Tench

{{Short description|Species of ray-finned fish}} {{Other uses}} {{Speciesbox | name = Tench | fossil_range = {{fossil range|Late Oligocene|present}} | image = Tinca tinca Natural History Museum University of Pisa.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Ford, M. |year=2024 |title=''Tinca tinca'' |volume=2024 |article-number=e.T21912A2780110 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T21912A2780110.en |access-date=17 December 2025}}</ref> | genus = Tinca | grandparent_authority = Jordan, 1878 | parent_authority = Garsault, 1764<ref name = CofF>{{Cof family| family = Tinca | access-date = 27 November 2020}}</ref> | species = tinca | display_parents = 3 | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms = {{collapsible list| *''Tinca aurea'' Gmelin, 1788 *''Cyprinus tinca'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''Cyprinus tincaauratus'' Bloch, 1782 *''Cyprinus zeelt'' Lacepède, 1803 *''Cyprinus tincaurea'' Shaw, 1804 *''Tinca vulgaris'' Fleming, 1828 *''Tinca chrysitis'' Fitzinger, 1832 *''Tinca italica'' Bonaparte, 1836 *''Tinca communis'' Swainson, 1839 *''Tinca limosa'' Koch, 1840 *''Tinca linnei'' Malm, 1877 }} }}

The '''tench''' or '''doctor fish''' ('''''Tinca tinca''''') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including Britain and Ireland east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers.<ref name=Fishbase>{{FishBase|genus=Tinca|species=tinca|year=2007|month=May}}</ref> It is also found in Lake Baikal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://baikal-safari.com/baikal-lake-fish.html|title=Baikal lake fish, fish species of lake|editor= Maxim Anikin|website=Baikal Royal Safari|year=2020|url-status=usurped|archive-date=22 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122195423/https://baikal-safari.com/baikal-lake-fish.html}}</ref> It normally inhabits slow-moving freshwater habitats, particularly lakes and lowland rivers.<ref name = "Rivers, Lakes and Marshes">B. Whitton (1982). ''Rivers, Lakes and Marshes'' p 163. Hodder & Staughton, London.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://badangling.com/coarse-fish-species/tench/|title=Tench|work=BadAngling|access-date=2018-07-06|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Taxonomy == The tench was first formally described in as ''Cyprinus tinca'' by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae with its type locality given as "European lakes".<ref name = CofF2>{{Cof genus|genus=Tinca|access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref> In 1764 François Alexandre Pierre de Garsault proposed the new monospecific genus ''Tinca'', with ''Cyprinus tinca'' as the type species by absolute tautonymy.<ref name = CofF/> The 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' classified ''Tinca'' in the subfamily Tincinae, alongside the genus ''Tanichthys'',<ref name = Nelson5>{{BioRef|fotw5}}</ref> while other authorities classified both these genera in the subfamily Leuciscinae with other Eurasian minnows, but more recent phylogenetic studies have supported it belonging to its own family '''Tincidae'''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schönhuth|first1=Susana|last2=Vukić|first2=Jasna|last3=Šanda|first3=Radek|last4=Yang|first4=Lei|last5=Mayden|first5=Richard L.|date=2018-10-01|title=Phylogenetic relationships and classification of the Holarctic family Leuciscidae (Cypriniformes: Cyprinoidei)|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790317308618|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|language=en|volume=127|pages=781–799|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2018.06.026|pmid=29913311 |bibcode=2018MolPE.127..781S |s2cid=49292104 |issn=1055-7903|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=31 May 2023|title=Family TINCIDAE Jordan 1878 (Tench)|url=https://etyfish.org/tincidae/|access-date=23 January 2024|website=The ETYFish Project|language=en-US}}</ref> The Tincidae was first proposed as a name in 1878 by David Starr Jordan.<ref name = VDLEF>{{cite journal | author1 = Richard van der Laan | author2 = William N. Eschmeyer | author3 = Ronald Fricke | name-list-style = amp |year=2014 | title = Family-group names of recent fishes | url = https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.3882.1.1/10480 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3882 | issue = 2 | pages = 1–230| doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 | pmid = 25543675 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

