Carp, the name of a group of freshwater fish. The common, or German, carp is about two feet (60 cm) long and weighs 25 pounds (11.3 kg) or more. It is golden olive above, lightening to yellowish-white below. It is very hardy, and some carp in European ponds may live for decades. The fish was introduced into the United States in the late 19th century. It is now especially plentiful in the Mississippi River region. While carp is valued as food in Europe, it is rarely eaten in the United States.
Carp can be two feet long and weigh 25 pounds or more.Many species have whiskers, called barbels. Carp also have forked tails. Most species are covered with scales, but some have few or no scales.
Goldfish belong to the carp and minnow family. In the wild, goldfish generally range in color from olive-brown to bronze or silver. Domestic goldfish—that is, the kinds of goldfish kept by people—consist of about 100 varieties.
These goldfish range in color from gold to white, red, black, purple, and yellow.
In addition to goldfish, chubs, dace, and shiners also belong to the carp and minnow family. Fish from this family can live in dirty, murky water—the kind of water that many other fish cannot survive in.
Goldfish are native to China and other parts of Asia, but people have released them in many other areas, including Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America. Goldfish live in both clean and muddy water in all these areas.
Other kinds of carp can also be found around the world in bogs (marshy or swampy areas), creeks, lakes, ponds, rivers, sloughs (sloos), and streams. Carp are freshwater fish, so no type of carp lives in the ocean.
Because carp are such hardy, adaptable fish, they are able to survive in many parts of the world.
The common carp once lived only in Europe and Asia. In 1877, many of these fish were brought to the United States by the U.S. government. These fish were distributed throughout the country because people thought the common carp was a “miracle fish”—that is, it could be a source of plentiful, inexpensive food for humans. Those original fish and their offspring spread rapidly, and today the common carp lives throughout the United States.
How could a fish species spread throughout a whole country? Besides being released by people in different places, fish can also spread in other ways. For example, fish might swim through streams that connect one body of water with another. Also, ducks or other water birds might carry fish eggs from lake to lake on their feet.
