How to identify grass carp, black carp, silver carp, and bighead carp with the naked eye

Grass carp, black carp, silver carp, and bighead carp are also collectively known as the "four major Chinese carps." They are easy to tell apart once they reach adult size, but what we are going to discuss here is how to identify them as fry. Newly hatched larvae are usually called fry, fish flowers, water flowers, and so on. At this stage they cannot be identified with the naked eye, but once they grow to 3 cm they can be identified.

Grass carp

The grass carp has a pale yellow body color, very distinct scales, a flattened head, and a bluntly rounded snout tip.

Black carp

The body and fins of the black carp are grayish black, the scales are not distinct, and the head is rather pointed.

Silver carp

The silver carp has a silvery white body color, a head smaller than that of the bream, an abdominal ridge extending from the pectoral fins to the anus, a curved ventral margin when viewed from the side, and pectoral fin tips that reach only to the base of the pelvic fins.

Bighead carp

The bighead carp has a black body color tinged with yellow, a large head, a straight ventral margin when viewed from the side, and pectoral fin tips that extend past the base of the pelvic fins.

Now do you know how to identify grass carp, black carp, silver carp, and bighead carp?