Fish
Common Dace
Leuciscus leuciscus · also called dace
On a summer evening on a clear, fast river, a shoal of dace rises to a hatch of mayflies, dimpling the surface with a hundred tiny rings.
Overview
The common dace, Leuciscus leuciscus, is a Least Concern carp relative of clean, fast-flowing rivers across northern and central Europe and northern Asia. Its slender silvery body and liveliness at the surface make it one of the most graceful of the European river fish.
A fish that rises to the fly
Dace feed readily at the surface when insects are hatching, which makes them a favourite of anglers who fish with a fly.
Status
Least Concern, widespread and common.
Common Dace: common questions
How can you tell a dace from a roach?
The dace has a slimmer body, a smaller head, and pale fins, while the roach has bright red fins and a deeper body.
What do dace eat?
They eat insects that fall on or hatch at the surface, as well as insect larvae and small crustaceans from the bottom.
When does the dace spawn?
It spawns in early spring in shallow, fast gravel, before many other fish in its river.
Where is the common dace found?
It lives in clean, fast-flowing rivers across northern and central Europe and northern Asia.