What is Anchovy? How to Tell Apart Small Silver Fish

Anchovy is a small fish living in the upper layers of temperate oceans.Young silver carp and young anchovies have similar sizes, but they are two completely different types of fish. The main difference between them lies in their body colors.

Anchovy is also known as silver herring, sea eel, water-rotten fish, old eye mucus,hake and so on. It prefers to live in the middle and upper layers of temperate ocean waters, mainly found in the western Pacific Ocean and China's Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea.

The muscle tissue of anchovy is extremely fragile; it easily rots and deteriorates after being out of water, hence the name "water-rotten fish". Because anchovy can quickly rot and deteriorate, fresh anchovies are rarely available in the market. Most are processed into dried products for sale, with their salt-dried varieties known as sea eels, suitable for making soups or salads.

Anchovy image

Young silver carp image

Juvenile anchovies and young silver carp have similar sizes and a slender body shape, so many people mistakenly believe they are the same fish. In fact, juvenile anchovies and young silver carp are easy to distinguish. Juvenile anchovies have colored and opaque bodies, while young silver carp have very light and almost transparent bodies, as shown in the image above.