Silver carp
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
Water parameters
Minimum tank: 3000 L per individual at harvest size.
Feed and growth
- Feed protein
- 25% target
- Daily feed (warm)
- 1.50% of body weight
- Daily feed (cool)
- 0.60% of body weight
- Max density
- 25 g per litre
A 4000 g adult eats about 60.0 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~600 g daily.
Legality
Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States (federal) | federally listed injurious | Listed under Lacey Act as Injurious; live possession and interstate transport prohibited nationwide source verified 2026-05-13 |
| European Union (bloc) | prohibited | EU Union List of Invasive Alien Species verified 2026-05-13 |
| New South Wales | prohibited | verified 2026-05-13 |
| Queensland | prohibited | verified 2026-05-13 |
Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".
Origin and habitat
Native to large river systems in eastern China and eastern Russia, from the Pearl River north to the Amur. The species (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) is a filter-feeding carp that strains phytoplankton from the water column using specialized gill rakers, consuming enormous quantities of microscopic algae. Together with bighead carp (which eats zooplankton), silver carp forms the filter-feeding component of traditional Chinese polyculture. Global production exceeds 5 million tonnes annually, almost entirely in China, making silver carp one of the most produced fish species in the world by tonnage. The species is notorious in North America as an invasive species: escaped silver carp in the Mississippi basin form massive populations and are famous for leaping meters out of the water when disturbed by boat motors, injuring boaters and damaging equipment.
Climate and outdoor ponds
- Climate
- temperate (handles seasonal swings)
- USDA zones
- 3–12 (winter low around -40°C or warmer)
- Heating needed
- no
- Cooling needed
- no
Care notes
A phytoplankton filter feeder that cannot eat pelleted feed, making it poorly suited to conventional aquaponics. Silver carp must be grown in water bodies with enough phytoplankton production to sustain them, which means fertilized ponds or eutrophic lakes. In typical aquaponics where the goal is clean, filtered water, silver carp would starve. In extensive pond-based integrated systems where green water and algal blooms are managed rather than prevented, silver carp serve as biological water quality managers that convert excess phytoplankton into fish biomass. Temperature range: 15–30°C, optimal at 25–28°C. Growth in productive water is fast: 1–3 kg in 12-18 months. In the US, silver carp culture is effectively prohibited in most states due to the catastrophic invasive impact in the Mississippi basin. Federal and state agencies spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on Asian carp control. Even in states where silver carp culture might technically be legal, the regulatory environment is hostile. Where legal and ecologically appropriate (primarily China and Southeast Asia), silver carp are a high-volume, zero-input-cost protein source because they eat only natural plankton. Not recommended for any Western aquaponics application.