Common Carp
SPECIES NAME: Cyprinus carpio Trevor Selch
TAXONOMY: Ichthyology, ZOO 452
CLASS: Actinopterygii Instructor: Mike Collyer
ORDER: Cypriniformes November 21, 2000
FAMILY: Cyprinidae
SYSTEMATICS:
The common carp is a member of the minnow family (Cyprinidae); the largest family of fresh water fish in the world. Most evidence suggests that the common carp originated in the area of eastern Europe and western Asia after North America separated from Eurasia. Other species like the bighead carp, the silver carp, the grass carp, and the crucian carp also evolved rapidly with the common carp (Cooper 1987).
There are three subspecies of the common carp that are recognized. These include the scale carp (Carpio communis) which has regular concentrically arranged scales, the mirror carp (Carpio specularis) which has extraordinarily large scales that run along the side of the body in several rows while the rest of the body is naked, and the leather carp (Carpio coroaceus) which has few to no scales on the back and possesses a thick, soft skin, that has a velvety touch.
The hybridization of the common carp occurs frequently with other similar Cyprinids. It is not uncommon to find crosses between the common carp and the crucian carp. Carp also breed freely with the goldfish (Carassius auratus) and produce fertile hybrids (McCrimmon 1968).
DESCRIPTION:
As an adult, the common carp often exceeds two feet in length and weighs well over ten pounds. The current world record stands at 75 pounds and 11 ounces. In their natural range carp can live up to 15 years, however they have been reported in some areas over 24 years old with males often living longer than females (Cooper 1987).
The color and scale patterns of the common carp are highly dependant on the amount of genetic selection that has taken place. The typical color in the wild is olive green to reddish brown on the back, shading to a silverish yellow or white on the body. The fins are often reddish to orange in color. The complete lateral line may contain anywhere from 33 to 44 scales. The carp has large cycloid scales with a diamond-shaped appearance and a small black dot on the front portion of each scale (Delipper 2000).
The common carp can be distinguished by a robust body that is laterally compressed with a small triangular head that tapers abruptly to a blunt snout (Cooper 1987). It has a conspicuous barbel that extends from the posterior corner of the upper jaw and a less conspicuous barbel on the side of the upper jaw (Eddy and Underhill; Cooper 1987). The carp also has pharyngeal teeth in the throat (no teeth on the jaws) with protrusible jaws (Cooper 1987).
It has an extremely long dorsal fin with 16 soft rays and has 4 to 6 soft rays in the anal fin. It can be distinguished by heavy, strongly serrate spines in the anterior portion of the dorsal and anal fins. The pectoral fin rays range from 14 to 17, and pelvic fin rays from 8 to 9 (Delipper 2000).
DISTRIBUTION:
The original range of the common carp, prior to human influence, was most likely restricted to the Asian watersheds of the Black, Caspian, and Aral sea drainages, east into Siberia and China, and west as far as the Danube River. Carp slowly spread through Europe during the Middle Ages and were introduced into North American in the early 1800’s, while the fish were not distributed across the continent until the late 1870’s. Today the common carp is estimated to be the most abundant and widely distributed fish in the inland waters of North America. The widespread distribution of carp is in part due to its broad temperature tolerance. They are found in every state and province in North America including Hawaii with the only exception being Alaska (Cooper 1987).
ECOLOGY/LIFE HISTORY:
Carp exist in a wide range of different habitats from crystal clear mountain lakes, to some of the most tainted rivers in the world. They are found in small creeks, rapidly flowing streams, slow moving rivers, swamps and bogs, shallow ponds, man-made reservoirs, and even the Great Lakes (Cooper 1987). Carp have prospered because they can live in a wide variety of habitats which include polluted bodies of water that are generally unfit for any other fish. They survive well in ice covered winter lakes, and can tolerate summer water temperatures up to 106 degrees F (Howells 1984; Cooper 1987).
Ideal habitat for a carp would consist of a shallow, weedy environment with adequate structure to provide protection and cover. Carp seek out quiet, shallow waters with muddy or sandy bottoms over which they can dig for food. Carp are rarely found at depths greater than 100 feet, although they may chose these areas during winter periods of extreme low temperatures (Cooper 1987). The carp’s ability to thrive in an incredible array of habitats enhances its ability to travel long distances. In fact, one carp that had been tagged in the Missouri River traveled more than 650 miles in just a little over a year (Moyle 1984).
