Identifying the Ghost Carp is important as today, these native ghost carp with unique markings command interest from scientists and carp conservationists alike.
They remain one of the more cryptic and least studied color morphs among prolific common carp strains around the world.
Their evolutionary origins and isolating mechanisms also warrant deeper investigation in times to come.
What is a Ghost Carp?
The ghost carp is a special kind of carp fish. It looks very different from a normal carp. A regular carp has shiny gold or orange scales all over its body. But the ghost carp is pale gray, white, or ash colored instead!
That is why it is named the ‘ghost’ carp. Its light gray body looks like a ghost! People also call it a ‘calico’ carp sometimes. Calico cats have black, white and orange fur. Similarly, ghost carps have smoky white bodies with some gray spots too.
Is it an Albino?
Ghost carps may seem like albino fish. But they are not really albinos. True albino animals have no color at all in their skin or eyes. They also have reddish eyes due to blood vessels showing through.
Ghost carps have normal dark gray or black eyes. Their skin is light grayish white instead of pure white. Special genes give them this color that is different from regular carp.
Where Did They Come From?
Rare gray or white colored carp fish started showing up in regular carp populations. When these light colored fish were bred over generations, they produced more such white-gray offspring. This is how the unique ghost carp strain developed with its own markings.
So the ghost carp is basically a carp that looks like a pale gray and white colored ghost instead of the usual gold or orange carp! It is a strange but beautiful color variant.
How The Ghost Carp Looks
No Gold or Orange
Normal carp have reddish-gold or orange colors. But ghost carp lack this gold coloring totally. They have almost no yellowish pigment cells in the skin and scales. So they look grayish-white instead of gold or orange.
Marbled Pattern on Body
These carp have a special kind of markings. They have darker blotches and big spots over the back and sides. These blotchy patches look gray to black on the pale body. This pattern matches lake and river bed floors!
The belly area of ghost carp stays cleaner white usually. The head area under the gills is also whitish instead of spots seen on the cheeks and upper face.
See-Through Fins
The fins of ghost carp are also unique. The side fins look semitransparent and milky. The tail, top and back fins are more smoked gray with visible white fin rays inside. In some big ghost carp, these back fins also show dark edges.
Very Different From Regular Carp
So you can tell the ghost carp apart by its grayish white body lacking gold/orange with darker blotches on top. The see-through fins are also special markers not seen on normal carp in rivers and ponds. These traits make the ghost carp so rare and special!
How to Know it’s Still a Carp
Even with its unique ghostly color, the ghost carp shows some typical carp features that give away it is a carp fish. These standard carp traits help to properly identify ghost carp.
Dorsal Fin Shape
The top fin along the back called dorsal fin has strong spiky rays. The first spine bone is serrated or thorny, just like with regular carp dorsal fins. This shows it is definitely a carp.
See Whiskers by The Mouth
Two whisker like strings or barbels are also found hanging near the mouth of ghost carp. These barbels help detect food in muddy waters. Having two barbels is exclusive to carp fish only.
Deeply Forked Tail Fins
Check the tail fin which should have a deep split or fork in it. Normal gold carp tails and the rarer ghost carp tails both show this deeply forked shape. So that gives further proof it’s a carp.
So if an odd white fish has these special carp features like the spiky dorsal fin, whisker barbels by mouth and split tail – you can tell for sure it’s a special ghost carp!
How The Scales And Shape Differs
Very Visible Scales
Ghost carp lose the sheen and shine over the scales seen on gold wild carp. Each scale stands out lined individually against the pale background. The scales appear thinner and less smooth compared to common carp cousins.
Slightly Less Broad Bodies
Common carp are known for their stocky, thickset build. But ghost carp bodies seem a bit more streamlined and narrow on close look. The belly also appears less rounded versus regular carp shapes.
Over the head, their face shape stays the same broad carp shape though. The mouth shape continues to show the typical downward facing jaws of carp family too.
Young Ghost Carp Shape
When ghost carp are still small babies up to 2-3 inches long, their body form differs much more from normal baby carp. The tiny ghost carp fry take on a slender, pencil-thin silhouette compared to chubbier common carp infants of the same age.
So Carps have more obvious scales, moderately more slender bodies for adults. And young ghost fry start out skinnier than regular baby carp from birth too. Shape wise they vary subtly from common carp!
