Common Blackfish

A common blackfish (Milvoichthys Orientalis) is a species of large fish (with average-sized specimens about the size of a large koi [a domesticated Amur carp]) part of the carp family that is native throughout Eurasia (including Great Britain) and Africa, but has since been introduced to western United States, including Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and western Texas as a gamefish in the 1910s-1940s. The common blackfish is a close relative of an orange-bellied blackfish, but lacks a distinctive orange underbelly, has small eyes as opposed to large bulging eyes, and it is naturally a social fish compared to the normally-solitary orange-bellied blackfish. It is an omnivore and feeds mainly on algae, fruits, vegetables, crustaceans, smaller fish, and even both fallen insects and spiders. Like some other members of the carp family and unlike the orange-bellied blackfish, the common blackfish frequently jumps out of water when driving boats are nearby, and the fish jumps out of water as shoals, making them hazards to any people on the boats. The common blackfish is listed as Least Concern as they tolerate large amounts of pollution and are an invasive species in North America.