Details
Rutilus rutilus
A common cyprinid of European lakes and rivers. Silver sides, reddish fins, and schooling behavior make it familiar in shallow water.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Uses lakes, ponds, slow rivers, canals, and brackish waters, especially vegetated shallows and shorelines.
The body is silvery and moderately deep, with reddish eyes and orange-red pelvic, anal, and pectoral fins.
It forms schools that scatter quickly when predators approach. In winter, groups often move to deeper water.
It is omnivorous, eating algae, aquatic plants, benthic invertebrates, and plankton depending on conditions.
Adults spawn in spring to early summer, attaching sticky eggs to plants or shallow substrates.
Roach are important forage fish in European freshwaters and respond strongly to water quality and nutrient changes.
