Carp originated in Asia, most notably in China, and were used as food as early as 1000 BC. From China it came to Japan, and later to Europe, both as an ornamental fish and as food.
Carp breeding occupies a very important place in fish farming. Carp grows quickly if the temperature in the reservoir is favorable and the fish receives the required amount of food. Carps take root well in warm water ponds, are not picky about water quality and can easily tolerate short periods with some oxygen deficiency. In winter, carp enter a state similar to hibernation and begin to worry only when there is a severe lack of oxygen - they can die if there is a prolonged lack of oxygen.
From an economic point of view, carp farming is profitable due to rapid growth and low demands on living conditions. It reaches a marketable weight of 1.5 - 2.0 kg at the age of two. Grows to a weight of 20 kg at the age of 15-20 years. Carps live a long time (according to some sources, more than 200 years). They can reach significant sizes and weight. The natural productivity of carp in ponds is up to 2 c/ha. Carp has good meatiness, meat high quality. Divorced both naturally and artificially. Reaches sexual maturity at the age of 3-4 years. Fertility up to 1.5 million eggs.
Carp inhabits the waters of the Mediterranean, Black, Azov, Caspian and Aral seas. It is found in the rivers Danube, Dnieper, Don, Kuban, Ural, Kura and Volga. Distributed in the basins of the Amur and some rivers of China. The carp has a strong, long, not very tall body, thick in the front and covered with large scales. In the elongated dorsal fin, all rays are soft, except for the anterior, serrated bony ray. The carp has three-row pharyngeal teeth with a well-developed chewing plate.
Carp are extremely hardy. It can withstand exposure to slightly oxygenated water well. During the winter cold, when rivers and lakes are covered with thick ice, the carp goes into real hibernation. Having settled down in the depressions, on the pits, it “dresses” in a kind of “fur coat” made of a thick layer of mucus. All winter carp are in a torpor. Carps do not feed in winter. Quantity breathing movements gill covers decreases from 40-45 to 3-4. Digestion slows down and then stops completely, and metabolism decreases greatly.
Breeding carp at home
Cyprinids occupy a leading position in freshwater aquaculture in terms of the quantity of fish produced. Ponds, fish hatcheries and other reservoirs, including rice paddies, are used for carp breeding. The following breeds are bred: scaly carp, mirror carp (with scales scattered throughout the body), linear carp (with scales located along the lateral line), naked carp (without scales), Ukrainian framed carp and Ukrainian scaly carp. Carp can be cultivated either separately in monoculture or together with accompanying species (white and gray carp, grass carp, tench) and predators (catfish, pike perch and pike). Depending on the type of nutrition and the use of ichthyological measures, three carp breeding systems are distinguished: - extensive, semi-intensive (or semi-extensive), intensive
Extensive carp breeding system
The extensive system involves breeding carp on the basis of natural food (zooplankton and bottom fauna). The advantage of this system is low production costs. The disadvantage is the slight increase per unit area (from 300 to 700 kg), which leads to a constant reduction in carp production when using this system
Semi-intensive carp breeding system
The semi-intensive system is based on providing most of the protein components in carp feeds through natural feeds, the development of which is stimulated by various agrotechnical measures, while the energy requirement is largely satisfied by carbohydrate additives to feeds (wheat, barley, corn, etc. .). The productivity achieved when using carbohydrate additives varies from 700 to 1400 kg/ha. The advantage of this system is, first of all, best use available water areas. The disadvantage of this system is evidenced by the fact that during periods of optimal temperature conditions (June - the first half of October) there is not enough protein in the food for carp growth (natural food and carbohydrate additives to food) due to the natural depression of natural food. The best way The solution to this problem is to feed the carp with complex feeds (compound feeds).
Intensive carp breeding system
In an intensive system, the main emphasis is placed on complex feeds (compound feeds) with a higher protein content (from 30% to 40% proteins). Along with the requirements for complex feeds, a high stocking density also implies additional aeration of the water in the fish pond or ensuring the flow of water through the pond. The productivity in earthen objects provided by this method of breeding ranges from 3 to 20 or more tons per hectare of water surface. The advantage of such production is the maximum use of the available area for fish breeding and high productivity per unit surface. The disadvantage is a greater risk of the spread of disease, as well as increased contamination of the water in the pond, and, as a consequence, the water in the receiver.
