View source for Common roach

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Other uses|Roach (disambiguation){{!}}Roach}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Common roach
| image = Rutilus rutilus by Algirdas cropped.jpg
| status = LC| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name = IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=Ford, M. |year=2024 |title=''Rutilus rutilus'' |volume=2024 |page=e.T19787A58301083 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T19787A58301083.en |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref>
| taxon = Rutilus rutilus
| display_parents = 3
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| synonyms = *''Cyprinus rutilus'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small> 
*''Leuciscus rutilus'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> 
*''Cyprinus rubellio'' <small>[[Nathanael Gottfried Leske|Leske]], 1774</small> 
*''Cyprinus simus'' <small>Hermann, 1804</small> 
*''Cyprinus lacustris'' <small>[[Peter Simon Pallas|Pallas]], 1814</small> 
*''Cyprinus jaculus'' <small>Jurine, 1825</small> 
*''Leuciscus decipiens'' <small>[[Louis Agassiz|Agassiz, 1835]]</small>
*''Leuciscus prasinus'' <small>Agassiz, 1835</small> 
*''Cyprinus xanthopterus'' <small>[[Jean Nicolas Vallot|Vallot]], 1837</small> 
*''Cyprinus fulvus'' <small>Vallot, 1837</small> 
*''Gardonus pigulus'' <small>[[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]], 1841</small> 
*''Leucos cenisophius'' <small>Bonaparte, 1841</small> 
*''Leuciscus rutiloides'' <small>Selys-Longchamps, 1842</small> 
*''Leuciscus selysii'' <small>[[Edmond de Sélys Longchamps|Selys-Longchamps]], 1842</small> 
*''Leuciscus lividus'' <small>[[Johann Jakob Heckel|Heckel]], 1843</small> 
*''Leuciscus pausingeri'' <small>Heckel, 1843</small> 
*''Leucos pigulus'' <small>Bonaparte, 1845</small> 
*''Leucos cenisophius'' <small>Bonaparte, 1845</small> 
*''Cyprinus pigus'' <small>[[Laurence Theodore Gronow|Gronow]], 1854</small> 
*''Leuciscus jurinii'' <small>[[Benedykt Dybowski|Dybowski]], 1862</small> 
*''Gardonus ruboculus'' <small>Walecki, 1863</small> 
*''Leuciscus pallens'' <small>[[Émile Blanchard|Blanchard]], 1866</small> 
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=rut>{{cite web |url=http://www.fishbase.se/Nomenclature/SynonymsList.php?ID=272&SynCode=22947&GenusName=Rutilus&SpeciesName=rutilus |title=Synonyms of ''Rutilus rutilus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |access-date=2 December 2017 |publisher=[[Fishbase]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203082813/http://www.fishbase.se/Nomenclature/SynonymsList.php?ID=272&SynCode=22947&GenusName=Rutilus&SpeciesName=rutilus |archive-date=3 December 2017 }}</ref>
}}

The '''roach''', or '''rutilus roach''' ('''''Rutilus rutilus'''''), also known as the '''common roach''', is a fresh- and [[brackish water|brackish-water]] fish of the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Cyprinid]]ae, native to most of Europe and western Asia. Fish called roach can be any [[species]] of the [[genera]] ''[[Rutilus]]'', ''[[Leucos]]'' and ''[[Hesperoleucus]]'', depending on locality. The plural of the term is also roach.<ref name="fish">{{FishBase species|Rutilus|rutilus|id=272}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Rutilus rutilus Prague Vltava 3.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Roach in an aquarium]]
The roach is a small fish, often reaching no more than about {{convert|35|cm|in}}; maximum length is {{cvt|50|cm}}. Its body has a bluish-silvery colour and becomes white at the belly. The fins are red. The number of scales along the lateral line is 39–48.<ref name="fish"/> The dorsal and anal fins have 12–14 rays. Young specimens have a slender build; older specimens acquire a higher and broader body shape. The roach can often be recognized by the big red spot in the [[iris (anatomy)|iris]] above and beside the [[pupil]].<ref name="scot"/> Colours of the eye and fins can be very pale, however, in some environments.<ref name="fish"/>

In Central and Northern Europe, the common roach can most easily be confused with the [[common rudd]] (''Scardinius erythropthalmus''), the [[Leuciscus leuciscus|dace]] (''Leuciscus leuciscus''), or the [[Leuciscus idus|ide]] (''Leuciscus idus''). They can be distinguished by these characteristics:

*The common rudd has a more yellow/greenish or golden colour. The backfin is placed more backwards and between the tip of the ventral scales and the first ray of the anal fin are only one or two scales. The roach has four or five scales there. The mouth of the rudd is more upturned and the head appears sharper.
*The dace has a greenish body, colorless eyes and fins, and a distinct 'nose'.
*The ide has a higher number of scales along its lateral line (55–61), a rounder body, and a bigger mouth and head.

