The carp family has an amazing silver carp fish. Due to her flocking lifestyle and great weight, she became the darling of many fishermen. That is why they are so closely studying her habits and lifestyle. In particular, many of them are interested in what the silver carp eats.
In addition, the answer to this question will not only improve the efficiency of hunting for him, but will help to figure out how to properly solicit him in captivity. But let's talk about everything in order.
What kind of fish is silver carp?
Silver carp is a large pelagic fish, accustomed to live in large schools. It is found both in running and in still water. True, a silver carp will never spend much time in a place where there is a very fast current. Therefore, it is best to look for him in quiet backwaters, away from noisy roads and cities.
Outwardly, silver carp is very similar to ide. Its main distinguishing feature is a large head with eye-catching anyone. It should also be noted that the eyes of this fish are set below the level of the mouth, which is characteristic only of this species.
As for color, the scales of silver carp have a silver tint. In this case, the back and head are always darker than the body. The very same scales are very small, which is very unusual, given the impressive proportions of the fish.
Carp species
Asking the question: “What does the silver carp eat?”, One important thing should be understood. The whole truth is that there are several types of these creatures, and each of them has its own preferences in food. In particular, the following individuals live on the territory of the CIS.
- The white silver carp is a medium-sized fish that has a lighter color than its close relatives.
- Motley silver carp is a larger species of fish with a huge head weighing about 40-50% of the total mass of silver carp.
- Hybrid silver carp is a product of breeders, which has absorbed all the advantages of previous species.
What does silver carp eat?
Now, knowing about the division into species, let's figure out what is the difference between them? We learn what the silver carp in the pond eats, and what becomes its feed in running water. And also talk about the fundamental difference between the white and motley species of this fish.
So, the white silver carp eats only plant foods and phytoplankton. Simply put, he is a true vegetarian who does not recognize any violence. At the same time, his favorite delicacy is blue-green algae, which, with the advent of heat, begin to capture all finger water. Eating them, the fish cleans the surroundings of potential sources of disease, which makes it a welcome guest in any reservoir.
As for his motley relative, he is less picky about food. And yet many wonder what this silver carp eats? Diving beetle, crustaceans? Algae is the main food of this fish. True, unlike the white, the motley silver carp along with phytoplankton also eats zooplankton. Thanks to this, he gains weight very quickly and grows much more than his vegetarian brother.
What does silver carp hybrid eat?
As for the hybrid form of silver carp, it turned out thanks to the work of Russian breeders. Two of the aforementioned types of fish were crossed, which made it possible to combine all their advantages. In particular, the hybrid has a huge mass, but at the same time its head is not as huge as that of the motley silver carp.
As for what the silver carp hybrid eats, everything is pretty simple here. The diet of this fish is much wider than that of its counterparts. So, he eats algae, all kinds of plankton and small crustaceans. He is also accustomed to feeds that are designed to quickly feed fish in artificial ponds.
Breeding and spawning
The puberty in silver carp comes in 3-5 years of life. The mating period mainly falls on May-June, when the water warms up to 18-20 degrees. During this period, the fish are looking for a warmer place, so that the cold does not damage the eggs.
It should be noted that the fecundity of silver carp is very high. So, large individuals are able to produce about 1 million eggs, and small ones - about 500 thousand. In this case, the female always tries to postpone her offspring near the algae, so that they cling to them. If the water is well warmed up, then in a day the first fry will hatch from the eggs. Their length at birth rarely exceeds 5.5 mm.
So, what does a silver carp male eat? It should be noted that this fish begins to eat after 4 days from the moment of birth. It was during this period that small gills formed in them, due to which they weed out phytoplankton from the water. After the first week, the larvae of the fish pass to the remaining species of plankton. And only after a month and a half, small silver carp begin to eat adult food.
