Rudd
Scardinius erythrophthalmus
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Golden-flanked with blood-red fins, and an upturned mouth built for feeding at the surface.
A deep-bodied, brassy-golden fish with vivid red-orange fins and a distinctly upturned lower jaw. The reliable way to separate it from a roach is the dorsal fin, which is set clearly behind the pelvic fins rather than directly above them. Rudd live in weedy, still and slow waters around the region, and hybridise with roach and bream where they occur together.
Behaviour
That upturned mouth is a surface-feeding adaptation: rudd take insects from the film and from overhanging vegetation far more readily than roach, and often cruise high in the water on warm days. They also graze filamentous algae and soft plant material. Spawning is over dense weed in late spring, with the sticky eggs left to adhere to submerged stems.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Carps and minnows (Cyprinidae)
- Size
- Commonly 20–35 cm
- UK status
- Widespread in still waters; introduced to much of Scotland
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