The kinematics of turning maneuvers of startled Crucian Carp (Carassius auratus) are presented. All escape responses observed are C-type fast-starts. The position of the center of mass and the moment of inertia of the fish are calculated. The results show that the position of the center of mass is always at 35% of the length of the fish from the head and the position of the center of mass and moment of inertia can be considered unchanged during C-start of Crucian Carp. Hydrodynamic analysis of the C-start is given based on the kinematics data from our experiments. The C-start consists of three stages. In stage 1, the tail fin of fish rapidly flaps in one direction, and a large moment acts on the fish′s body, which rotates around the center of mass with an angular acceleration. In stage 2, the tail fin flaps more slowly in the opposite direction at slower speed, the fish′s body rotates around the center of mass with angular deceleration and the center of mass of the fish moves along an arc. In stage 3, the moment approximately equals zero, the fish′s body stops rotating and the center of mass the moves along a straight line.
