The grass carp weighing 1 catty and 8 taels weighs 1 catty and 4 taels after trial and killing. Based on this ratio, every 1,000 grams of live fish slaughtered should have a net weight of 722 grams.

Grass carp is a typical herbivorous fish that inhabits rivers and lakes in plain areas. It generally likes to live in the middle and lower layers of water and near shore areas with many aquatic plants. They are lively, swim quickly, and often look for food in groups. In the juvenile stage, grass carp eats larvae, algae, etc. Grass carp also eats some meat foods, such as earthworms, dragonflies, etc. It is widely distributed in China from Heilongjiang to Yuanjiang, Yunnan (except Tibet and Xinjiang). It has been transplanted to countries in Asia, Europe, the United States, and Africa.

Extended information

The body is elongated, the front part is nearly cylindrical, the tail side is flat, the abdomen is round, and there is no abdominal rib. The head is broad, medium-large, and slightly flattened at the front. The snout is short and blunt, and the length of the snout is slightly larger than the eye diameter. The mouth is at the end, the mouth cleft is wide, the width of the mouth is greater than the length of the mouth; the upper jaw is slightly longer than the lower jaw; the end of the maxilla extends below the nostrils. The posterior labial sulcus is interrupted and widely spaced.

The eyes are large and located in the front half of the head; the inter-eye space is wide and slightly convex, and the distance between the eyes is about three times the eye diameter. The gill opening is wide and extends forward to the bottom of the posterior edge of the preopercular bone; the opercular membrane is connected to the isthmus; the isthmus is wider. The scales are medium-large and round. The front part of the lateral line is curved, and the back part is straight, extending to the base of the caudal fin.

The dorsal fin has no hard spines and its outer edge is straight, located above the pelvic fin. The distance from the starting point to the base of the caudal fin is closer than that to the tip of the snout. The anal fin is located behind and below the dorsal fin. The distance from the starting point to the base of the caudal fin is closer to the distance to the starting point of the ventral fin. The end of the fin ray does not extend to the base of the caudal fin. The pectoral fins are short and blunt at the end. The distance from the end of the fin ray to the starting point of the pelvic fin is greater than 1/2 of the length of the pectoral fin. The caudal fin is shallowly bifurcated, and the upper and lower lobes are approximately equal in length.