(Abramis brama)
Bream are group of large carp-like freshwater fish, of the genus Abramis.
The Genus is the rank between Family and Species
Abramis is a Genus of fish in the Cyprinidae Family
Maximum size 820 mm (32 ins)
Maximum published weight 6 Kg (13 lb)
Maximum reported age: 17 years
Cyprinid
Kingdom Animalia (animals)
Phylum Chordata (vertebrates and several closely related invertebrates)
Class Actinopterygii, (ray-finned fishes)
Order Cypriniformes, (carps)
Family Cyprinidae, (Minnows or carps)
Genus Abramis
Species Abramis brama
The Family Cyprinidae, named after the Greek word Kypris, another name for Aphrodite, consists of the carps and some of the fish known as minnows.
Characteristics
The fish in this family originate from North America, Africa and Eurasia. The largest fish in this family is the Giant Barb (Catlocarpio siamensis), which may grow up to 3 m (10 ft). The largest North American species is Ptychocheilus lucius. On the other hand, many species are smaller than 50mm (2 in); the smallest freshwater fish is, in fact, a cypriniform, Danionella translucida, reaching 12 mm at the longest. All fish in this family are egg-layers and the breeding habits of most is one of non-guarding of the eggs, however, there are a few species that build nests and/or guard the eggs.
Economic significance
Cyprinids are highly important food fish; they are fished and farmed across Eurasia. In land-locked countries in particular, cyprinids are often the major species of fish eaten, although the prevalance of inexpensive frozen fish products made this less important now than it was in earlier times. Nonetheless, in certain places they remain popular for food as well as recreational fishing, and have been deliberately stocked in ponds and lakes for centuries for this reason.
Several cyprinids have been quite introduced to waters outside their natural range to provide food, sport, or biological control for some pest species. The carp and the grass carp are the most important of these, for example in Florida. In some cases, these have become invasive species that compete with native fishes or disrupt the environment, carp in particular can stir up the riverbed reducing the clarity of the water making it difficult for plants to grow.
Numerous cyprinids have become important in the aquarium hobby, most famously the goldfish, which was first imported into Europe around 1728 but was cultivated by the Chinese well before then. Other popular cyprinids kept in aquarium include the barbs, danios and rasboras.
The carp bream (Abramis brama) is a species of fresh-water fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae, to which about 1,500 species belong.
Range
The bream's home range is in Europe north of the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as in the Balkans. It is also found as far east as the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and the Aral Sea.
Description
The carp bream is usually 30 to 55 centimeters (12 to 20 inches) long, though some specimens have been as long as 75 cm (30 in.), and weighed two to four kilograms (four to nine pounds).
It has a laterally flattened and high-backed body and a slightly inferior mouth. The fish is a silvery gray color, though older fish can be bronze-colored especially in clear waters. The fins are grayish to black and never colored.
Similar-looking fish
It can easily be confused with silver bream (Blicca bjoerkna), in particular at the younger stages. The most reliable method is counting the scales in a straight line from the first ray of the backfin to the lateral line. White bream has less than ten scales, carp bream 11 or more. At the adult stage the reddish implant of the pectoral fin of the Silver Bream is a very clear mark. Like all cyprinidae, carp bream can easily interbred with other species. Using artificial reproduction carp breams have been crossed with ruffe to create an attractive fish for angling.
Habitat
The carp bream generally lives in rivers (especially in the lower reaches) and in nutrient-rich lakes and ponds with many algae and muddy bottoms. It can also be found in brackish sea waters.
Feeding habits
It lives in schools near the bottom. At night carp bream can feed close to the shore and in clear waters with sandy bottoms the feeding pits can be seen during daytime. The fish's protactile mouth helps it dig for chironomidae larvae, tubificae, bivalves, and gastropods. The carp bream eats water plants and plankton as well.
In very turbid waters bream can occur in large numbers which can result in a shortage of bottom feeds like chironomidae. The carp bream is then forced to start filter feeding with its gill rakers with Daphnia as the main prey. As the fish grows the gill rakers grow to far apart to catch its prey and the bream will not grow bigger then 400 mm. If a carp bream is malnourished it can develop a so-called knife back, the formation of a very sharp edge along its back.
Spawning
The spawning time of the carp bream is from April to June, when water temperatures are around 17°C (63°F). In this time the males form territories in which the females lay their 100,000 to 300,000 eggs on water plants. The fish larvae hatch after three to twelve days and attach themselves with special adhesive glands to water plants until their yolk is used up.
The young fish are often not recognized as bream for their slender posture, they are recognizable by their flat body shape and silvery color. At this stage the fish is still pelagic, but in a few months the fishes take their typical body shape and become bottom dwellers. After three to four years the fish are sexually mature.
Environment:
benthopelagic;
Living and feeding near the bottom as well as in midwaters or near the surface. Feeding on benthic as well as free swimming organisms. Many freshwater fish are opportunistic feeders that forage on the bottom as well as in midwater and near the surface, also pertaining to forms which hover or swim just over the bottom
potamodromous;
Migrating within streams, migratory in rivers.
Migrations should be cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km.
pH range: 7 - 7.5; dH range: 15 ;
Depth range - 1 m
Climate: temperate; 10 - 24°C; 57°N - 42°N
Resilience: Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=3-5)
Biology: Occurs usually in still and slow-running waters where it travels in large shoals. Feeds on insects, particularly chironomids, small crustaceans, mollusks and plants. Larger specimens may feed on small fish. The juveniles feeds on zooplankton. Can survive out of the water for extended periods.The flesh is bony, insipid and soft.
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