Fish
Common Carp
Cyprinus carpio
These illustrations are AI-generated, not photographs, and are not to scale. They show what to look for; they are not a substitute for an expert identification.
How to identify it
Size: Commonly 15 to 32 inches long.
- Two pairs of barbels (whiskers) on the upper jaw: a short pair and a longer pair at the corners of the mouth.
- Thick, rubbery lips that push out when it feeds.
- Large scales.
- A long fin on its back that starts with a stiff, spine-like ray.
Don’t confuse it with
Native buffalo fish and suckers have no barbels, and neither do goldfish. Grass carp, also on this list, has no barbels and a short fin on its back. Koi are a colorful form of the common carp.
Where it came from
Native to Europe and Asia.
Stocked across the United States as a food fish in the late 1800s. It is now found throughout Indiana.
Earliest dated Indiana record: 1894, the Tippecanoe River basin at Winamac, Pulaski County. This is the oldest dated record in the USGS non-native species database, not necessarily when it first arrived.
Why it matters
Carp feed by rooting through the lake bottom, which muddies the water and uproots the plants that fish, ducks and other wildlife need.
Indiana law
Not listed in Indiana's invasive species rules. The steps below still help keep it from spreading.
If you find it
- Don’t move it. Before leaving the water, remove all plants, mud and debris and drain all water from your boat, motor, live well, bilge and trailer. Carrying plants listed in Indiana’s Aquatic Plant Rule on vehicles, boats or trailers is illegal and can bring fines. Clean boater tips
- Never release bait or pets. Don’t dump bait, aquarium animals or water-garden plants into any lake or stream. Put unused bait in the trash.
- Report it. Take a photo, note where you saw it, and report it through EDDMapS or the GLEDN phone app, or contact Indiana DNR’s aquatic invasive species program at 317-234-3883 or ais@dnr.IN.gov. Experts there can confirm what you found.
- Ask before removing or treating. On public lakes, any control of aquatic plants — chemical, mechanical, physical or biological — needs an Indiana DNR aquatic vegetation control permit. When a permit is needed
Indiana lakes where it has been recorded
2 Indiana lakes on this site have a record of this species.
Dubois
Marshall
A lake that is not listed may still have it. Records exist only where someone found the species and reported it, so “not recorded” does not mean “not present.”
Lake records: Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Conservation Planner; underlying records from the USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.
Sources
- USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: Common carp fact sheet
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Common carp risk screening summary
Earliest dated record: USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database.