POND AND RIVER FISH 



1033 



is the Prussian Carp, a 

 fish which may be (hstin- 

 guishetl reachly from tlie 

 Common \-ariety by it 

 possessing no barbels and 

 being of a richer and less 

 gre^'ish-brown. The 

 Prussian Carp inhabits 

 still, muddy waters, bur- 

 rowing in the bottoms of 

 the ponds or ri\-ers for 

 \'egetation and smaller 

 animal life. It is ex- 

 tremely hardy and often 

 lives to a considerable 

 age. The Goldfish, with 

 which we are all acquainted, is merel}^ 

 a coloured variation of this species. 

 Four \-ery confusing fish are Roach, 



GUDGEON. 



Dace. Rudd and Chub, being similar in 

 build and almost identical in habits. 

 The Roach is the thickest set of this 

 silvery quartet, having red eyes and, 

 when matured, reddish 

 fins. The Dace is of 

 a longer and thinner 

 "type, and may be distin- 

 guished readiiy from the 

 Roach in that its eye is 

 not red. The Chub is 

 very much like the Dace, 

 but the anal fin in the 

 former is convex, whilst 

 in the latter it is clearly 

 concave. The position 

 of the dorsal fin enables 

 us to differentiate be- 

 tween the Rudd and the 

 equally broadly built 

 Roach. With the Rudd 

 this fin is situate(l mid- 

 way over the anal and 

 131 



ROACH (HAS RED EYES AND FINS). 



ventral fins, but just above the ventral 



fin in the Roach. All these fish prefer 



clear running streams, where they may 



be found swimming 



peacefully together in 



large shoals. 



The Tench claims 

 some relation to the 

 .J "v"' Carp family. A some- 



what heavy fish, it is 

 slightly lethargic in its 

 habits, preferring to lie 

 ^i, hidden in the muddy 



bottoms of stagnant 

 pools during the day 

 and only venturing forth 

 at night to secure its 

 supply of insect and plant food. It is 

 of an unmistakable olive-green colour, 

 sometimes tinged with a blackish sheen. 

 The fins have rounded edges and the scales 



DACE (LELCiaCUS ILLOAKIS). 