=== Evolution === [[File:Fossil - Schleie (Tinca).jpg|thumb|left|Fossil specimen of ''Tinca furcata'']]The Tincidae have a rather comprehensive fossil record in Europe. They first appear during the Late Oligocene with the fossil genera †''Tarsichthys'' Troschel, 1854 and the potentially synonymous †''Palaeotinca'' Obrhelová, 1969.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=BÖHME |first=MADELAINE |date=2007 |title=REVISION OF THE CYPRINIDS FROM THE EARLY OLIGOCENE OF THE ČESKÉ STŘEDOHOŘÍ MOUNTAINS, AND THE PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF PROTOTHYMALLUS LAUBE, 1901 (TELEOSTEI, CYPRINIDAE, GOBIONINAE) |url=https://publikace.nm.cz/en/file/4edb6e44511173742abdfbb4095e6440/15857/04_sbornik_B_2-4_07_bohme.pdf |journal=Historia Naturalis |volume=63 |issue=2–4 |pages=175–194}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Cavender |first=T. M. |title=The fossil record of the Cyprinidae |date=1991 |work=Cyprinid Fishes: Systematics, biology and exploitation |pages=34–54 |editor-last=Winfield |editor-first=Ian J. |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-011-3092-9_2 |access-date=2025-04-23 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-94-011-3092-9_2 |isbn=978-94-011-3092-9 |editor2-last=Nelson |editor2-first=Joseph S.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

For the extant ''Tinca'', the fossil species †''Tinca furcata'' Agassiz, 1832 is known from Late Miocene-aged deposits near Ohningen, and the contemporaneous †''Tinca micropygoptera'' Agassiz, 1839 is known from near Steinheim am Albuch.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=PBDB Taxon |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=263681 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gaudant |first=Jean |date=2015-06-01 |title=Re-examination of the upper Miocene freshwater fish fauna from Höwenegg (Hegau, Germany) |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13358-015-0073-2 |journal=Swiss Journal of Palaeontology |language=en |volume=134 |issue=1 |pages=117–127 |doi=10.1007/s13358-015-0073-2 |bibcode=2015SwJP..134..117G |issn=1664-2384|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The extinct species †''Tinca sayanica'' Sytchevskaya, 1989 is known from the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene of Mongolia. †''Tinca pliocenica'' Gaudant, 1998 is known from the Pliocene of Germany.<ref>{{Citation |last=Gaudant |first=Jean |title=The Fishes from the Maar of Senèze |date=2024 |work=Senèze: Life in Central France Around Two Million Years Ago: Paleontology, Geochronology, Stratigraphy and Taphonomy |series=Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology |pages=141–144 |editor-last=Delson |editor-first=Eric |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-64415-3_7 |access-date=2025-04-23 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-64415-3_7 |isbn=978-3-031-64415-3 |editor2-last=Faure |editor2-first=Martine |editor3-last=Guérin |editor3-first=Claude|url-access=subscription }}</ref> From the Late Miocene onwards, ''Tinca'' remains are overall widespread in freshwater deposits of Europe and West Asia, although they are usually not assignable to species. The earliest remains of the modern ''Tinca tinca'' are from the late Pliocene of the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=TRIF |first1=Nicolae |last2=VASILYAN |first2=Davit |last3=POPESCU |first3=Aurelian |date=2016 |title=FOSSIL FISH REMAINS FROM THE ROMANIAN OF PODARI, SW OF ROMANIA. THE FIRST REPORT. |url=https://biblioteca-digitala.ro/reviste/Oltenia/32-1-Oltenia-Studii-si-Comunicari-Stiintele-Naturii-vol-XXXII-1-2016_012.pdf |journal=Oltenia. Studii şi comunicări. Ştiinţele Naturii |volume=32 |issue=1}}</ref>

==Ecology== [[File:Tinca tinca Prague Vltava 3.jpg|thumb|On exhibition, in Prague]]The tench is most often found in still waters with a clay or muddy substrate and abundant vegetation.<ref name=Fishlore>A. F. Magri MacMahon (1946). ''Fishlore'', pp 156–158. Pelican Books.</ref> This species is rare in clear waters across stony substrate, and is absent altogether from fast-flowing streams. It tolerates water with a low oxygen concentration,<ref name="Fishbase"/> being found in waters where even the carp cannot survive.<ref name="Fishlore"/>

Tench feed mostly at night with a preference for animals, such as chironomids, on the bottom of eutrophic waters<ref name ="PERROW">{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1095-8649.1996.tb01481.x | volume=48 | issue=5 | title=Factors affecting the habitat selection of tench in a shallow eutrophic lake | journal=Journal of Fish Biology | pages=859–870 | last1 = Perrow | first1 = M. R.| year=1996 | bibcode=1996JFBio..48..859P }}</ref> and snails and pea clams in well-vegetated waters.<ref name="Fishlore"/><ref name = "BRÖNMARK">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/1939640| jstor = 1939640| title = Effects of Tench and Perch on Interactions in a Freshwater, Benthic Food Chain| journal = Ecology| volume = 75| issue = 6| pages = 1818–1828| year = 1994| last1 = Bronmark | first1 = C. | bibcode = 1994Ecol...75.1818B}}</ref>

Breeding takes place in shallow water usually among aquatic plants where the sticky green eggs can be deposited.<ref name="Fishbase"/> Spawning usually occurs in summer,<ref name="Rivers, Lakes and Marshes"/> and as many as 300,000 eggs may be produced.<ref name=Observer>A. Lawrence Wells (date unknown). ''Observer Book of Freshwater Fishes'', pp 101–105. Frederick Warne & Co.</ref> Growth is rapid, and fish may reach a weight of {{cvt|0.25|lb|order=flip}} within the first year.

