White bream (Blicca bjoerkna)

Scientific name: Blicca bjoerkna Linnaeus, 1758

The White bream (Blicca bjoerkna) is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. In the aquarium it needs water at 4–20°C (39–68°F).

White bream care at a glance

Temperature: 4–20°C (39–68°F)

Biology

Gregarious and frequents stagnant waters of lakes and reservoirs, rivers and canals with calm waters. Occurs in a wide variety of shallow, warm lowland lakes and slow-flowing lower reaches of large rivers and canals. Frequently very abundant on bottom of large sandy rivers. Larvae live in still water bodies. Mainly nocturnal. Feeds on benthic invertebrates. Spawns along shores on submerged vegetations, roots or even on shallow gravel bottom. Reproduction takes place in May to July. Exhibits polyandry. Regularly hybridizes with Vimba vimba. Of little interest to game fishers and consumers. Unpopular with commercial fishers due to its small size and competition with more desired species.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Blicca bjoerkna
Family: Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps)
Order: Cypriniformes (Carps)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 36.0
Common length: 20.0
Environment: Freshwater; brackish; demersal; potamodromous; depth range 0 - ? m
Climate: Temperate
Distribution: Europe and Asia: North, Baltic, White, Black and Caspian Sea basins, Atlantic basin southward to Adour drainage and Mediterranean basin in France. In Aral, Marmara and Anatolian Black Sea basins west of Ankara. Naturally absent from Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Adriatic basin, Crimea, Great Britain, Scandinavia north of Sundsvall and 65? N. Locally introduced in Spain and northeastern Italy; in France, apparently introduced in smal coastal drainages of Var.
Conservation status (IUCN): Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: public aquariums; bait: occasionally
Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.10-0.27; tm=3-4)