European perch
Perca fluviatilis
Also known asBarsch (German) · Redfin perch · English perch
Water parameters
Minimum tank: 600 L per individual at harvest size.
Feed and growth
- Feed protein
- 42% target
- Daily feed (warm)
- 1.80% of body weight
- Daily feed (cool)
- 0.60% of body weight
- Max density
- 35 g per litre
A 1000 g adult eats about 18.0 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~180 g daily.
Legality
Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| au-general | check local regulations | Established pest in southeastern Australia; prohibited in some states, tolerated in others where already established verified 2026-05-14 |
Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".
Origin and habitat
Perca fluviatilis is a cool-water predator native across Europe and northern Asia, from the British Isles east through Siberia to the Kolyma, absent only from Iberia, central Italy, and a few other pockets. It is closely related to the North American yellow perch, Perca flavescens, so much so that the two can crossbreed and the yellow perch has at times been treated as a subspecies. European perch is one of the most widespread freshwater fish on the continent, found in nearly every lake and river, and it shares the yellow perch's cool-water habits, firm white flesh, and slow-to-moderate growth. Wild fish commonly reach a kilogram to three, with the largest to about 60 cm and nearly 5 kg, and they can live more than twenty years; culture fish are usually harvested smaller, around 200 to 400 grams. The flesh is white, firm, and mild, prized in European kitchens, especially in Switzerland, where perch fillets are a restaurant staple, and across Scandinavia and France. Introduced beyond its range as a sport fish, it is treated as an invasive pest in places such as Australia, where it is known as redfin or English perch.
Climate and outdoor ponds
- Climate
- temperate (handles seasonal swings)
- USDA zones
- 3–8 (winter low around -40°C or warmer)
- Heating needed
- no
- Cooling needed
- no
Care notes
A premium cool-water fish for European aquaponics. It grows best around 18–23°C within a tolerated band of about 4–28°C. Growth is moderate, 200–400 g in eighteen to twenty-four months on a perch pellet of 40 to 45 percent protein (research points to higher protein for top growth), with feed conversion around 1.5 to 2.0 in well-run systems, and stocking of 15 to 30 g/L. Perch culture is an active research and commercial field, especially in recirculating systems in Switzerland, Sweden, France, and Ireland, pushed by steady demand and falling wild catches. The hard parts mirror yellow perch: slow growth next to warm-water species, strong cannibalism among larvae and between size classes that calls for regular grading, asynchronous spawning, high larval mortality, and the chore of weaning fry off live zooplankton onto pellets, so it pays to buy pellet-trained fingerlings. Keep dissolved oxygen above 5 mg/L, ammonia low, and pH 6.5 to 8.5. In intensive culture the fish is prone to vibriosis, Aeromonas infections, and parasites, best held off with clean water and low temperature stress. With retail prices around $12 to $25 per kilogram in Swiss and Scandinavian markets, perch is one of the more rewarding European aquaponics species.