What is the difference between bighead carp and silver carp? Learn to tell them apart easily

The bighead carp is the silver carp; it is a fish of the genus Hypophthalmichthys in the family Cyprinidae, with a very large head, a laterally compressed body, a blue-black back, a grayish-white belly, pale gray fins, and many irregular small light-yellow and black spots on both sides. It is one of the “four major Chinese carps”, growing fast, with few diseases, easy to raise and high in yield.

1. Where is the silver carp (bighead carp) distributed?

The silver carp has a fairly wide distribution and is found in rivers and lakes throughout China, mostly living in rivers and lakes with a certain flow rate. It generally lives in the middle and upper layers of the water, mainly eating rotifers, cladocerans, copepods (such as Cyclops) and other zooplankton and protozoa, and also eats some phytoplankton (such as diatoms and blue-green algae) and artificial feed.

2. What are the benefits of eating silver carp (bighead carp)?

The silver carp has the effects of warming the stomach, relieving dizziness, benefiting the brain marrow, tonifying deficiency and fatigue, soothing the liver and relieving depression, strengthening the spleen and benefiting the lungs, dispelling wind-cold, and strengthening the bones and muscles. It can assist in treating cough, edema, hepatitis, dizziness, nephritis, difficult urination, and physical weakness, and is suitable for people with weak constitutions, cold-deficiency of the spleen and stomach, and malnutrition.