Roach is one of the few freshwater species so widespread. It is present all over Europe east of South England and the Pyrenees and north of the Alps; in rivers and lakes of Siberia, and in catchments of the Caspian and AralSeas. It is a major commercial fish of the Pskov-PeipsiLake.
Roach is easy to tell from other species by the orange iris and a red spot in its upper part. Resident roaches can be found in rivulets – almost creaks – and ponds, as well as in big rivers, lakes and reservoirs, quite often in any of these claiming one of the leading positions in numbers. As roaches inhabit waters with diverse life in them, their diet is varied too. Most of the food is algae, higher plants, insect larvae, mollusks and other organisms. The growth rate greatly depends on the volume and quality of food. Resident forms grow slow, first spawning in their 4-6th year, being 12 cm long, and living rather long lives.
/ * The photos at lake.peipsi.org are cross-posted from commons.wikimedia.org and are used for familiarization purposes only. No commercial use of the photos is allowed. For more information about to use the photos see the originals on commons.wikimedia.org. /
