Trivia question for Nov-19-2011

Olivia picked this fish out because she said they look like they are always puckering for a kiss.  These guys are toothless bottom feeders that uses four sensitive barbels around the mouth as sensory detectors.  These fish are widely kept in fish farms and ornamental lakes.

Eating these fish at Christmas is specific to Central European region. Since Middle Ages, people have eaten it during fasting, because just as other fish, these fish were not considered as meat. Breeding them has been one of the traditional sectors of agriculture in Central Europe, especially in the Czech Republic, making them affordable even to people with low income. Some sources date having these fish on Christmas tables already in 17th century, but it became widely consumed later during 19th century. Though young people in particular substitute these fish with other kinds of fish, such as cod or salmon, it has certainly became a symbol of a Czech Christmas.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this fish is and how large they can get?  Also, tell us why their whiskers are called barbels?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Olivia obviously did it again.  We had several guesses to her trivia but no one got it correct.  The big-lipped fish she featured is the Carp.  Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia.

Carp are reported to reach sizes exceeding up to 70-pounds but are usually around 18-25 pounds.  Their whiskers are called ‘barbels which came from the Latin word ‘barba’ meaning beard.  Here is more on these common fish: Carp

Thanks for playing along 😉