Over all color dar k gr ey fading to a silver -white belly. Fins translucent with yellowish to lightbrown tint. Peritoneum dusky to black. No barbels. 10-15coarse denticles on dorsal and anal fin spine. Gill rakerslong with serrated interior margins, reaching the fifth toeighth raker below when appressed. Gut coiled with severalloops. A hardy fish survive winterkills, low oxygen,turbidity, high salinity and high pollution waters withmuch aquatic vegetation. Maximum age 5 years, greaterin gynogenetic than in bisexual populations, total length45 cm and weight 1.5 kg. Maturity at first year and coupledwith polycyclic ripening of eggs and intermittentspawning. Spawning from February to August. Absolutefecundity up to 400,000 eggs with a diameter of 1.6 mm.Eggs adhesive and laid in several batches on plants. Foodmostly include zooplankton, also, aquatic insects, crustaceans,molluscs, worms, detritus, filamentous algae andyoung fish.