Coilia ectenes is a fish of Coilia genus of Coilia, also known as anchovies, Coilia ectenes, and roasted fish. Most of Coilia mystus live in shallow coastal waters or offshore waters, and usually disperse and do not cluster. When they enter the breeding season, they form large groups and swim to the Yangtze River estuary, Qiantang River estuary and other salty and fresh water areas to lay eggs.

Coilia mystus is a small and medium-sized fish with estuary type. Almost all the food is zooplankton, mainly crustaceans. Among them, the copepods are the most important, followed by decapods (including fireflies), mysids, acropods and krill. The size of food is related to the length of fish. When the fish body length is less than 15 cm, it feeds on scratching feet; When the body length is more than 15 cm, it feeds on krill, stomatopod and decapod.