A special type of intensive production is the system of carp breeding in cage complexes (cage type) . This breeding system ensures low start-up investment for cage production, a small number of workers, high fish productivity per unit volume and profitable production. The disadvantage is the easy spread of diseases and increased pollution (which can be eliminated by installing a protective system) of the aquatic ecosystem in which the cage complex is installed.
And at the end of the article, we invite you to watch a video about carp fishing, which you can catch in your pond, enjoy watching!
Catching Carp with a Float Rod.
We hope breeding carp at home will bring you considerable benefits.
In this photo collection you will see the largest carp caught in the world in recent years. Their weight is reliable, and the fact of capture is recorded. 39, 41, 46, even 48 kg - these carp became a dream come true for those who caught them.
Many of these fish occupied the first place in the ranking of world records.
Each photograph is accompanied by an informative commentary about the circumstances of the capture of a particular fish.
1. Current world record
The largest carp in the world was caught in May 2015 - a carp weighing about 48 kg. It was caught in Hungary on the Euro Aqua pond. This is a small commercial reservoir operating on a club principle. Fishing is restricted to club members only. The reservoir is actively stocked with large carp. The cost of fishing is 1600 euros per week... The area of the reservoir is 10-12 hectares.
2. Giant from Lake Der Chantecoq
Much more significant seems to be the capture of a 44-kilogram scaly carp in France on Lake Lac du Der-Chantecoq (Der Chantecoq) in October 2015. He was only 4 kg short of the current world weight record, but... look at this lake.
Firstly, this is not a commercial reservoir, but “public water” - a public reservoir. Interesting fact: The lake is an important transit point for cranes - about 75 thousand of these birds rest here on their way to the south. It is not surprising that the reservoir opens up space for so many living creatures: its area is 4800 (!) hectares. In fact, catching this carp is more admirable than the current world record... But weight is weight. However, this carp is still the largest among those caught in public reservoirs.
3. The legendary German “Mary”
A huge carp named Mary lived in 
Germany and held the title of “world record” several times, in last time weighing 41 kg 450 g. This carp died in 2012. 
4. French dream of carp anglers: Eric’s Common
The famous "Eric's Common" - one of the largest carp of Lake Rainbow in France - is the cherished dream of many carp anglers. He was caught many times. He also took 1st place in the ranking of world records with a weight of 41 kg, but held 1st place for only 2 weeks and was displaced from this position by the already mentioned “Mary”.
5. Mirror Giant from Lake Rainbow
Another giant of Lake Rainbow - a world record in 2010. A carp weighing 42 kg bit at an air temperature of -3 and was the only fish caught during this session.
6. Euro Aqua: beyond the 100 lb mark
And again Euro Aqua: in 2012, for the first time, a fish was caught there that exceeded the 100 lb mark in weight (over 46 kg). At that time it was the largest carp in the world. He was caught in 2012.
7. The Scarred Legend from Les Graviers: "Scar"
The Scar, a carp living in Lake Les Graviers in France, became a world record in 2010. He got his name from a scar on his body. The photo shows him at various times weighing from 39 to 44 kg.
8. Ken Dodd - famous resident of Rainbow
Another famous carp from Rainbow Lake, this time a mirror one, goes by the name "Ken Dodd". It was caught in 2011 weighing 39 kg.
9. Terrible Neptune from wild water
Neptune is a huge carp from another public reservoir in France. His weight was 38.2 kg.
10. Shoulders – broad-shouldered Frenchman
Another carp that visits the carp mat as often as its own home is Shoulders from the French reservoir Abbey Lake. In 2012, this carp was caught by Dutch carp angler Lisette Benders, thereby setting a world record for weight among women. Shoulders' weight at that time was 38 kg. Today he has grown to almost 44 kg.
11. Briggs Fish - another famous resident of Rainbow Lake
There are also several very large carp living in Lake Rainbow, weighing over 36 kg. Briggs Fish is one such coveted trophy.
12. Wild German
A carp weighing 38.6 kg caught in a “secret” reservoir in Germany in 2006 also bore the honorary title of “the largest carp in the world” and took first place in the ranking of world records.
