[2] Scales, a forked tail and a distinct "cucumber smell" are other ways of distinguishing Smelt from other species.

There are records of smelt being both diadromous (spending part of life cycle in freshwater and part in saltwater) as well as anadromous reports (fish that spend most of their life cycle in saltwater, returning to freshwater only to breed).

Diadromous smelt spend the first life stage in the sea, estuary or lower parts of rivers.

[5] In the mature stage, during spring, adults migrate upstream into lakes through river access.

The smelt is a semelparous species, meaning that adults usually die after spawning, at around one year of age.

Smelt are naturally a shoaling species, which means they prefer to swim near the surface in schools rather than resting or hiding in the aquatic substrate/.

In the larvae stage, smelt feed mainly on Rotifers (microscopic aquatic animals) rather than Zooplankton.

When Smelt progress to the juvenile stage their diet changes to Copepods and Cladocerans – small crustaceans and water fleas respectively.

Little else is known about their eating habits, but aquatic vegetation can be ruled out as smelt are reportedly seen only on the surface and body of streams, and have never been observed feeding on substrate.

Black spot is a cyst that forms under the surface of the skin, while Cestodes are juvenile freshwater mussels that use the Smelt species to travel to suitable habitats.