How Big Do Ghost Carp Grow
Slightly Smaller Adults
Fully grown adult ghost carp tend to reach moderately smaller sizes compared to regular colored common carp. A big mature common carp can weigh 15 kilos (33 pounds) or even bigger!
But most adult ghost carps clock in around 8-10 kilos or 18-22 pounds max. A few may reach 12-13 kilos rarely. So they lag behind a bit size wise from their common cousins.
Reasons For Smaller Size
There are two likely reasons the pale ghosties stay smaller:
- As a genetically rare strain, ghost carp are fewer in number. Having access to less food sources in small groups slows their growth a bit.
- Their bodies may be less efficient at absorbing nutrients to convert fully into dense muscles and bulk weight.
But baby ghost carp grow quickly at first, matching normal carp. Size differences emerge only after the 1-2 year mark as adults near maximum capacity for growth in length and mass.
So while manageable for anglers to land, ghost carp cannot beat the true monster sizes record holding common carp sometimes tip scales at! Their weight handicap adds to the ghost carp mystery for researchers too.
Where Ghost Carp Are Found
Prefer Cooler Temps
Ghost carp do well in more northern areas with cooler water rather than tropical hot zones. They seem able to tolerate lower temperatures better compared to the common carp living farther south.
Native to Northern Europe
Reports and sampling indicate ghost carp strains originated from wild common carp native to parts of northern Europe. The countries of origin likely include Russia, Poland, Germany, Austria region.
Migratory Behavior
Unlike common carp that migrate vast distances between deep lakes and shallow creeks through the seasons, ghosties show less urge to roam. They tend to inhabit small dendritic river branches leading off major rivers preffering shallow, oxygen rich sections. Less need to migrate long distances is likely the cause for their isolation.
Chance of Occurance
Occasional ghost carp occur among common carp in Russia, Finland and France too as a spontaneous genetic variation. But self-sustaining concentrated ghost carp colonies are exceptionally rare across Europe’s waterways, the traits persisting only in few scattered isolated demes sharing habitat and continuing the bloodlines.
How Ghost Carp First Evolved
The causes behind the evolution of the unusual ghost carp strain remain uncertain and speculative. Researchers are still trying to uncover clues about when the original genetic changes happened leading to their distinct color loss.
Rare Ancient Mutation
The leading theory suggests an ancient spontaneous genetic mutation within a common carp group blocked formation of yellow pigments in skin over generations of inbreeding. This rare mutation got stabilized into a breeding ‘ghost’ strain.
Isolated For Centuries
These carp lacking color somehow got geographically cut off from normal pigmented carp colonies. With no new color genes entering from migrating fish, the ‘ghost’ markers got concentrated by constant inbreeding season to season.
Evolved Independently
Isolated for maybe hundreds of years, these groups evolved independently into locally adapted gray-white populations with unique genetics and ecology matching native rivers and streams.
More Study Needed
Cracking the evolutionary puzzle around when, where and how exactly pale ghost carp developed still requires deeper investigation. More evidence gathering through reported sightings and genetic assessment can uncover ghost carp origins for science one day.
Why Reporting Ghost Carp Helps
Ghost carp remain a mystery in many ways to researchers around the world. These rare uniquely colored carp are exceptionally hard to find and study closely. That’s why documentation help from regular folks makes a big difference.
Take Measurements
If you catch a ghost carp, first take basic length and weight details, take photos from multiple angles before careful release. Simple data already advances current knowledge databases on the unknown species.
Contribute Sightings
Share ghost carp sighting events, locations and any observation notes with regional fish conservation groups. Your unique encounter data helps chart distribution better. Get ghost carp officially identified by experts.
Support Future Projects
With increased confirmed evidence supplied by citizen scientists about ghost carp biology and habitats, bigger projects can kickstart population assessments, genetics mapping, lifecycle studies and conservation efforts focusing specially on these evasive phantoms of the waterways!
So sighting reports expand understanding about the rare ghost carp strains for better management and preservation of the one-of-a-kind fish.
Final Remarks on “How to Identify a Ghost Carp?”
So in short, ghost carp can be identified by their unique pale gray color lacking golden pigment, dark blotches across the body, visible forked tail, barbels, and serrated dorsal fin typical of carp species. Reporting and documenting suspected ghost carp is vital for learning more about this rare and mysterious carp variety.