Finally, the largest carp in Ukraine weighs 29 kg 610 g and was caught in 2011 in one of the wild reservoirs of the Volyn region, and then transported to “Prilbychi”.
We wish you to catch your record carp and, of course, release it into its native element!
The material was prepared specifically for the site
Use of site materials only with the permission of the editors with a mandatory active link to the source.
Carp is a type of pond fish. It is grown in nurseries and in natural conditions. The fish is not picky about water quality and nutrition, but is demanding about temperature conditions; it does not like cold water. Under natural conditions, it lives up to 50 years and can reach a weight of 70 kg. It is delivered for sale when the weight of an individual reaches 1.5-2 kg.
Carp is an artificially bred variety; in fact, it is a domesticated carp. The meat of this fish is distinguished by its fat content and delicate sweetish taste. For these qualities it is so valued by buyers.
In Russia, several fish farms are engaged in breeding carp and supplying it to stores. It is also caught from reservoirs where fish live in natural conditions. The price for carp depends on the fishing conditions, method of preparation, transportation and storage conditions.
Varieties
You can buy carp fresh, chilled or frozen. When purchasing, you need to pay attention to the quality of the fish:
- fins pink or red;
- the smell is fresh;
- eyes transparent, bulging;
- the frozen carcass is covered with a thin layer of ice, like glaze;
- the shape of the fish is not deformed.
Carp, due to its nutritional properties, is very popular among Russians. Fish contains large number vitamins and minerals. This is a record holder for iodine content.
“Carp carcass” in Moscow can be bought for 346.8 rubles, Buy “Carp carcass” in Moscow for 456.72 rubles, Buy “Carp carcass” in Moscow for 266.4 rubles, Price “Carp carcass” is 261.4 rubles. in Moscow.
The Lyuban fish processing plant has been providing consumers with its products for more than fifty years. Today, carp, grass carp, silver carp, pike, and catfish splash in its ponds. "Kur"er visited the enterprise and found out what route the fish takes to get to the table of the residents of the region.
“The entire growing process takes place at the fish processing plant: from eggs to commercial fish,” said Sergey Makarenko, Director of OJSC Fish Processing Plant Lyuban. — How does our fish grow? For example, in the spring we received a carp larva, it grew to 30 grams. The next year we transplant it to another pond, it grows there to 120 grams. Then in the third year we transfer it to a new pond, feed it, the carp grows to 1000 grams.”
As the interlocutor said, there is a two-year rotation for carp cultivation, and there is a three-year one. In the first case, the fish are grown up to 500 grams and sent for sale; in the second case, the carp gains more than a kilogram.
“For a fish to grow to 1 kg, it must eat 3-4 kg of feed. While the fish is gaining its marketable weight, it needs to be transplanted three times from one pond to another (for winter and summer).”
Is it expensive to buy Belarusian fish? “The cost includes the cost of feed (today it is 4,000 rubles per kg), workers’ salaries, the cost of electricity, automobile fuel,” says Sergei Makarenko and laments that this year it was not possible to send fish for export to Russia.
“Last year we supplied our goods to the Smolensk and Pskov regions. But due to the collapse of the Russian ruble, Belarusian fish has become more expensive. And the Russians stopped buying it,” says the head of the plant.
OBLOV. The area of the pond from which fish are caught today is 162.4 hectares. The water is first drained into the reserve channel, and the fish are sent to two fish collection channels. Then the workers drag the catch with seines to the final point of fishing - the gateway of the sorting workshop. Photo: Anna Leshchenko
SORTING. The catch is sent to the sorting workshop. Here fish are divided by size and type - carp, silver carp, grass carp, crucian carp, pike. Photo: Anna Leshchenko
WHAT IS FOR SALE, WHAT IS FOR PROCESSING. After sorting, some containers are sent to the processing workshop, others to a special pond, where the fish will wait in line for sale. Photo: Anna Leshchenko
Fish in numbers
Carp fry
- in the first year of its life it grows up to 30 g,
- in the second - up to 120−500 g,
- in the third - up to 1 kg.
Commercial carp grows for 2-3 years.
