It has a wide distribution in sub-Saharan Africa from the Congo Basin east to the Indian Ocean coast of Tanzania and south to KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.

[3] It occurs in shallow water around river inflows or near swampy areas.

It is a habitat generalist and also hardy, but it prefers vegetated areas.

It is often caught for use as bait by anglers fishing for tigerfish.

It breeds during the summer rainy season when shoals of fertile adults migrate upstream when the rivers are in spate following rain.