Head to head
Silver Bream vs Common Bream
Silver Bream
VS Common Bream
The silver bream and the common bream are two tall, flattened, shoaling carp relatives of slow European waters, and small common bream are often mistaken for silver bream.
| Silver Bream | Common Bream | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Blicca bjoerkna | Abramis brama |
| Relationship | A close relative of the common bream that can interbreed with it | A close relative of the silver bream that can interbreed with it |
| Colour | A deep, flattened, silvery body with a greyish back | Bronze to brown in older fish and silvery in younger ones |
| Eyes and fins | Large eyes for its size, and pinkish bases to its pelvic and pectoral fins | A slender tail and a long anal fin |
| Size | Usually reaches only 15 to 25 cm long, though occasionally more | Much larger when full-grown, a tall, slab-sided fish |
| Feeding | Zooplankton, insect larvae, small molluscs, and plant material | Pushes its mouth out into a downward-pointing tube to suck worms, midge larvae, snails, and mussels from the mud |
| Habitat | Slow rivers, canals, and lakes, tolerating warm, murky, nutrient-rich water | Slow rivers, lakes, and brackish waters, roaming in large shoals over the bottom |
| Conservation status | Least Concern, widespread and common across central, northern, and eastern Europe | Least Concern, native across northern and central Europe, east to western Asia |
Silver Bream vs Common Bream: common questions
How can you tell a silver bream from a common bream?
The silver bream is more silvery and smaller, with larger eyes and pinkish bases to its pelvic and pectoral fins, while the common bream grows larger and turns bronze with age.
Do the two interbreed?
Yes, they can interbreed, as can both of them with roach, and the hybrids can be difficult to identify.
Which one stays smaller?
The silver bream, which usually reaches only 15 to 25 cm long, much smaller than a full-grown common bream.