1, different living habits

Anhui Fish: They inhabit rivers and lakes in plain areas, and generally prefer to live in the middle and lower layers of water and coastal areas with more aquatic plants. Sexually active, swimming fast, often foraging in groups. Grass carp eat larvae, algae, etc. In the juvenile stage, grass carp also eat some carnivorous foods, such as earthworms and dragonflies. Overwintering in the deep water of mainstream or lake. Parent fish have the habit of swimming against the current during the breeding season.

Carp: Carp scales are very large, and there are two whiskers on each side of the palate. It lives alone or in groups in ponds, lakes and rivers, with a quiet mud bottom and full of water and grass. There is a habit of migration in small waters.

2. Different morphological characteristics

? Anhui Fish: The body length is 3.4 ~ 4.0 times of the body length, 3.6 ~ 4.3 times of the head length, 7.3 ~ 9.5 times of the tail stalk length and 6.8 ~ 8.8 times of the tail stalk height. Long body, slightly blunt kiss, 2 rows of hypopharyngeal teeth, comb-shaped. The dorsal fin has no hard spines, the outer edge is straight, and it is located above the ventral fin. The distance from the starting point to the base of the caudal fin is closer than that to the snout. Gill rakes are short and few in number. The body is yellowish brown, the abdomen is grayish white, the scales on the side of the body are grayish black, the pectoral fins and ventral fins are grayish yellow, and the other fins are lighter in color. Carp: one side of the body is flat, the abdomen is round, the mouth is horseshoe-shaped, and it must be 2 pairs. The base of dorsal fin is long, and both dorsal fin and gluteal fin have thick spines with serrations. The side is golden yellow, and the lower leaf of caudal fin is orange red.

Carp-related culture

Carp is the most popular mascot in China.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius' wife gave birth to a boy, and someone happened to send some carp. Confucius "thought it was a good thing", so he named his son carp, which means "Apollo" ("The Pass" quoted in Taiping Yu Lan (Volume 935)). It can be seen that the custom of taking carp as a good omen has been popular in the Spring and Autumn Period, which is consistent with the record of the prosperity of the Zhou Dynasty in Historical Records of Zhou Benji.

In the long-term historical development, the people of China have endowed carp with rich cultural connotations.