The Common Carp or European Carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a widespread freshwater fish distantly related to the common goldfish. It gives its name to the carp family Cyprinidae. Originating in Europe and Asia, the fish has been introduced into environments worldwide. It can grow to a maximum length of 4 feet (1.2 meters), a maximum weight of 82.2 lb (37.3 kg), and an oldest recorded age of 47 years. The wild, non-domesticated, forms tend to be much less stocky at around 20% - 33% the maximum size. Koi (錦鯉) are a domesticated ornamental variety developed in Japan and now popular worldwide.

Although they are very tolerant of most conditions, the Common Carp prefer large bodies of water with 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 - 35 °C).

The Common carp, as well as its variants Mirror carp (scaleless except for a row of large scales that run alone the lateral line and originating in Germany, Leather (virtually unscaled except near dorsal fin) and Fully Scaled Carp, are omnivorous and will eat almost anything that it comes across, happy to eat a vegetarian diet of water plants, insects, crustaceans, or dead fish. Due to mainly grubbing from the sediment, they destroy submerged vegetation causing an ecological destruction of native duck and fish populations. Because of this, it is known unflatteringly by fishermen as the 'pig' of fresh water fish. Nevertheless, the fish are eaten worldwide both when caught in the wild and raised in fisheries. It is eaten both fresh or frozen.

An egg-layer, a typical adult fish can lay 300,000 eggs in a single spawning. The young are preyed upon by other predatorial fish such as the northern pike and largemouth bass.

See also

• List of freshwater aquarium fish species

References

• "Cyprinus carpio" (TSN 163344) (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=163344). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. N.p.: Integrated Taxonomic Information System, 2004. Accessed on 4 October 2004.
• "Cyprinus carpio (http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Cyprinus&speciesname=carpio)". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. September 2004 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2004.