Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic; depth range 50 - ? m (Ref. 34290). Tropical; 22°C - 26°C (Ref. 13614); 2°N - 7°S
Africa: known from the Lake Victoria drainage, including Lake Kyoga, Lake Nabugabo and the Victoria Nile (Ref. 4903).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 4.4  range ? - 4.7 cm
Max length : 8.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 52331)
Diagnosis: lateral line low on body and running along lower part of caudal peduncle; cheek covered by thin suborbital bones (Ref. 34290). Silver with an overall nacreous sheen; caudal fin yellow, other fins colourless; dead specimens with a distinct mid-lateral stripe (Ref. 4903, 34290). 14-17 branched anal fin rays (Ref. 4903).
Highly adapted to pelagic life (Ref. 12526). Found inshore and offshore (Ref. 34290). Known from the surface of inshore and coastal waters; some records from surface waters over great depth (Ref. 4903). Adults stay near the bottom during the day and near the surface at night (Ref. 34291). Juvenile fish migrate away from the shore after spending their larval stage in shallow areas (Ref. 33811). In Lake Kyoga occurring in open water away from water-lily swamps; in Victoria Nile caught in turbulent regions (Ref. 4903). Feed on zooplankton and surface insects (Ref. 4903, 12526) and eaten by birds and siluroids, Schilbe mystus, Clarias gariepinus and Bagrus docmak (Ref. 12526). Mature individuals spawn in the lake and produces floating eggs (Ref. 52061).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Lévêque, C. and J. Daget, 1984. Cyprinidae. p. 217-342. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ORSTOM, Paris and MRAC, Tervuren. Vol. 1. (Ref. 2801)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 125652)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; bait: usually
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00676 (0.00337 - 0.01355), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for species & Subfamily-BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.49 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.9-1.0).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (14 of 100) .
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): (0 of 100) .
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 837 [330, 1,630] mg/100g ; Iron = 3.37 [1.98, 5.75] mg/100g ; Protein = 18 [17, 19] % ; Omega3 = 0.586 [0.267, 1.277] g/100g ; Selenium = 32.3 [12.3, 83.5] μg/100g ; VitaminA = 82.2 [27.1, 249.2] μg/100g ; Zinc = 2.78 [1.88, 4.21] mg/100g (wet weight);