They are commercially fished and used for aquaculture in China, where also introduced to some inland waters like Lake Dianchi.

[3] Protosalanx are up to 22.5 cm (8.9 in) in standard length,[1] have a transparent body and largely lack scales.

[6] There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[1] The Protosalanx genome has an estimated size of 525Mb and encodes 19,884 protein-coding genes.

[2] Following this initial reference, whole genomes of 20 male and 20 female Protosalanx hyalocranius were sequenced and GWAS analyses were conducted to uncover its sex determination system and putative sex‐determining genes.

Indicating a ZZ/ZW sex determination system, and that a "Z dosage" effect might play a vital role.