Talk About Fish
Home More Back Next

Cobia


Cobia is the only member of the Rachycentridae family. It is distributed in most tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. It is a popular gamefish for anglers and occurs from coastal water to the open sea. The body of cobia is elongated, with a broad and depressed head. The first dorsal fin consists of 8 short isolated spines not connected by membrane and it had a powerful tail fin.

Cobia feeds on fish and crustaceans, often engulfing whole prey. They are usually found in small group.



Scientific Name: Rachycentron canadum  (Linnaeus, 1766)
English Name: Cobia
Chinese Name | 鱼类中文名: 海鲡 (Hǎi lí)
Malay Name | Nama Melayu Malaysia: Aruan Tasik, Haruan Tasik
Bahasa Indonesia: Ikan Gabus Laut, Kobia, Badee, Mondoh
Thai Name | ชื่อสามัญภาษาไทย: ปลาช่อนทะเล (Plā ch̀xn thale)
Local Hokkien: Hai Lay
Main Identification Features: Body elongated. Head broad and depressed. First dorsal fin consists of 8 short isolated spines not connected by membrane. Dorsal and anal fins long. Body with 2 well-defined pale narrow stripes.
Size: Maximum total length 2 m, commonly to 1.1 m.
Habitat and Ecology: Coastal and continental shelf waters, occasionally entering estuaries. Pelagic, but may occur throughout the water column. Often solitary or in small groups of 2 to 8 fish. Forms large aggregations during spawning season. Eggs and larvae are planktonic. Grows rapidly and reaches maturity in one to three years depending on sex and location. Females grow faster than males. A powerful and voracious carnivores, preying mainly on crabs, fishes, prawns, and squids.