Tench (Tinca tinca)

Class of the Actinopterygian order of Cypriniformes family of Cyprinidae Tinca tinca (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tench has a thick, fairly high and stocky body with a slightly rounded back. Its very small scales cover the body and are deeply inserted in the skin covered with mucus. The caudal peduncle is broad and short. The head is not covered with scales, the eyes are small, round and red. The rounded mouth presents each side a small barbel. All fins are well developed and are rounded at their tip. The pelvic fins are sexually dimorphic: thickening is present at the level of the first ray of the fins which are broader in the male.

It is a slow-growing fish. The current catch size is 30 cm for a weight of 1 to 2 kg, but some individuals can reach 85 cm for a weight of 8 kg.

The body of the tench is greenish (olive green to green-brown) and darker on the back. Blanks are iridescent or coppery reflections and the belly is bright yellow to orange. The fins are grey.

It is an omnivorous fish, she eats insect larvae (chironomids are very popular), invertebrates various crustaceans (worms), and plant debris ingested accidentally due to predation on macro - benthic invertebrates. Tench excavation muddy during the night to find his food. It is able to overwinter in burying themselves in the mud and remaining without feeding during the winter.

It is an omnivorous fish, she eats insect larvae (chironomids are very popular), invertebrates various crustaceans (worms), and plant debris ingested accidentally due to predation on macro - benthic invertebrates. Tench excavation muddy during the night to find his food. It is able to overwinter in burying themselves in the mud and remaining without feeding during the winter.

Tench appreciates the waters at low current, deep, bottom muddy and warm: slow rivers, shallow ponds, low-elevation Lakes... She usually lives on the bottom. It has a good tolerance to low oxygen levels. During the winter, it stays on the mud where she hibernates.

The tench is widespread in Europe with the exception of Scotland, Scandinavia and the South of the Balkans. She has voluntarily introduced on all other continents and was the subject of a dispersion throughout Europe.