Details
Chanos chanos
A silvery coastal fish widely farmed across the Indo-Pacific. Known as bangus in parts of Southeast Asia, it is deeply tied to regional food culture.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Uses tropical coasts, lagoons, estuaries, and brackish ponds. Young fish enter shallow brackish areas, while adults move along coasts and offshore.
The body is long and bright silver, with a large forked tail. The back has a blue-green sheen and fine reflective scales.
It swims in schools and moves actively through lagoons and culture ponds. Adults spawn at sea.
It eats algae, detritus, plankton, and small invertebrates, and adapts well to natural pond food and supplemental feed.
Spawning occurs in marine waters, and young move toward coastal nurseries. Traditional farming often relied on wild-caught fry.
Milkfish is a major food fish in the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, and nearby regions. Processing helps manage its many fine bones.
