The roach (Rutilus rutilus) is a freshwater and brackish water fish belonging to the carp family.
The roach is one of Sweden's most common freshwater fish. It is available all over the country. The roaches usually live at the edge of the lake, but if the water is cloudy they can also stay further out from the shore.
Usually the roach is about 20 cm long, but it can be up to 50 cm. It usually weighs no more than half a kilo. It is silvery and has red eyes.
The roach spawns in May and June and can then lay up to 100,000 eggs, which hatch after 4 to 10 days. The roach eats small animals such as small molluscs, insect larvae and insects it catches on the surface of the water, and plant parts such as moss and algae. Among the roach's natural enemies are perch and pike. The roach lives about 25 years.
In Sweden, you don't eat roach anymore (unlike in Eastern Europe), but it is important as food for predatory fish such as pike. Roach are often used as bait to catch other fish.
The roach has been planted in lakes that were previously damaged by acidifying rainfall. The lakes have been restored with extensive liming. The roach serves as a biological log, they can reproduce if the pH value is kept reasonably high.
