Description
provided by World Register of Marine Species
Adults occur in small to large schools near the coasts or around islands where reefs are well developed. Eggs and larvae are pelagic up to 2-3 weeks. Older larvae migrate onshore and settle in coastal wetlands (mangroves, estuaries) during the juvenile stage, or occasionally enter freshwater lakes. Juveniles and subadults return to sea where they mature sexually. Spawns only in fully saline water. Larvae eat zooplankton; juveniles and adults eat cyanobacteria, soft algae, small benthic invertebrates, and even pelagic fish eggs and larvae. Larvae are collected from rivers and are grown in culture ponds into juveniles, which are marketed fresh, smoked, canned and frozen. Broodstocks can be raised and spawned in captivity to produce larvae in the hatchery (Ref. 9815). Can thrive and grow in water as hot as 32° C (Ref. 9987).
- license
- cc-by-4.0
- copyright
- WoRMS Editorial Board
- bibliographic citation
- Katsanevakis, S.; Bogucarskis, K.; Gatto, F.; Vandekerkhove, J.; Deriu, I.; Cardoso A.S. (2012). Building the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN): a novel approach for the exploration of distributed alien species data. <em>BioInvasions Records.</em> 1: 235-245. Froese, R. & D. Pauly (Editors). (2019). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. version (02/2019).
- contributor
- Edward Vanden Berghe [email]
