Range and Identity
Terapon jarbua occurs from the Red Sea and East Africa toward Samoa, southern Japan and northern Australian waters. Its scientific identity is essential because the same English common name is used for unrelated fishes. Their range, teeth and fishing records should not be transferred to this entry.
Habitat and Behavior
The fish uses shallow sandy areas near river mouths and enters estuaries and rivers. Young commonly occupy intertidal sand and tidal pools. A conflicting deeper minimum-depth statement is not used to erase those explicit shallow-water observations.
Food and Life History
The upper reference is thirty-six centimeters total length, while the common twenty-five-centimeter figure uses standard length. Foods include fishes, insects, algae and sand-associated invertebrates. The account describes marine spawning, movement of young toward freshwater and male protection and fanning of eggs.
Field Note
Include the scientific name with catch descriptions. The word tigerfish alone is too ambiguous to establish the identity or biology of a fish from a coastal Indo-Pacific locality.
All Lakes With Tigerfish
Browse lakes and reservoirs with documented Tigerfish records, listed alphabetically. Records do not establish current abundance or public access. Check the evidence and managing authority for the water you choose.
No published lakes are currently linked to this species in our confirmed records.