What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Off-topic discussions, musings and chat
Post Reply
User avatar
Leodian
Posts: 6478
Joined: Thu 10 Jun, 2010 8:03 am

What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Post by Leodian »

Strolling by the Leeds & Liverpool Canal near Leeds Train Station just after 11:30 a.m. today (April 18 2019) I spotted a large dead fish that looked at least 1 foot long. I took 2 photos but owing to reflected sunlight in the water the quality of the photos is extremely poor so I hope that the identity of the fish can still be determined. My suspicion is that it may have been a pet fish that was dumped into the canal at some stage. It seemed fatter than it looks in the photos.
DeadFishInLeedsLiverpoolCanalNearLeedsTrainStationApr182019(1)..jpg
DeadFishInLeedsLiverpoolCanalNearLeedsTrainStationApr182019(1)..jpg (101.06 KiB) Viewed 5422 times
DeadFishInLeedsLiverpoolCanalNearLeedsTrainStationApr182019(2)..jpg
DeadFishInLeedsLiverpoolCanalNearLeedsTrainStationApr182019(2)..jpg (61.14 KiB) Viewed 5422 times
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

iansmithofotley
Posts: 558
Joined: Fri 28 Dec, 2007 4:10 pm

Re: What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Post by iansmithofotley »

I am not sure about the identity of the fish. It does have scales. The usual scale fish which are found in canals in this country are Roach, Rudd, Bream, Chub, Dace, Bleak, Barbel and Common Carp.

Roach usually have red fins and red in their eyes with a normal mouth. Roach can grow up to around 3-4 lbs but are usually smaller.

Rudd are very similar to Roach with red fins but do not have red in their eyes. Also, their mouths are angled upwards. Rudd can also grow up to 3-4 lbs but are usually much smaller - under 1 lb.

Bream are bigger fish but are a different shape and are deeper from top to bottom. Bronze Bream can grow to over 20 lbs. Silver Bream are smaller and can grow up to 2-3 lbs.

Chub are similar to roach but grow much bigger. When they are small they look like roach but they do not have as much red on their fins, they don't have red eyes, they have a very big mouth and they can grow to over 8lbs.

Dace are shiny silver fish but are darker and sometimes a bit blue coloured, at the top part of their body around the dorsal fin. They are very sleak and do not have any red on their fins or eyes. They can grow up to about 1 lb or just over.

Bleak are very small silver coloured fish and resemble dace but they do not grow to more than a few ounces.

Barbel are very strong scale fish with red fins and four barbules hanging from a big mouth. They are very, very strong fish, with very large fins, and can grow to over 20 lbs. They are usually found in rivers.

Common Carp are bronze or silver coloured with large scales. Bigger fish become bulky and deeper from top to bottom. Fins can be reddish. They are the biggest scale fish in this country and can grow to over 60 lbs. (Mirror Carp do not have scales all over their body but have some very large scales along their lateral line, they are also very deep from top to bottom).

A fish of about one foot in length would probably weigh between about 12 ounces and 16 ounces. Fish that grow bigger than this start to bulk up and fill out a bit more so, for example, a 12" long chub might weigh just under 1 lb, but a 24" long chub would probably weigh over 6 lbs.

The fish in the photograph looks a similar shape to a small Barbel (say under 2 lbs), particularly the shape of the mouth (were there any barbules at the mouth?) or possibly a Chub (but the mouth looks the wrong shape). It might also be a small Common Carp.

'Pet Fish', of this size, tend to be mainly Carp, Crucian Carp or Coy Carp and they can be brightly coloured (orange, gold, black/white, etc.). They do not grow as large as Common Carp or Mirror Carp.

No doubt, other anglers will have more knowledge than I do. I hope that this helps.

Bruno
Posts: 331
Joined: Fri 29 Jul, 2011 9:54 am

Re: What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Post by Bruno »

That looks larger than an average fish, Leo. I think it might be a Special.
The older I get, the better I was.

volvojack
Posts: 1471
Joined: Tue 26 Jan, 2016 11:57 am

Re: What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Post by volvojack »

Hello Ian,
You certainly know your species of fish but you have missed one out and that is the Bas....d that used to elude me as i stood on river banks, rain or shine ( i had a landing net never ever used )

User avatar
Leodian
Posts: 6478
Joined: Thu 10 Jun, 2010 8:03 am

Re: What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Post by Leodian »

Thanks Ian, Bruno and Jack for your posts :).

You ask Ian "were there any barbules at the mouth?". Unfortunately as the fish was in the middle of the canal and with the reflected sunlight I could not see it well enough to tell if there were any barbules.

You say Bruno "I think it might be a Special". It certainly had met its chips! ;)

Yes Jack the fish that get away are clearly another species! ;)
A rainbow is a ribbon that Nature puts on when she washes her hair.

User avatar
tilly
Posts: 2209
Joined: Mon 11 Jan, 2010 2:32 pm

Re: What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Post by tilly »

Ian you missed out the pike this is not a pike by the way iv had a seventeen pound pike not far from that spot.It has a look of a ghost carp but the color is wrong.
No matter were i end my days im an Hunslet lad with Hunslet ways.

iansmithofotley
Posts: 558
Joined: Fri 28 Dec, 2007 4:10 pm

Re: What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Post by iansmithofotley »

Hi Tilly,

The Pike is not a scale fish. Others are Tench, Trout, Perch, Ruffe, etc. The fish in the photograph has scales. There is another scale fish, which I missed, called the Gudgeon but they are very small and only weigh a few ounces. Also, they are a similar shape to a Barbel and even have barbules at the mouth, but only two.

Over the last twenty or thirty or years or so, some commercial fisheries (usually ponds) started to stock Ide or Orfe, which are also scale fish. They are not traditional English river fish but have always been in the rivers and ponds of Europe and North America. They are now seen in some of the English rivers and ponds.

Ian

volvojack
Posts: 1471
Joined: Tue 26 Jan, 2016 11:57 am

Re: What please is this dead fish in the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (not a quiz).

Post by volvojack »

tilly wrote:Ian you missed out the pike this is not a pike by the way iv had a seventeen pound pike not far from that spot.It has a look of a ghost carp but the color is wrong.

tilly Wot about the "Stupid Boy" Pike although i think this is more of a Sea fish than a River fish

Post Reply