Milkfish
Chanos chanos (Fabricius, 1775)
The milkfish (Chanos chanos) is a bony fish in the family Chanidae, order Gonorynchiformes and class Teleostei. Its scientific name carries the authority (Fabricius, 1775), and other English names for it include Buruna, Bangos, Bandang, Bukkariba and Milk-fish.
Quick facts about the milkfish
The IUCN Red List assesses the milkfish globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- up to 19 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 1.8 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 15 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Age at maturity
- 3 years – 5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the milkfish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the milkfish live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the milkfish as introduced in 4 countries.
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the milkfish?
The milkfish (Chanos chanos) is a widespread species of ray-finned fish found throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is the sole living species in the family Chanidae, and the only living member of the genus Chanos.
The repeating scientific name (tautonym) is from Greek khanos (χάνος 'mouth'). They are grouped in the order Gonorhynchiformes and are most closely related to the Ostariophysi—freshwater fishes such as carps, catfish, and loaches.
The species has many common names. The Hawaiian name for the fish is awa, and in Tahitian it is ava. It is called bangús (Tagalog: [bɐˈŋus]) in the Philippines, where it is popularly known as the national fish, although the National Commission for Culture and the Arts has stated that this is not the case as it has no basis in Philippine law. In the Nauruan language, it is referred to as ibiya. Milkfish is also called bandeng or bolu in Indonesia.
From the Wikipedia article “Milkfish” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Milkfish&oldid=1373645921), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the milkfish endangered?
The milkfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the milkfish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderGonorynchiformes
- familyChanidae
- genusChanos
- SpeciesChanos chanos (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms Butirinus argenteus, Butirinus maderaspatensis, Channo chanos, 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, Chanos salmonoides, Cyprinus pala, Cyprinus palah, Cyprinus tolo, Leuciscus palah, Leuciscus salmoneus, Leuciscus zeylonicus, Lutodeira chanos, Lutodeira chanos, Lutodeira chloropterus, Lutodeira indica, Lutodeira mossambica, Lutodeira mossambicus, Lutodeira orientalis, Lutodeira salmonea, Lutodira elongata, Mugil chanos, Mugil chanos, Mugil salmoneus, Mugile chani, Mugile chani
Other names and names in other languages (35)
- BandangEnglish
- BangosEnglish
- BukkaribaEnglish
- BurunaEnglish
- Giant herringEnglish
- Milk-fishEnglish
- Moreton Bay salmonEnglish
- Salmon herringEnglish
- سلمانيArabic
- رنجة السلمونArabic
- رنجة عملاقةArabic
- سمك السلمانيArabic
- سمك اللبنArabic
- سالمون موريتون بايArabic
- chanos stříbřitýCzech
- MælkefiskDanish
- MilchfischGerman
- sabaloteSpanish
- pez-de-lecheSpanish
- chanoFrench
- Poisson-laitFrench
- awaHawaiian
- CefaloneItalian
- Pesce latteItalian
- サバヒーJapanese
- 갯농어Korean
- bandengDutch
- ХаносRussian
- Молочная рыбаRussian
- PoomeenTelugu
- పాలా బోథాTelugu
- ปลานวลจันทร์ทะเลThai
- BangusFilipino
- 馬友Chinese
- 虱目魚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the milkfish
Other species in the same family Chanidae.
CompareMilkfish vs Dastilbe moraesiMilkfish vs Nanaichthys longipinnus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the milkfish?
The milkfish is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Chanidae in the order Gonorynchiformes.
What is the scientific name of the milkfish?
The scientific name of the milkfish is Chanos chanos, in the genus Chanos.
Who named the milkfish and when?
The milkfish's scientific name is attributed to Fabricius, 1775, written as (Fabricius, 1775).
Is the milkfish endangered?
No. The milkfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
What are other names for the milkfish?
Other English names for the milkfish are Buruna, Bangos, Bandang, Bukkariba and Milk-fish.
What family does the milkfish belong to?
The milkfish belongs to the family Chanidae, within the class Teleostei.
Is the milkfish an invasive species?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the milkfish as introduced in 4 countries: Bangladesh, Cook Islands, Philippines and Türkiye, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Milkfish (Chanos chanos). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/chanos-chanos
“Milkfish (Chanos chanos).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/chanos-chanos.
@misc{chanos_chanos_2026,
title = {Milkfish (Chanos chanos)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/chanos-chanos},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}