The largest specimens for sale:
- carp - 1.2 kg
- grass carp - 0.8 kg
- silver carp - 3.5 kg
- pike – 1.7 kg
- som - 15 kg
To grow a fish to 1 kg, it needs to be fed 3-4 kg of feed.
A sexually mature female carp in the fifth year of life is transferred to breeding stock and is used for 5-6 years. Such individuals weigh up to 10 kg.
NO WASTE: EVERYTHING GOES TO BUSINESS. In the processing shop, fish are cleaned and cut up. There is no waste production here, nothing is thrown away. The heads go into sets for fish soup, the insides are taken by the poultry farm for meat and bone meal. And the carcasses are sent for further processing. Carp and silver carp are used to make frozen semi-finished products, shashlik in buckets and smoked delicacies. But grass carp is only smoked. Photo: Anna Leshchenko
COOK AND SELL. The company store of the fish processing plant “Live Fish” carries out three daily plans on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer and autumn. “Mushroom pickers or tourists from Slutsk and Soligorsk go to the forest and back. They come to us to buy fish. There are often Minsk residents who come to the villages to visit relatives,” Sergei Makarenko says about the buyers. Photo: Anna Leshchenko
How much is fish from Luban residents?
As of mid-November, the Lyuban fish processing plant sells fish at the price (per 1 kg):
- carp - from 29,400 to 43,600 rubles
- crucian carp - from 17,300 to 21,800 rubles
- white cupid - from 37,000 to 41,800 rubles
- som - 62,500 rubles
- pike - from 39,600 to 50,300 rubles
Why didn’t sturgeon and trout go?
As I told you Lyudmila Yesimchik, chief fish farmer of the enterprise, several years ago they tried to grow sturgeon and trout here, but the process did not take off.
“The cultivation of these valuable fish species has its own technological features,” she noted. — Trout and sturgeon need to be supplied with cold artesian water constantly, but our well did not allow this. In addition, this fish needs special feed, which is produced only abroad, which means they had to be purchased in foreign currency. Due to the high protein content, imported feed also spoiled quickly. Therefore, we decided not to deal with sturgeon and trout and sent the fish for processing in June-July.”
Recipe for readers of "Kur"era
How can you cook carp deliciously? Quite simple, especially if you take the recipe for carp with onions and apples. Such carp will certainly be remembered by you for its original taste, incredible softness and tenderness, say the workers of the Lyuban fish processing plant.
Carp with onions and apples
For this dish you need to take one carp, 200 ml of milk, about 0.6 liters of fish broth, half a kilogram of apples, 100 g of flour. You will also need 3 tbsp. l. 9% vinegar, 5 sprigs of thyme, 2 tbsp. l. sugar, 1 bay leaf, 1 onion, 3 cloves, 2 tbsp. l. butter and salt and pepper to taste.
Clean and gut the fish. Cut into pieces about 2 cm thick. Place in a container, pour in milk, to which salt and ground black pepper have been added. Keep for 15 minutes.
Cut the onion into half rings, fry, peel the apples, cut into large pieces, add to the onion. Fry for a couple of minutes.
Remove the carp from the milk, put onions and apples on top. Add spices. Pour in the broth and simmer for about 10 minutes, covered.
Growth conditions
Compared to other cyprinids, carp is a fast-growing fish. This circumstance, along with other valuable qualities, guarantees the advantage of breeding it in pond farming. The growth of carp largely depends on temperature, food rations and stocking density in the pond. Fish productivity is characterized by the increase in fish per unit area.
In winter, carp usually do not grow, with the exception of wintering areas with sources of warm water at a temperature of 8 ° C, in which the fish should be fed with pellets.
In pond farming, when growing fish, they focus primarily on market demands. Therefore, they strive to obtain the maximum fish yield from the useful area. Fingerlings of marketable carp have a length of 6-15 cm, two-year-olds - 23-24 cm, each weighing 250-450 g. Marketable carp should reach a weight of one individual from 1250 to 1500 g with a length of 38-41 cm.
