Adult barramundi are carnivorous and mainly eat fish but they will also feed upon crabs and prawns. Juvenile and larval barramundi feed on plankton.

Barramundi can survive in fresh, brackish and salt water. At various stages of their life cycle, barramundi move between fresh and salt water. The barramundi is a tropical fish and generally requires water temperatures above 20º C and close to 30º C to feed and grow well.

Barramundi, like many other fish species changes sex during their life. They commence their life as males, then changes to become females at six to eight years of age. Sex cannot be determined externally, but generally a fish less than 80 cm in length is male and over 100 cm in length female. The actual life cycle of the barramundi is not well understood.

Barramundi spend their juvenile years, the first three to four years, in fresh waters before migrating as adults into estuaries to breed. Spawning in wild populations generally occurs at night during the full and new moons during spring and summer. Females are capable of multiple spawning during a wet season and generally produce three to six million eggs per season.

Barramundi eggs and larvae require salt water for successful fertilization and survival. This is why spawning happens near river mouths during the incoming tide.

Scientific and other names
Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) are also commonly called seabass (in North-east Asia) and giant perch.

What they look like
Barramundi have large mouths with protruding lower jaws. Young barramundi have three definite white stripes along their head. Adult barramundi are a dark greenish-grey, moving to a silvery colour at the bottom of their body and brown at the top. This helps them avoid predators.

Predators underneath the fish will be looking up at the silver underside of the Barramundi, camouflaged against the light water colour. Predators at the surface will see the brown upperside of the barramundi camouflaged against the bottom silt. Barramundi can grow up to 180 cm in total length.

Where they live
In Australia, barramundi are found in tropical coastal waters and fresh waters.

Their distribution ranges from the Ashburton River in Western Australia around the northern shore to the Noosa River in Queensland. Adult barramundi live in estuaries and coastal areas in the lower reaches of rivers.

Young juveniles and larvae live in brackish temporary swamps near estuaries. Older juveniles live in the upper reaches of rivers.