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SPECIES: Big Head Carp ( Hypophthalmichthys nobilis). |
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Freshwater fish species -
SPECIES- CARP
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Written by the_junglist
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 The BIG HEAD CARP as it is known in Thailand is actually native to China hence the name Plah Jin, Jin being a colloquial term for China in the Thai language. It was introduced to Thailand as is now very well established all over the country.
Its main feature and where its English name comes from is its very large head.
Name: Big Head Carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Pla Jin )
Other names: Chinese carp, Tongsan. Thailand Status: Introduced.
Diet: Algae, Crustaceans, Small fish.
Habitat: Freshwater.
Description: The Latin name Hypophthalmichthys comes from the Greek word meaning underneath eye. You can see in the picture that the eyes are very low down compared to other carp species.
The Pla Jin as it is known it Thai language has a maximum recorded weight of 45KG although accurate many people believe that there are specimens much bigger lurking in the more untouched lakes and reservoirs of Thailand.
The main diet of the big head carp is mainly zooplankton ( tiny microscopic animals that live in the water), phytoplankton and detritus. The big head also has a big mouth and is a filter feeder using its gill raker's to catch and filter out the plankton and small food particles from the bottom of lakes and rivers.
Being a filter feeder it might seem that these fish would be uncatchable on conventional rod and line but this is not at all true. Their diet also consists of invertebrates and snails as well as vegetable matter. Most people would use the Method feeder packed with flavored Ground baits (lam) or even finely chopped bread with a popped up hook bait.
It has also been reported in the USA where the carp has invaded many waters across the country that fishermen have caught them on jigs, lures and dead bait. The big Head carp was used in commercial catfish farms as a sort of environmentally friendly water filter and would clean the waste products and nutrients out of the low quality water. Due to flooding of the catfish farms the carp escaped and have now firmly established themselves in many of the USA's waters.
Not growing as large as its cousin the Siamese giant carp the big head is often overlooked by anglers coming to Thailand, but this fish is pound for pound as good a fighter and will test your skills to the limit. Because its not so sought after there have not been that many very large catches of the big head carp and if caught at Bungsamlan would probably be dismissed by many as not as good as a Siamese giant carp or a big Mekong Catfish.
The current IGFA record for this species is 28.09 kg (61.927lbs) caught by Rick Richard in March 2002 at Old Hickory lake USA. |
