The smelt-whitings are mostly inshore fishes that inhabit sandy, silty, and muddy substrates on both low- and high-energy environments ranging from protected tidal flats and estuaries to surf zones. A few species predominantly live offshore on deep sand shoals and reefs, although the larvae and juvenile phases of most species return to inshore grounds, where they spend the first few years of their lives. Smelt-whitings are benthic carnivores that prey predominantly on polychaetes, a variety of crustaceans, molluscs, and to a lesser extent echinoderms and fish, feeding by detecting vibrations emitted by their prey.