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  • Chanos chanos
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Scientific Name Chanos chanos    (Fabricius, 1775)
Common Name Milkfish
Type Locality Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Red Sea [not Mediterranean Sea].
Synonym(s) Butirinus argenteus, Butirinus maderaspatensis, Channo chanos, Chanos aldrovandi, Chanos arabicus, Chanos chloropterus, Chanos cyprinella, Chanos gardineri, Chanos indicus, Chanos lubina, Chanos mento, Chanos mossambicus, Chanos nuchalis, Chanos oriental, Chanos orientalis, Chanos salmoneus, Chanos salmonoides, Cyprinus pala, Cyprinus palah, Cyprinus tolo
Etymology Chanos: Greek, chanos, -eos, ous, and chasma, -atos = abyss, mouth opened, inmensity. 
Hop to next section Species Information
Size 1800mm or 70.9" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Hop to next section Habitat Information
Distribution Indo-Pacific: along continental shelves and around islands, where temperatures are greater than 20°C. Red Sea and South Africa to Hawaii and the Marquesas, north to Japan, south to Victoria, Australia. Eastern Pacific: San Pedro, California to the Galapagos.
IUCN Red List Category
Least Concern
, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2016.
Other Parameters Found in offshore marine waters and shallow coastal embayments, but also frequently enter estuaries and occasionally penetrate freshwater streams. Marine, brackish and freshwater.
Hop to next section Husbandry Information
Feeding In nature, this species feeds on zooplanktion as larvae; juveniles and adults eat cyanobacteria, soft algae, small benthic invertebrates, and even pelagic fish eggs and larvae. User data.
Breeding Reports There is no breeding report.
Hop to next section Further Information
Reference Descriptiones animalium (Forsskål), pp 74, xiv.
Registered Keepers There is no registered keeper.
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There is no wish to keep this species.
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There is no record of this fish being seen.
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Chanos chanos QR code LFS label creator
ARN ref:26.147.1133.6072
Last Update 2025 Jan 01 13:06 (species record created: 2014 Nov 11 04:12)