Carp Fish

Fish management and production

University of Sulaymaniyah
College of agriculture
Engineering science
Department of animal science
First stage group -B-
Supervised by Dr. Bakhan
Prepared by Karina Ahmad Hama Salh
Carp
Carp is a popular name for a kind of freshwater fish belonging
to the Cyprinidae family, a huge fish family that dominates the
fish faunas of Eurasia and North America. The minnow family
is the most popular name for this family in North America,
while the carp family is the most common term in Eurasia
(Nelson 1994). As a result, some people refer to all cyprinid
fishes as carp. Carp is commonly used to refer to a few bigger
cyprinid species, such as Cyprinus carpio (common carp),
Carassius carassius (Crucian carp), Ctenopharyngodon idella
(grass carp), Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (silver carp), and
Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (noble carp) (bighead carp).
Contents
1- Description
2- Human introductions of carp
3- Uses
4- Carp as pests
5- Types of carp
6- References

Carp have long been prized as a food fish, and cyprinids,

particularly carp, were among the earliest, if not the first, fish
to be bred in aquaculture, dating back to China around 3500
B.C.E. Carp is particularly popular as a meal fish in China,
Japan, and Taiwan. They're also popular as ornamental
aquarium and pond fish and for angling. Goldfish (Carassius
auratus) and koi (a domesticated form of the common carp,
Cyprinus carpio) are the two most well-known ornamental
carps. They play a crucial role in food chains from an
ecological standpoint.

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Description
Carp belong to the Cyprinidae family, which is the world's
largest freshwater fish family and possibly the world's largest
vertebrate family (with the probable exception of Gobiidae)
(Nelson 1994). In brackish water, representatives are
extremely scarce (Nelson 1994). Minnow, carp, chub, and
shiner are some of the common names for members of this
family.
North America (from northern Canada to southern Mexico),
Africa, and Eurasia are all home to the Cyprinidae family

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(Nelson 1994). Nelson (1994) lists 210 genera and about 2000
species in the Cyprinidae family, with around 1,270 species
endemic to Eurasia, 475 species in 23 genera native to Africa,
and 270 species in 50 genera native to North America.
The earliest cyprinid fossils come from Asia's Eocene period,
with Oligocene-era remains from Europe and North America
(Nelson 1994). If cyprinids evolved in the Orient, they may
have crossed the Bering land bridge into North America 32
million years ago, when sea levels were lower during the
Oligocene (Nelson 1994).
Cyprinids have pharyngeal teeth in one or two rows, with no
more than eight teeth per row; thin lips; an upper jaw that is
normally protrusible; and an upper jaw that is solely
surrounded by premaxilla (Nelson 1994). The smallest
freshwater fish, Danionella tanslucida, has a known longest
specimen of 12 millimeters, whereas the barbine Catlocarpio
siamensis of Thailand has been known to reach 2.5 meters in
length and is likely to reach three meters (Nelson 1994).
Food, ornamental and aquarium fish, and biological research
are all crucial for cyprinids. The common carp and koi
(Cyprinus carpio), goldfish (Carassius auratus), and zebra
danio or zebrafish (Danio rerio) are among the most regularly
used species (Nelson 1994).
The term "carp" is not a formal taxonomic rank, but rather a
popular name for a number of species spread over multiple
genera of the Cyprinoidea family. However, the name is
sometimes used to refer to all members of the Cyprinidae
family, notably in Eurasia.

Human introductions of carp

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Carp are said to have originated in Asia, and aquaculture was
first employed in China around 3500 B.C.E., when some fish,
primarily carp, were kept in manmade lakes after river floods.
In 475 B.C.E., a Chinese legislator named Fan-Li wrote the
oldest known document on fish culture (Parker 1995).
Carp were brought to England from western Europe in the
thirteenth century, and were mostly cultivated by monks. In
1877, they were imported to North America for the first time.
In Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, Maryland, fish were released
into ponds. In Washington, D.C., surplus people were later
freed. This was the brainchild of Rudolf Hessel, a fish culturist
working for the US government. There was a lot of good press,
and carp were widely distributed around the United States.
Introduced carp adapted quickly to their new surroundings,
quickly spreading over any drainage region where they were
released. Carp have become naturalized in nearly every body
of water where they have been introduced.
Uses
The nutritional value of carp varies. Carp, while excellent
when reared in clear water, have little bones and can acquire a
muddy flavor if they reside in muddy environments (Magri
MacMahon 1946). Carp are prized as food fish in China, Japan,
and Taiwan, and are also considered good luck symbols,
therefore they are frequently served at banquets and other
formal meals. Carp is also popular in Central and Eastern
Europe, where it is customarily eaten on Christmas Eve in the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, and
Poland. Carp, on the other hand, are infrequently eaten in
Australia, the United Kingdom, and North America. The
common carp is one of the world's most widely aquacultured
consumer fish, with hundreds of thousands of tons produced
each year.

