Ide (Leuciscus idus)

Common Names: Orfe, silver orfe, golden orfe, golden ide

Description: Potentially released as an aquarium release or from aquaculture.

Identification: Can reach 102 cm in length. Chunky bodied fish with back and belly distinctly arched. Small, bluntly pointed head and definitively forked caudal fin. Silver morph: greyish-olive back, silver-white sides and belly, reddish pelvic and anal fins Golden morph: bright orange back, silvery-orange sides and belly, bright orange dorsal and caudal fins

Habitat: Native to areas across Europe from Scandinavia to Siberia. Found in clean, clear pools of medium to large ponds, lakes, and rivers. This species can tolerate higher levels of salinity than any other fish species in its family.

Reproduction: Spawns in schools over weed beds or gravel in shallow areas. Produces thousands of pale yellow eggs c. 2mm in diameter. Hatching occurs in one to two weeks, producing young fish 8-10mm long. Matures at 3-4 yrs.

Impact and Damage: Due to this species? tolerance to a range of habitats, it is believed that this fish has the potential to become more of a problem than common carp if established.

Monitoring and rapid response: Currently there are no known methods for control. Preventative measures

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org). Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).

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