The common carp feeds at a variety of levels in the water, but they generally feed on the bottom in water less than 10 feet deep (Cooper 1987; Horvath et al. 1992). When carp feed, they typically suck up a mouthful of mud, spit it out, and select the desired insects or other food items from the water. The food is crushed by a strong set of molar-like teeth located behind the gills and then swallowed. Large carp can actually penetrate up to five inches into a silty bottom to search for food. The common carp is an omnivorous feeder (Cooper 1987). The bulk of their diet consists of aquatic insects, crustaceans, small mollusks, chironomids, cladocerans, oligochaetes, plankton, and macroalgae (Nutrient Req. 1983; Cooper 1987). Carp are quite fond of tender roots and shoots of young aquatic plants, while they are also known to prey on larval fish and eggs (Cooper 1987).
The natural competitiveness of the carp species allows it to quickly establish populations in new, unexploited, and disturbed habitats, which makes the common carp a very successful invader. Their senses of hearing, smell, and taste are superior to that of most other fish (Moav 1978). The common carp greatly influences other fish through their impacts on aquatic plants and water turbidity through their feeding behavior. Carp interfere with the spawning of fish such as the northern pike (Esox lucius) or yellow perch (Perca flavescens) by uprooting and consuming aquatic plants that these fish use as bed sites for nesting and egg laying. Carp also cause these fish to desert their nest leaving them available for predation (Cooper 1987; Parkos 2000).
The increased turbidity of the water caused by carp impacts the feeding efficiency of fish like large and small-mouth bass and the sunfish because these fish mainly rely on their sense of sight to catch food (Cooper 1987). Turbidity caused by the carp also impacts the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water by reducing sun-light penetration and therefore decreasing the productivity of the plants (Moyle and Cech 2000). By digging in the silty bottom of lakes and streams, carp release phosphorus that is normally locked up within the bottom sediments (Parkos 2000).
The common carp may be sexually mature as early as the end of its first year, however typically require three to four years to reach this stage (Cooper 1987; Aguire and Poss 2000). They are proportional spawners that spawn two to three times over a fourteen day period. Warm waters are required for spawning with 63 degrees F being the absolute lower limit. Mating groups usually consist of one female and several males that can be seen swimming actively in flooded grass plains. Spawning occurs near the surface in shallow weedy areas of tidal and non-tidal fresh water from mid-April through June (McCrimmon 1968; Cooper 1987). The adhesive eggs are unguarded and are scattered in the shallow water over vegetation, debris, logs, or rocks. The female usually lays clusters of eggs numbering from 100 000 to 300 000 and can lay up to 2 million eggs in a spawning season. The eggs are spherical in shape with a diameter ranging from 1 to 2 mm. The fry typically hatch in about six days and rarely venture from cover until they are at least three to four inches long. Their stout serrated spines that support their dorsal and anal fins provide protection against predatory fish (Cooper 1987).
The common carp’s best defense against predation is its size. Carp grow at an extremely fast pace leaving only a small window of time when they are actually small enough to be preyed upon (Wakeling et al. 1999). After this, they are simply too large to be preyed upon, even for a large northern pike. Their potbelly-like body is too large for the jaws of North American fresh water fish. For this reason, the common carp do not have any North American predators other than man (Cooper 1987).
The carp is a keystone species that drastically alters the environment in which it lives by making it less suitable for other species. They often make up a large proportion of the total weight of the fish present. While fish like the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides); walleye (Stizostedion vitreum); and northern pike (Esox lucius) hardly ever exceed 15 pounds per acre, common carp often reach densities of over 400 pounds per acre (Cooper 1987). This enormous number alone demonstrates the great impact that carp can have on an ecosystem.
Another reason for the success of the common carp is its survivorship abilities. Its ability to survive in broad temperature differences is one reason it is successful, however temperature also affects the amount of dissolved oxygen necessary for survival. Oxygen requirements for fish increase as the temperature rises and compared to many other temperate game fish, common carp have an extremely low oxygen consumption rate. Only if the oxygen concentration drops below 3 ppm, does the common carp’s feeding and growth rate decrease. The reason that common carp are able to live in these conditions is because of its ability to load its blood hemoglobin at low levels of oxygen and concurrent high levels of carbon dioxide (Cooper 1987).
