The bream has a flattened side body with a length between 30 - 50 cm, in exceptional cases it can reach a length of 85 cm and a weight of 7 kg. Eyes relative to size are relatively small. The fish can easily recognize the greenish-gray leady color of the scales on the back. On the sides it has a lighter color with pearly-metallic sparkles. In older specimens the shades become bronze. The scales are abundantly covered with mucus. The fins are relatively long, dark brown in color, due to the longer length of the fins the plata can be distinguished from the "Blicca bjoerkna" with which it was frequently confused. By laying eggs at the same time as other fish, the so-called "bastards" appear through crosses. Paying in optimal living conditions can reach the age of 16.
The bream feeds on mosquito larvae, worms that live in the mud, mollusks, snails as well as plankton and aquatic plants. In the years with little food, they gather in large banks and, like a vacuum cleaner, pass through the mud on the bottom of the water. Fishermen know the so-called toll roads where they can be found nearby on a regular basis.
Fish is widespread in Europe north of the Alps and the Pyrenees as well as in the Balkan Peninsula, the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and Lake Aral. A subspecies called the Danube bream (Abramis brama danubii) lives in the Danube Delta, and the subspecies "Abramis brama orientalis" lives in the Caspian Sea and Lake Aral. In general, bream live in waters with a gentle course, canals or lakes with mud deposits on the bottom. The fish live in small groups on the bottom of the water near the shores.