Milkfish
Chanos chanos
Also known asBangus · Sabalo (Philippines) · Awa (Hawaiian)
Water parameters
Minimum tank: 5000 L per individual at harvest size.
Feed and growth
- Feed protein
- 25% target
- Daily feed (warm)
- 3.00% of body weight
- Daily feed (cool)
- 1.00% of body weight
- Max density
- 50 g per litre
A 14000 g adult eats about 420.0 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~4200 g daily.
Legality
Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | legal | Cultivated in Hawaii under traditional Hawaiian fishpond systems (loko iʻa) and modern aquaculture; native heritage species verified 2026-05-13 |
Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".
Origin and habitat
Chanos chanos, the milkfish, is the only living species in the family Chanidae. It ranges widely across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East African coast across the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, in tropical and subtropical coastal waters, estuaries, and freshwater rivers and lakes. It is one of the most important aquaculture fish in Southeast Asia, where output runs well over half a million tonnes a year and has climbed past a million in recent years, led by the Philippines and Indonesia with Taiwan also significant; in the Philippines, where it is the national fish and called bangus, pond culture goes back centuries. Adults are usually 30 to 90 cm and up to about 2 kg, with the largest wild fish reaching roughly 1.8 metres and 14 kg, though culture stock is harvested at 300 to 600 grams. The flesh is white and tender with a distinctive taste but is famously bony, threaded with numerous fine intramuscular bones. Milkfish are omnivorous filter feeders that strain algae, diatoms, small invertebrates, and detritus with small, toothless mouths.
Climate and outdoor ponds
- Climate
- tropical (needs warm water year-round)
- USDA zones
- 11–13 (winter low around 4°C or warmer)
- Heating needed
- yes
- Cooling needed
- no
Care notes
A tropical species, mainly relevant in Southeast Asian and Pacific Island aquaponics. Milkfish grow in both brackish and fresh water, which makes them flexible for integrated systems. They do best around 25–32°C; below about 20°C they stop feeding and below 15°C they die, so the species is confined to warm climates or heated systems. Growth reaches 300–600 g in six to ten months on a commercial pellet of 25 to 32 percent protein, or in fertilized ponds where the fish graze the natural algal mat known as lab-lab and the plankton. Feed conversion on pellet is roughly 1.5 to 2.0, while extensive pond culture on natural food needs little added feed. Intensive stocking runs 15 to 30 g/L. The defining problem is bones: milkfish carry a great many fine intramuscular bones, and deboning is skilled, labor-intensive work, so boneless bangus is a premium product in the Philippines. Fry are collected from the wild or raised in hatcheries across the Philippines and Indonesia, with the Philippines still importing much of its fry supply. Outside Southeast Asia the fish is unfamiliar and the bones limit market appeal; it is also raised in Hawaii, including in traditional loko ia fishponds. Legal in most tropical jurisdictions, impractical in temperate climates without heating.