Carp Fishing

Mirror Carp

The mirror carp was the first mutation of the common carp and its formation is related to two alternative forms of genes, known as the 'S' and the 'N' alleles. Both alleles are paired and may possess a major and a minor version (the minor is recessive). The genetic term for the mirror carp is 'ssnn' (all minor). The actions of the 's' (minor) and the 'N' (major) genes in carp have an effect on a wide scope of traits besides scaling and this is the reason why the mirror carp often has fewer soft rays in the dorsal, ventral and pelvic fins than the common and wild carp. As with all carp, the mirror possesses a number of other genes which account for the fish's body length, mouth positioning, scale pattern and so on, and this is where the terms 'race' and 'strain' have become widely intertwined. Certain mirror carp have been scientifically proven to be capable of attaining higher weights than commons, leathers and linears, and once again, this is related to genetics.


Leather Carp

If you look very carefully at the picture of the leather carp it possesses a few scales and some people may think this makes