| U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean |
British Columbia to Baja (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Habitat |
Most of time in estuaries, bays, and coastal areas (Love 1996) |
| Substrate |
Varies (Setzler et al. 1980 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Behavior |
School in shallow water
Anadromous (Love 1996)
Migratory (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Swims in midwater in aquarium (Burgess et al. 1990)
Bottom oriented (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| General Temperature Range (°C) |
24 (Burgess et al. 1990) |
| General Salinity Range (ppt) |
Anadromous (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Maximum Overall Recorded Size (cm) |
122 (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Average Maximum Overall Length (cm) |
121.9 (Pacific)
183 (Atlantic) (Love 1996, Burgess et al. 1990)
122 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Average Maximum weight (kg) |
4.5 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Overall Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years) |
12.7–15.3/1
33.0–35.6/2
55.9/4 (Love 1996) |
| Overall Maximum Age (years) |
30+ (Love 1996) |
| Overall Growth Rate |
Females grow faster and live longer than males (Love 1996) |
| Male Age at Maturity (years) |
1 (few mature)
2–3 (all mature) (Love 1996) |
| Female Age at Maturity (years) |
4–6 (Love 1996) |
| Male Length at Maturity (cm) |
25 (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Female Length at Maturity (cm) |
45 (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Type of Reproduction |
Some hermaphroditic (Love 1996)
Gonochoristic, polygamous, oviparous (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Fecundity |
11,000–2,000,000 per year (Love 1996)
Up to 5,300,000 (Skinner 1962; Wang 1986 both in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Spawning Habitat |
Freshwater (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) |
| Spawning Behavior |
Spawn near surface (Woodhull 1947; Moyle 1976 both in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Time of Year of Spawning |
April–June (Love 1996) |
| Spawning/Temperature Relationship (°C) |
Very important
14.4 (minimum)
15.6–20 (normal range) (Love 1996) |
| Description of Eggs |
Demersal (Love 1996)
Nonadhesive (Albrecht 1964; Scott and Crossman 1973; Wang 1986 all in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Days to Hatch |
2 (Love 1996) |
| Temperature for Egg Survival (°C) |
18 (optimal) (Morgan et al. 1981 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Salinity for Egg Survival (ppt) |
Freshwater (Emmett et al. 1991)
Freshwater to 11 (Rulifson et al. 1982 in Emmett et al. 1991)
1.5–3.0 (optimal) (Fay et al. 1983 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Habitat where Larvae are found |
Concentrate on bottom (Love 1996) |
| Temperature for Larval Survival (°C) |
15–22 (optimal) (Fay et al. 1983 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Salinity for Larval Survival (ppt) |
Freshwater (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Larval Food Preference |
Plankton, Small Fish (Love 1996) |
| Length when Juvenile Settles out (cm) |
2.5–3.6 (Hardy 1978 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Salinity for Juvenile Survival (ppt) |
Estuaries and rivers (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Juvenile Food Preference |
Eat more fish than invertebrates (Love 1996) |
| Temperature for Adult Survival (°C) |
Up to 35
Stressed above 25 (Moyle 1976 in Emmett et al. 1991)
20–24 (optimal) (Fay et al. 1983; Coutant 1986 both in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Salinity for Adult Survival (ppt) |
Polyhaline and euhaline (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Adult Food Preference |
Invertebrates, Fish (Burgess et al. 1990) |
| Commercial Fishery |
Closed off Oregon in 1976 (Love 1996) |
| Ornamental Market |
In aquarium guide (Burgess et al. 1990) |
| Parasites or Disease |
Tapeworm (Lacistorhynchus tenuis) gets into fish via feeding on crustaceans (Love 1996) |
| Additional Remarks |
Introduced to the Pacific in 1879 and 1882 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Difficult to raise (Burgess et al. 1990) |
