Silver sillago (Sillago sihama)

Scientific name: Sillago sihama Forssk?l, 1775

The Silver sillago (Sillago sihama) is a brackish-water fish of the family Sillaginidae. In the aquarium it needs water at 26–29°C (79–84°F).

Silver sillago care at a glance

Temperature: 26–29°C (79–84°F)

Biology

Common along beaches, sandbars, mangrove creeks and estuaries. Recorded from freshwater. Form schools. Adults bury themselves in the sand when disturbed. Feed mainly on polychaete worms, small prawns (Penaeus), shrimps and amphipods. Oviparous. Larvae and juveniles are pelagic feeding on planktonic. Rarely captured by prawn trawling vessels. Marketed fresh and frozen.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Sillago sihama
Family: Sillaginidae (Smelt-whitings)
Order: Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 31.0
Common length: 20.0
Depth range: 0–60 m (0–197 ft)
Environment: Marine; brackish; reef-associated; amphidromous; depth range 0 - 60 m, usually 0 - 20 m
Climate: Tropical
Distribution: Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and Knysna, South Africa to Japan and south to Australia. Reported from New Caledonia. Mediterranean sea: Turkey. In Japan, this name has often been misapplied to Sillago japonica. Often misidentified as Sillago lutea or Sillago vincenti.
Conservation status (IUCN): Not Evaluated
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial
Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.75-1.22; tm=1; tmax=4; Fec=16,682)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Last updated 27 September 2026