Another survivorship quality of the common carp is that they are extremely tolerant in turbid waters. To be lethal to a carp, the turbidity level must be greater than 165 000 ppm of suspended particles (Cooper 1987). Carp thrive in these turbid waters because they are able to out-compete many sight feeders that do not have strong back up senses like the carp’s sense of taste and smell. While it may seem that the common carp is almost immortal, it actually carries a variety of diseases and parasites that can cause chronic illness or even death. When carp were introduced to America from Europe, they brought with them over 138 parasites not native to North America. These parasitic organisms include algae, fungi, protozoans, flatworms, tapeworms, leeches, and crustaceans. Protozoans, flatworms, and crustaceans are the most common parasites of the common carp. “Blue-slime” disease and “ich” are two common protozoan conditions that affect the carp and can often lead to its demise (Cooper 1987).
The common carp occasionally becomes infested with a variety of flatworms and roundworms which can cause considerable damage to its gill filaments. The larvae of certain flatworms can accumulate in a carp’s tissues to such an extent that it affects the carp’s metabolism, while other flatworms can parasitize the eye lens and cause blindness. Roundworms usually exist in the intestinal track, however they can be found in almost any organ in the body (Cooper 1987).
CONSERVATION STATUS:
In light of the popularity of the common carp in Europe (where they rank third among all sport-fishes); North Americans consider them to be a pest. This attitude against the carp has not prevented its spread across nearly every fresh water habitat in North America. The general ill will toward the carp is not without justification. The common carp greatly impacts aquatic plants, waterfowl, and particularly native fishes and because of this, many removal efforts have taken place in an attempt to control or completely remove them. Techniques used to control carp include water level control, toxicants, seining, electo-fishing, and angling (Parkos 2000). These techniques are often ineffective because carp are capable of recolonizing rapidly in open water systems, which makes removal methods costly and ongoing. Other population control techniques used include the destruction of spawning habitat by draw-down, construction of fish barrier dams, introduction of predators, baited traps, and commercial fishing although these practices often fall short of controlling common carp populations as well (Cooper 1987).
In some cases, carp control methods have been taken to new levels. Some states today have even passed laws requiring common carp to be killed or kept if caught. Often times carp would end up as fertilizer in a garden rather than eaten or released. Spawning migrations in shallow waters were often looked upon as great opportunities to mass slaughter by use of a spear or a pitchfork. Angler organizations have occasionally sponsored “fishouts” where the goal is to capture and kill as many non-game species as possible in a specific body of water. The common carp is frequently at the top of the list for unwanted species (Moyle 1984).
Although new problems involving the common carp arise regularly, attitudes toward the carp are slowly, but surely beginning to change. The attempts to remove common carp from natural waters are becoming less common, while efforts by state game and fish agencies to promote the common carp as a sport and food fish are occurring more frequently. From an angler’s perspective, common carp are difficult to catch, give an exhilarating fight, and are a tasty fish to eat! After all, man introduced them, and carp thrive in waters that have been changed by man.
LITERATURE CITED
Cooper, E.L. 1987. Carp in North America. Maryland: Bethesda.
Eddy, S. and J.C. Underhill. 1978. How to know the Freshwater Fishes. Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers.
Horvath, L., G. Tamas, and C. Seagrave. 1992. Carp and Pond Fish Culture. Halsted Press, New York.
Howells, G.D. 1984. Fishery Decline: Mechanism and Predictions. Biological Sciences 305:529-546.
McCrimmon, H.R. 1968. Carp in Canada. Queen’s Printer, Ottawa.
Moav, R., T. Brady, and G. Hulata. 1978. Genetic Improvement of Wild Fish Populations. Science 201:1090-1094.
Moyle, P.B. 1984. American Carp. Natural History 26:42-52.
Moyle, P.B., and J.J. Cech, Jr. 2000. Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Nutrient Requirements of Warmwater Fishes and Shellfishes. 1983. National Academy Press, Washington D.C.
Wakeling, J.M., K.M. Kemp, and I.A. Johnson. 1999. The Biomechanics of Fast-Starts During Ontogeny in the Common Carp. Journal of Experimental Biology. 22:3057-3068.
Internet Sources
Aguire, W. and S.G. Poss. Cyprinus Carpio Linnaeus, 1758.
lionfish.ims.usm.edu/~musweb/nis/Cyprinus_carpio.html. Accessed 2000.
Delipper, S. Common Carp.
members.tripod.com/~huntingfishing/carp.htm. Accessed 2000.
Parkos, J. III, and D. Wahl. Effects of Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio); an Exotic Fish, on Aquatic Ecosystems