There is a certain relationship between the length of a fish and its mass. The logarithmic relationship between them has the form of a straight line, which means that if the length of the fish is known, then its mass can be determined quite accurately, and vice versa. Steffens (GDR), based on the results obtained in Saxon pond farms, provides the following data
The fatness coefficient is directly proportional to the water temperature. For example, in wintering ponds it is sometimes much less than in summer ones. Thus, Scheperklaus determined the fatness coefficient of a fish school in the fall to be 1.9, and in the spring - 1.6. A decrease in the fatness coefficient due to weight loss to 1.4 leads to big losses two-year-olds.
Planting Density
This refers to the number of fish that are planted per unit area equal to 1 hectare. Stocking density depends on the age of the fish. In medium-sized shallow-water fry ponds (64), in which the larvae are raised in conditions of good food
Howling base is only a few weeks, with good preparation of the pond, i.e. tillage of the soil, application of fertilizers, 200,000-300,000 or more grown carp fry are obtained from 1 hectare (with losses of 50-60%).
Fry in such first-order nursery ponds are raised to fingerlings (Ki) (65) from July until the following spring, provided that the pond is deep enough to serve as a wintering area. With good preparation of ponds and minor losses (up to 30%), you can get 25,000-35,000 carp fingerlings per hectare. Record yields of fingerlings in ponds on sandy soils, amounting to 75,000-100,000 per 1 ha, were obtained using Hornoska complete organic-based fertilizer. In this case, granules were used as feeding. Timely renewal of pond water also had a beneficial effect on the growth of fingerlings.
Two-year-old carp are raised in second-order nursery ponds, which are usually drained in winter. The average productivity of these ponds is 2000-3000 two-year-old carp per 1 hectare, and the maximum value reaches 5,000 two-year-old carp per hectare. Average losses in these ponds are 10-15%.
Growth control
To control the growth of fish in ponds, a cape net (66) is used.
Before control fishing, feed should be added to the feeding area. When the fish are gathered in the feeders, the fishkeeper carefully approaches and throws the net along a curve. If the water is clear, the shadow of the net drives away the fish, making it difficult to catch them. It is also difficult to catch them if there is no food in the feeder yet or the feeder is already empty.
However, there are not enough fish caught in the cap net to draw correct conclusions about growth during the control intervals. In addition, only large fish can be caught with a cast net. If you plan the future feeding ration, focusing on large fish, then in the fall you can get productivity that differs from the planned one.
A more reliable method of control is control fishing with a seine (67). Food is brought into the space covered by the net. After 1 - 1.5 hours, two people remove the seine. The catch usually contains a large number of fish. Based on their average weight, one can make a fairly accurate conclusion about growth, on the basis of which subsequent feed rations are calculated.
Since weight gain largely depends on stocking density, fish at low stocking densities are larger than at high stocking densities. Smaller carp reared at high stocking densities, when there is strong food competition, are called “stunted”. This stunting is not associated with disease and does not have a negative effect on subsequent growth. And if these fish are placed in favorable living conditions, they will grow well.
However, there are often carps that are “stunted in growth” not because of food competition, but because of hereditary causes or past diseases. They grow poorly even in favorable conditions. It is recommended to remove such fish without attempting to nurse them. Therefore, sorting during catches should include not only sorting by age classes, but also the rejection of stunted specimens.
The growth of carp can not only be restrained, but also promoted. The point of intensive fish farming is to produce so-called “stimulated” fish, i.e., through rational feeding, over the same period of time, grow larger carp with less losses. This method will be even more progressive if spawning is carried out in a warm-water nursery. Then growing commercial carp will last 2 years instead of the usual 3 years. This method cannot be considered unnatural, since the results of carp breeding in southern countries clearly show that what we achieve with warm water is obtained there under natural conditions.
Planting of different ages. Basically, ponds are stocked only with fish of the same age. However, there is an opinion that when planting two age groups You can get greater fish productivity, since only small fish, not large fish, can find food in shallow areas of the pond.
Planting of one age group is explained primarily by preventive considerations, since epidemics spread more strongly with a two-age planting than with a single-age planting. It is easier, as has happened in practice more than once, to isolate and neutralize fish of one age group than 2 generations at once. But if the pond has clearly defined zones with different depths, then perhaps you should not refuse to plant two age groups. In this case, both groups must differ sharply from each other in size, otherwise sorting during fishing will be difficult.