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In terms of angling value, carp are similarly variable. Anglers
in Europe have avidly sought them out even when they are not
fished for food, as they are regarded tricky fish that are tough
to catch (Magri MacMahon 1946). In the United States, on the
other hand, the carp has not yet been designated as a game
fish, and it is sometimes seen as a garbage fish of no value, at
least in the northern states (Eyden 1993).
Carp are a popular subsistence aquaculture fish, and cyprinids
(including carp) are the most widely farmed fish in China.
Since the seventh century C.E., carp have been cultivated in
intricate polycultures. Because of their different feeding
preferences, grass carp, silver carp, and common carp were all
common throughout the Tang dynasty in China (618-907 C.E.).
Grass carp are unusual in that they use their pharyngeal
grinding teeth to chew living plant stuff, which fish will feed
on continually at the correct conditions, consuming several
times their body weight in grass every day. The other two
species, herbivorous and omnivorous, are filter feeders.These
are frequently utilized in grass/fish polycultures, but rice/fish
culture has long been one of China's most important
subsistence food production methods. The fish not only
provide food for humans, but also fertilizer for crops,
increasing rice yields per acre. This approach, however, is only
suitable for small enterprises utilizing genotypically lower-
yielding tall rice cultivars and is not commercially viable.
Carp/sericulture (in which pond silt is used to fertilize
mulberry trees that support silkworm populations) and
livestock/carp (in which livestock wastes fertilize carp ponds,
or more indirectly fertilize row crops whose green manure
fertilizes the ponds) are two other polycropping systems
involving carp.

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Carp are attractive ornamental aquarium and pond fish, as are
many of their cyprinid relatives. Goldfish and koi are the most
well-known ornamental carps. For hundreds of years, goldfish
(Carassius auratus) were kept as decorative fish in China
before being transferred to Japan in the fourteenth century
and Europe in the late seventeenth century. The koi (Cyprinus
carpio) is a domesticated form of common carp that originated
in China and is now extensively distributed in Japan. The koi
has long been seen as a sign of good fortune in Japanese
culture. They're also known as pond fish in various regions of
the world. Goldfish and koi have an advantage over other
ornamental fishes in that they can withstand cold (down to
four degrees Celsius) and low oxygen levels.
Due to their capacity to consume vast volumes of plant
materials, sterile carp are occasionally utilized as natural
agents for pond vegetation control.
Carp as pests

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Carp possess characteristics that make them an invasive
species—one that invades and dominates new ecosystems,
causing considerable harm to the ecology and native fauna.
Carp have been illegally introduced into several countries.
They destroy, uproot, and disturb submerged flora in some
nations due to their tendency of grubbing through bottom
sediments for food and altering their environment, causing
considerable damage to native waterfowl and fish populations.
Introduced carp are the source of persistent turbidity and loss
of submerged vegetation in the Murray-Darling river system in
Australia, with catastrophic effects for river ecosystems, water
quality, and native fish species, according to anecdotal and
scientific evidence.
Efforts to eradicate a tiny colony from Tasmania's Lake
Crescent without the use of chemicals were successful; but,
the long-term, expensive, and intensive project demonstrates
both the feasibility and difficulty of safely eradicating the
species once it has been established.

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Types of carp

The following are some species of cyprinids with the common

name of carp :
 Genus Abramis
 Carp bream (Abramis brama)
 Genus Aristichthys:
 Bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis)
 Genus Barbodes:
 Carnatic carp (Barbodes carnaticus)
 Genus Carassius:
 Crucian carp (Carassius carassius )
 Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio)
 Goldfish (Carassius auratus)
 Genus Cirrhinus:
 Chinese mud carp (Cirrhinus chinensis)
 Deccan white carp (Cirrhinus fulungee)
 Hora white carp (Cirrhinus macrops)
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  Small scale mud carp (Cirrhinus microlepis)
 Mud carp (Cirrhinus molitorella)
 Genus Ctenopharyngodon:
 Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus)
 Genus Culter:
 Predatory carp (Culter erythropterus)
 Genus Cyprinus:
 Common carp, Koi (Cyprinus carpio)
 Genus Epalzeorhynchos:
 Red-tailed black shark (Epalzeorhynchos bicolor)
 Red-finned black shark or Rainbow shark
(Epalzeorhynchos frenatus)
 Genus Henicorhynchus:
 Siamese mud carp (Henicorhynchus siamensis)
 Genus Hypophthalmichthys:
 Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
 Genus Labeo:
 African carp (Labeo coubie)
 Fringed-lipped peninsula carp (Labeo fimbriatus)
 Bigmouth carp (Labeo kontius)
 Genus Mylopharyngodon:
 Black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus)

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Reference
 Eyden, P. 1993. Carp: Queen of rivers or pig with fins?
Big-river.com. Retrieved September 20, 2007.
 Magri MacMahon, A. F. 1946. Fishlore. Pelican Books.
 Nelson, J. S. 1994. Fishes of the World. New York: John
Wiley and Sons. ISBN 0471547131.
 Parker, R. 1995. Aquaculture Science. Albany, NY: Delmar
Publishers. ISBN 0827364547.

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