==Morphology== Tench have a stocky, carp-like shape and olive-green skin, darker above and almost golden below. The tail fin is square in shape. The other fins are distinctly rounded in shape.<ref name="Fishlore"/> The mouth is rather narrow and provided at each corner with a very small barbel.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Tench|volume=26|page=61}}</ref> [[File:Tinca tinca 434824054.jpg|left|thumb|In England]] Maximum size is {{cvt|70|cm}}, though most specimens are much smaller.<ref name=Sterba>G. Sterba (1962). ''Freshwater Fishes of the World'' pp 249–250. Vista Books, London.</ref> A record fish caught in 2001 in England had a weight of {{cvt|6.899|kg|lboz|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anglingtrust.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/BRFC_COARSE_FISH_LISTINGS_July-2021.pdf|title=Coarse Fish Records as at July 2021|date=19 July 2021|access-date=22 January 2024|website=British Record Fish Committee |publisher=Angling Trust}}</ref> The eyes are small and red-orange in colour.<ref name=Fishbase/> Females can reach weights of around {{cvt|7|kg}}, although {{cvt|4|kg}} is considered large. Males rarely reach over {{cvt|3|kg|round=0.5}}.<ref name=Fishbase/> Sexual dimorphism is strong, males can be recognised by having larger, more curved pelvic fins extending beyond the anus<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ignacio Fernández |author2=Francisco Javier Toledo-Solís |author3=Cristina Tomás-Almenar |author4=Ana M. Larrán |author5=Pedro Cárdaba |author6=Luis Miguel Laguna |author7=María Sanz Galán |author8=José Antonio Mateo |name-list-style=and |date=Mar 2021 |title=Skeletal Development and Deformities in Tench (''Tinca tinca''): From Basic knowledge to Regular Monitoring Procedure |journal=Animals |location=Basel |volume=11 |issue=3 |page=621 |doi=10.3390/ani11030621 |pmc=7996733 |pmid=33652872 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and noticeable muscles around the base of these fins generally absent in females. Males also possess a very thick and flattened outer ray to the ventral fins.<ref name="EB1911"/> Adult females may have a more convex ventral profile when compared with males.<ref name=Sterba/>

The tench has very small scales, which are deeply embedded in a thick skin, making it as slippery as an eel.<ref name="EB1911"/> Folklore has it that this slime cured any sick fish that rubbed against it, and from this belief arose the name '''doctor fish'''.<ref name="Observer"/>

==Golden tench== An artificially bred variety of tench called the '''golden tench'''  is a popular ornamental fish for ponds. This form varies in colour from pale gold through to dark red, and some fish have black or red spots on the flanks and fins. Though somewhat similar to the goldfish, because these fish have such small scales, their quality is rather different.<ref name="Observer"/>

==Economic significance== Tench are edible, working well in recipes that would otherwise call for carp, but are not commonly consumed.<ref name="Fishlore"/> They are shoaling fish that are popular quarries for coarse angling in rivers, lakes and canals.<ref name="Fishbase"/> Tench, particularly golden tench, are also kept as ornamental fish in ponds as they are bottom feeders that help to keep the waterways clean and healthy.<ref name=coldwater>Dick Mills (2000). ''Understanding Coldwater Fish'', p 106. Interpet Publishing. {{ISBN|1-903098-10-6}}</ref>

==Angling== Large tench may be found in gravel pits or deep, slow-moving waters with a clay or silt bottom and copious aquatic vegetation. The best methods and bait to catch tench are float fishing and ledgering with a swim feeder using maggots, sweetcorn, pellets, bread, and worms. Fish over {{cvt|1|kg|0}} in weight are very strong fighters when caught on a rod.<ref name=Observer/>

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Commons category|Tinca tinca}}

Category:Cyprinoidei Category:Fishkeeping Category:Recreational fishing Category:Cyprinid fish of Europe Category:Cyprinid fish of Asia Category:Fish of Russia Category:Fish described in 1758 Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Extant Chattian first appearances