Facts about Carp
The following are some species of cyprinids with the common name of carp.
The common carp is one of the most aquacultured consumption fish in the world, produced in the hundreds of thousands of tons annually.
The two most notable ornamental carps are goldfish ((Carassius auratus) and koi (a domesticated variety of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio.
Carp have attributes that allow them to be an invasive species—a species that invades and dominates new ecosystems with serious negative effects to the ecosystem and native fauna.
Carp have since become naturalized in almost every water in which they were introduced.
Carp were introduced to England from western Europe during the thirteenth century, when they were cultivated mainly by monks.
Carp have been introduced, often illegally, into many countries.
In China, Japan, and Taiwan, carp are esteemed as food fish and are also considered to be signs of good fortune, so are often served at banquets and other formal meals.
Sterile carp sometimes are used as natural agents for control of pond vegetation, due to their ability to consume large amounts of plant matter.
In Australia, United Kingdom, and North America, on the other hand, carp are rarely eaten.
The designation "carp" is not a formal taxonomic rank, but rather is the common name used for numerous species scattered over several genera within Cyprinoidea.
The koi, a domesticated variety of common carp (Cyprinus carpio), was also originated from China and widely spread in Japan.
Cyprinidae, the group to which carp belong, is the largest family of freshwater fishes in the world, and may be the largest family of vertebrates (with the possible exception of Gobiidae) (Nelson 1994).
Carp have been important as a food fish since ancient times, and cyprinids, mainly carp, were among the first, if not the first, fish raised in aquaculture, tracing to China ca.
Carp are believed to have originated in Asia, and aquaculture was used in China ca.
In Central and Eastern Europe, carp are also much appreciated, and are traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Croatia, Hungary and Poland.
Common names associated with various members of this family include minnow, carp, chub, and shiner.
Carp, along with many of their cyprinid relatives, are popular ornamental aquarium and pond fish.
Particularly widely used species include the common carp and koi (Cyprinus carpio), goldfish (Carassius auratus), and zebra danio or zebrafish (Danio rerio), the latter used extensively in genetic research (Nelson 1994).
Introduced carp readily adapted to their new environment, spreading rapidly throughout any drainage area in which they were released.
Carp are an important subsistence aquaculture product, and in China, the cyprinids (including carp) are the dominant farmed fish.
Carp have been cultivated in complex polycultures since the seventh century C.E.