Roach
Rutilus rutilus
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Red eye, reddish fins, silver flank — the fish that taught most anglers to fish.
A neat, silvery, moderately deep-bodied fish with a distinctly red iris, orange-red pelvic and anal fins and a dorsal fin set directly above the pelvics. Roach are common in the lochs, ponds and slower reaches of the region, often shoaling in large numbers, and hybridise readily with rudd and bream, which can make identification of individual fish awkward.
Behaviour
Roach shoal throughout their lives, feeding on insect larvae, snails, crustaceans and plant material taken from the bottom and from weed. They are tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including quite poor water quality, which is part of why they are so widespread. Spawning is in dense, splashy aggregations over weed and submerged roots in late spring, with the males developing rough white tubercles.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Carps and minnows (Cyprinidae)
- Size
- Commonly 15–30 cm
- UK status
- Widespread; introduced to much of Scotland
Photo by George Chernilevsky, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons