This is the most common freshwater food fish which is cultivated all over the world including India. It grows well both in tropical and temperate climate and can tolerate wide ranges of temperature (3-35 °C), pH and hardness. It grows to a length of around 110 cm   and may weight 40.1 kg. It is a peaceful fish with other species but has the tendency of up rooting the plants hence should not be kept with plants. Bottom feeder and feeds on almost all types of feeds available in a water body and also readily accepts artificial feeds made up of oil cakes, rice brans, cereal brans, meaty items, etc. It is a prolific breeder and attains maturity in the first year of life and breeds twice in a year. Lay around 1.0 lakh eggs per kg body weight over the aquatic plants. Eggs are small, sticky and hatch in 2-4 days depending on temperature. Small fry feeds on plankton. There are three variants- leather carps, mirror carp and scale carp. The fish has been transplanted all over the world.