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roach
fish
Also known as: Rutilus rutilus, roach fish
roach, (Rutilus rutilus), common European sport fish of the carp family, Cyprinidae, widely distributed in lakes and slow rivers. A high-backed, yellowish green fish with red eyes and reddish fins, the roach is about 15β40 cm (6β16 inches) long and weighs up to 2 kg (4 1/2 pounds). It lives in small schools and eats aquatic plants, insects, and other small animals. It is sometimes eaten or used as bait.
In North America the name roach is also applied to certain other fishes. These include the rudd (q.v.) and golden shiner (see minnow), both cyprinids, and several members of the sunfish (q.v.) family, Centrarchidae.
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