Elopichthys is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Xenocyprididae, the East Asian minnows or sharpbellies. The only species in the genus is Elopichthys bambusa, the yellowcheek or kanyu (Chinese: 鱤魚; pinyin: gǎnyú), a large fish that is found in freshwater habitats in eastern Asia. It ranges from the Amur River in Russia, through China to the Red and Lam Rivers in Vietnam. It prefers relatively warm waters, entirely avoiding colder highlands. It is considered an important food fish where it occurs, reaching up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in total length and 52.2 kg (115 lb) in weight.
This fish spawns in the summer, mainly in streams in places like the mid-Amur, Songhua and Ussuri basins. In the Amur, young are found in the lower sections. They mature after 6 years, and after this time they tend to live in floodplains and winter in the main rivers. This is a fast and agile predator. They mainly consume smaller fish.
