Common bleak small shellfish and plant detritus. It is found in streams and lakes. The bleak prefers open waters and is found in large numbers where there is an inflow of food from pumping stations or behind weirs. The bleak spawns near the shore in shallow waters. Some are found in deep water. The substrate is not important. The bleak is an important food source for predatory fish. It is more sensitive to pollution than other cyprinids, which might explain the decline in North-Western Europe. Bleak are used as bait for sport-fishing for larger fish. In 1656 in Paris, a Mr. Jaquin
Bleak Expectations series, titled "A Pleasant Yet Dull Life Re-Evilled", was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 6.30pm on 20 November 2012. "The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff", a televisual spiritual successor to "Bleak Expectations", written and produced by the same crew, was first broadcast on BBC Two on 19 December 2011. A novel of "Bleak Expectations" written by Mark Evans was published in November 2012 by Constable & Robinson. While it is clear from the general context that Bleak Expectations is set in the 19th Century, there are various references to real-life people and events, suggesting the following chronology: November 1805: