Species learning profile
Common carp
Cyprinus carpio
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a freshwater fish associated with lake habitat in Global. A hardy fish cultivated for thousands of years.
Your learning progress stays on this device.
Previously featured in Fishdle
At a glance
- Water
- Fresh water
- Habitat
- Lake
- Maximum length
- 120 cm
- Range
- Worldwide
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Order
- Cypriniformes
Observe
How to identify Common carp
- Bronze to olive brown, often with golden highlights.
- Deep-bodied with large, obvious scales and whisker-like barbels.
- Reported maximum length: 120 cm — capable of growing longer than many people are tall. Maximum is not the same as typical adult size.
Field note: color, size, and markings can change with age, sex, season, depth, and lighting. Use several traits together.
Place and pattern
Where it lives—and how it behaves
Habitat and range
This species is associated with lake habitat across Global. Temperature, oxygen, depth, and shoreline cover divide a lake into very different living zones.
Behavior
Uses lake habitat for feeding, shelter, migration, or reproduction.
Food-web connections
What it eats and why it matters
Diet
A flexible mix of plant matter, insects, detritus, and small aquatic animals.
Ecological role
It links one or more lake zones, carrying energy between bottom, shoreline, and open-water communities..
Remember
One fact worth keeping
A hardy fish cultivated for thousands of years.
Think like a conservationist
A conservation lens
Healthy lake populations depend on suitable temperature and oxygen, clean spawning areas, and balanced harvest and food webs.
This habitat lens is not a current population-status assessment. Status can differ among regions and change as new assessments are published; follow the reference links and local fisheries or wildlife agencies for current decisions.
Recall
Quick knowledge check
Which habitat is most closely associated with Common carp in this guide?
Keep exploring
References and further reading
Fishdle summarizes stable identification and ecology concepts in plain language. Taxonomy and population knowledge continue to change, so use primary assessments and regional authorities for conservation or management decisions.
Make connections