==Distribution==
The common roach is found throughout Europe except for the area around the Mediterranean, and its distribution reaches eastward into Siberia. Eastern Europe and Asia have several subspecies, some with an oceangoing life cycle living around the Caspian and Black Seas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/eng/fishes/Rutilus%20rutilus%20caspicus/main.htm |title=''Rutilus rutilus caspicus'' |access-date=2006-05-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703230352/http://www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/eng/fishes/Rutilus%20rutilus%20caspicus/main.htm |archive-date=2013-07-03 }} ''Rutilus rutilus caspicus'' (Jakowlew, 1870) Roach fact sheet about a [[Rutilus caspicus|Caspian subspecies]]. caspianenvironment.org</ref> Around the Mediterranean and in northwestern parts of Spain and Portugal, several closely related species occur with no overlap in their distribution.<ref name="fish"/>

It was introduced in Australia in the [[Murray River]] and coastal drainages of southern [[New South Wales]] and [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] from Europe during the 1860s and 1880s for sport purposes.<ref name="fish"/>

==Ecology==
The common roach is very adaptable and can be found in any [[freshwater ecosystem]], ranging from small ponds to the largest rivers and lakes. It feeds at any depth, although its preferred food sources tend to be in shallower water. It tolerates [[organic compound|organic pollution]] and is one of the last species to disappear in polluted waters; it is also often the most numerous cyprinid in nutrient-poor waters. It also tolerates brackish water. Roach survive in temperatures from close to freezing {{convert|4|°C}} up to around {{convert|31|°C}}.<ref name="scot"/>

In most parts of its distribution, it is the most numerous fish, but it can be surpassed by the [[common bream]] in biomass in water bodies with high [[turbidity]] and sparse vegetation.<ref name="scot"/> The roach is a shoaling fish and is not very migratory with the exception of the oceangoing subspecies.<ref name="scot"/> In the cold season, they migrate to feed in deeper waters, whereas they prefer to feed near the surface during warmer weather.<ref name="scot"/>

Roach mostly inhabit freshwater ecosystems that are somewhat vegetated, because larval and young fish are protected by the vegetation and the mature fish can use it for food. The common roach eats a wide range of foods, from plant material, bottom-dwelling ([[benthic]]) invertebrates, to worms and maggots. Young fish feed mainly on plankton, until they are of a size to use a wider diet. Roach can adapt to environments where invertebrates are scarce by slowing their growth, maintaining slender body shapes, and  [[Developmental biology|maturing]] early.<ref name="fish"/>

Roach may live for 15 years or more.<ref name="scot">{{cite web|title=Scottish Government: Marine environment: Roach |url=https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/marine/marine-environment/species/fish/freshwater/roach |access-date=9 February 2020 |url-status=dead|archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728184325/https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/marine/marine-environment/species/fish/freshwater/roach}}</ref>

Roach are known to be parasitised by ''[[Rhipidocotyle campanula]]'' ([[Trematoda|fluke]]), [[Myxobolus muelleri]] (myxozoa) and ''[[Raphidascaris acus]]'' ([[nematode]]).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Parasitism, condition and number of front head breeding tubercles in roach (''Rutilus rutilus'' L.)|author=R. Kortet|author2=J. Taskinen |name-list-style=amp
|date=7 May 2004|doi=10.1111/j.1600-0633.2004.00039.x|journal=Ecology of Freshwater Fish|volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=119–124 |bibcode=2004EcoFF..13..119K }}</ref>

[[File:Rutilusrutilus38cm 2143x1060.JPG|250px|thumb|left|Large female roach before spawning season]]
===Reproduction===
The spawning season is generally from March to June, with some variation due to spawning being triggered by the rising of water temperature during spring and summer. Roach generally spawn at the same location each year. Large males form [[Lek mating|leks]], which females enter.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Breeding Tubercles, Papillomatosis and Dominance Behaviour of Male Roach (''Rutilus rutilus'') During the Spawning Period|author=Raine Kortet|author2=Jouni Taskinen|author3=Anssi Vainikka|author4=Hannu Ylönen|name-list-style=amp|date=August 2004 |journal=Ethology |volume=110|issue=8|pages=591–601|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.2004.01002.x|bibcode=2004Ethol.110..591K }}</ref> Males trail the females and fertilize their eggs. Their behaviour is rough and the fish often jump out of the water. A female can lay up to 100,000 eggs. When the [[pH]] of the water is below 5.5, the roach cannot reproduce successfully.<ref name="fish"/>

== See also ==
* [[Caspian roach]] – related [[Caspian Sea]] species or subspecies, ''Rutilus caspicus''
* [[Bait fish|Bait-fish]] – how to use Roach to catch larger fish

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

*[http://www.asfb.org.au/committees/alien-fishes/cyprinid.htm Family Cyprinidae] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303172116/http://www.asfb.org.au/committees/alien-fishes/cyprinid.htm |date=2014-03-03 }} Australian Society for Fish Biology
*[http://www.total-fishing.com/roach/ All About Roach]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q182976}}

[[Category:Rutilus]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of Europe]]
[[Category:Fish of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Fish described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]