The silver carp’s way of feeding isn’t what most would normally expect from a fish that can get up to 80 pounds in size.  It is mostly a filter feeder consuming phytoplankton (small plants), the number one source of nutrients for mussels as well as larval fish.  They have a highly specialized feeding mechanism which allows them to filter particles that are as small as four micrometers in size!  Their gill rakers are fused into a sponge-like filter, and an epibranchial organ secretes mucous which assists in trapping small particles. A strong buccal pump forces water through this filter. The carp can consume up to 40% of their own body weight in one day due to the absence of a stomach, instead they have a long thin gut where they absorb their nutrients from their prey.  They can filter up to 18.3 L per hour. Hypophthalmichthys molitrix’s  has also been observed to be eating other items besides phytoplankton such as zooplankton, algae and detritus.