THE GROWTH AND CONDITION OF COMMON CARPS (Cyprinus carpio) INTRODUCED INTO CROATIAN VRANSKO JEZERO

Abstract

In the late forties the freshwater Mediterranean Vransko lake was stocked with common carps (97,5% mirror ones of farm origin and 2,5% scaled ones of river origin). The 122 carps (52 females and 70 males) from that lake were collected for this research in 1979 and 1982. The 120 were scaled and only two lined, all being between 2+ and 11+. The condition coefficients (K) varied between 1,15 and 1,40 and the standard length - maximum height ratio was 3,01 ± 0,19. The correlation between standard and total lengths can be expressed by the following formula: SL = 8,274 + 0,845 TL (p, < 01) Length - mass relationship was determined to be: log W = -4,738 + 2,94 log L (p, < 01) All these parameters show that common carps in Vransko lake transformed and stabilized themselves into the wild form. Compared to other wild stocks and not any more to the cultured carps, they adapt well to the lake environment, their growth and condition being fair good. However, the question of whether they should have been introduced into this lake at all remains open.

Keywords

• common carp
• fish introductions
• vransko lake
• croatia
• length - mass relationship
• condition coefficient
• length - height ratio