The predatory carp's Chinese name (loosely, "curve-waisted fish") comes from the small bend in its abdomen, but the fish owes its nickname of "president fish" to how much former President Chiang Kai-shek is said to have enjoyed eating it on a visit to Sun Moon Lake.
曲腰魚因腹部略帶彎曲而得名，當年蔣中正總統來日月潭巡視時，當地人獻上此魚，受到總統喜愛，故俗稱「總統魚」。