native to Asia and Eastern Europe. It has been introduced into environments worldwide. It can grow to a maximum length of 5 feet (1.5 meters), a maximum weight of over 80lb (37 kg), and an oldest recorded age of at least 65 years. The wild, non-domesticated, forms tend to be much less stocky at around 20% - 33% the maximum size. Koi (nishikigoi in Japanese, pinyin: lĭ yú in Chinese) is a domesticated ornamental variety that originated in China but became known to the Western world through Japan.
Although they are very tolerant of most conditions, the common carp prefer large bodies of slow or standing water and soft, vegetative sediments. A schooling fish, they prefer to be in groups of 5 or more. They natively live in a temperate climate in fresh or brackish water with a 7.0 - 7.5 pH, a water hardness of 10.0 - 15.0 dGH, and an ideal temperature range of 37.4 - 75.2 °F (3 - 24 °C).
Diet
The common carp, as well as its variants, mirror carp, with large mirror like scales (linear mirror - scaleless except for a row of large scales that run along the lateral line; originating in Germany), leather carp (virtually unscaled except near dorsal fin) and fully scaled carp, is omnivorous and will eat almost anything that it comes across. The common carp is happy to eat a vegetarian diet of water plants, but also insects, crustaceans (including zooplankton), or even dead fish if the opportunity arises.
Common carp as pests
Common carp have been introduced, often illegally, into many countries. In some countries, due to their habit of grubbing through bottom sediments for food and alteration of their environment, they destroy, uproot and disturb submerged vegetation causing serious damage to native duck and fish populations. In Australia there is enormous anecdotal and mounting scientific evidence that introduced carp are the cause of permanent turbidity and loss of submergent vegetation in the Murray-Darling river system, with severe consequences for river ecosystems, water quality and native fish species.
Efforts to eradicate a small colony from a Tasmania's Lake Crescent without chemicals have been successful, however the long-term, expensive and intensive undertaking is an example of the both the possibility and difficulty of safely removing the species once it is established.
Common carp have attributes that allow them to be an invasive species - a species that invades and dominates new ecosystems with serious negative effects to the ecosystem and native fauna.
In Victoria (Australia), Common carp has been declared as noxious fish species therefore there is no restriction on the quantity that a fisher can take. In South Australia, it is an offence for this species to be released back to the wild.
An Australian company has made good use of common carp while helping the environment by churning them into plant fertilizer.
Common carp was brought to the U.S. in 1831. In the late 1800s they were distributed widely throughout the USA by the government as a foodfish. However, common carp are not now normally prized as a foodfish in the United States. As in Australia, their introduction has been shown to have negative environmental consequences and they are usually considered to be invasive species. Millions of dollars are spent annually by natural resource agencies to control common carp populations in the United States.
Catching and Eating Carp
Common carp are extremely popular with anglers in many parts of Europe, and their popularity as quarry is slowly increasing among anglers in the United States. Very specialized baits and tackle have been developed for common carp angling.
Carp is also eaten in many parts of the world both when caught from the wild and raised in aquaculture. In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia and Poland, a carp is a traditional part of a Christmas Eve dinner.
Reproduction
An egg-layer, a typical adult fish can lay 300,000 eggs in a single spawning. Research shows that carp can spawn multiple times in a season in some areas. The young are preyed upon by other predatorial fish such as the northern pike and largemouth bass.
Environment:
benthopelagic;
Living and feeding near the bottom as well as in midwaters or near the surface. Feeding on benthic as well as free swimming organisms. Many freshwater fish are opportunistic feeders that forage on the bottom as well as in midwater and near the surface, also pertaining to forms which hover or swim just over the bottom
potamodromous;
Migrating within streams, migratory in rivers.
Migrations should be cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km.
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years
Biology: Occur at a temperature range of 3-35C. Hardy and tolerant of a wide variety of conditions but generally favor large water bodies with slow flowing or standing water and soft bottom sediments. Common carp thrive in large turbid rivers. They are omnivorous, feeding mainly on aquatic insects, crustaceans, annelids, mollusks, weed and tree seeds, wild rice, aquatic plants and algae; mainly by grubbing in sediments. Spawn in spring and summer, laying sticky eggs in shallow vegetation. A female 47 cm in length produces about 300,000 eggs. Young are probably preyed upon by northern pike, muskellunge, and largemouth bass. Adults uproot and destroy submerged aquatic vegetation and therefore may be detrimental to duck and native fish populations. Utilized fresh and frozen. Aquarium keeping: in groups of 5 or more individuals; minimum aquarium size >200 cm; not recommended for home aquariums.