---
title: Milkfishes (Chanidae)
scientific_name: Chanidae
common_name: Milkfishes
rank: Family
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-03T21:30:59.297Z
tags: Milkfishes, Chanidae, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/milkfishes
---

# Milkfishes (*Chanidae*)

## Quick facts

- **Rank:** Family
- **Scientific name:** Chanidae
- **Body shape:** Torpedo - Streamlined and muscular, built for open-water speed - jacks, tunas, barracudas.
- **Species listed here:** 1

## How to recognise this group

- torpedo-shaped body
- large size, up to 1.8 m
- deeply forked tail fin
- silvery sides, bluish-green or olive back
- often in large, fast-moving schools

Milkfishes are large, torpedo-shaped fishes, growing up to 1.8 m (6 ft) long and weighing up to 23 kg (50 lb). They possess deeply forked tails and small, toothless mouths. Dorsal coloration is typically bluish-green or olive, transitioning to silver on the sides and white on the belly. Their common name refers to their white flesh.

These fast-moving fishes inhabit shallow coastal waters, lagoons, and reef flats, swimming from the surface down to 30 m (100 ft). As omnivorous filter feeders, Milkfishes consume cyanobacteria, algae, and small invertebrates. They are often encountered in large, fast-moving schools, typically observed near the surface in open water.


## Species (1)

- [Milkfish (Chanos chanos)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/milkfishes/milkfish)

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/milkfishes)*
*Updated: August 3, 2026*