Black Carp

The Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) or Black Chinese Roach is a species of cyprinid fish indigenous to China, and widely cultivated for food and Chinese medicine. It is the sole species of the genus Mylopharyngodon. The black carp grows to a length of up to six feet (2 m), and over 220 pounds (104 kg), generally feeding on snails and mussels. Black carp, together with bighead, silver, and grass carps, make up the culturally important "four famous domestic fishes" used in polyculture in China for over a thousand years, and known as "Asian carp" in the United States. Black carp are not as widely distributed worldwide as the other three.

In China, black carp are the most highly esteemed and expensive foodfish among the four domestic fishes, and partly because of its diet and limited food supply, is the most scarce and expensive in the marketplace.