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Carp
Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758

A 56 cm long (2kg) Carp collected in Tuppal Creek, New South Wales, March 1999. Photo: K. Parkinson © Australian Museum.

The Tuppal Creek capture site. Photo: M. McGrouther © Australian Museum.

The Carp is a native of Asia, but extensive introductions have helped to make it the world's most widely distributed freshwater fish.

Three strains of Carp have been introduced to Australia, an ornamental strain near Sydney (1850-60), a Singaporean strain in the Murrumbidgee (1876), and a hybrid "Boolara" strain in Victoria (1961). The latter two strains have interbred and this species is now a major pest in many inland streams in New South Wales.

The Carp is recognised by its small eyes, thick lips with two barbels at each corner of the mouth, large scales and strongly serrated spines in the dorsal and anal fins. The colour is variable, but often olive green to silvery grey dorsally, fading to silvery yellow on the belly. Small Carp could be confused with Goldfish, Carassius auratus. The latter however has no barbels on the corners of the mouth.

Carp are reported to grow to over one metre in length, and 60 kg in weight. In Australia, this species reaches 10 kg, but 4-5 kg is more usual. They are omnivorous, sucking and straining mud from the bottom and sucking insects and plants from the surface. Juvenile Carp feed mainly on microscopic algae, rotifers and crustaceans. View a larger image of a Carp with the gut exposed.

In Australia, Carp occur in the Murray-Darling River system of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The species also occurs in many freshwater streams in coastal New South Wales and Victoria, as well as the brackish lower reaches of some streams and coastal lakes.

View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.

Further reading

1. Allen, G.R., Midgley, S.H. & M. Allen. 2002. Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 394.
2. Brumley, A.R. in McDowell, R.M. (Ed). 1996. Freshwater Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Reed Books. Pp. 247.
3. Koehn, J.D. 2004. Carp (Cyprinus carpio) as a powerful invader in Australian waterways. Freshwater Biology. 49: 882-894.
4. Merrick, J.R. & G.E. Schmida. 1984. Australian Freshwater Fishes. Biology and Management. John R. Merrick. Pp. 409.
5. Schiller, C. 1999. Carping on about research. Fisheries NSW magazine. Winter 1999. EPS Press. Pp. 44.