Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Water Type
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 356 species
Xiphophorus hellerii
Swordtails are busy, always-on-the-move livebearers, and the males' "sword" tail extension is the whole show-lots of displaying and posturing in the open water. They're tough as nails in hard, slightly alkaline water, but in tight tanks the males will absolutely bicker and chase each other around.
Quietula guaymasiae
This is a small, bottom-hanging goby from Mexico's Gulf of California, usually found in shallow estuaries and lagoons. The really cool bit is it can do facultative air-breathing, so its built for those warm, low-oxygen, mucky spots. Its not a typical community freshwater fish - think brackish/marine lagoon goby that wants sand or mud and calm water.
Upeneus gubal
Upeneus gubal is a tiny Red Sea goatfish that cruises over sand and mud and uses its little chin barbels to feel around for food. Its max size is under 9 cm standard length, so it is more of a "dwarf" goatfish compared to the bigger goatfish you see in the trade. Because it is a wild marine demersal species from the Gulf of Suez area, it is not something you will run into with a normal, well-established aquarium care playbook.
Acanthogobio guentheri
This is a Chinese river gudgeon from the upper Yellow River area, a bottom-hugging little cyprinid that spends a lot of time cruising the substrate. Its vibe is more "stream fish" than "tropical community" - give it good flow, lots of oxygen, and a sand-and-pebble setup and it really shines.
Poecilia reticulata
The Guppy is one of the most popular freshwater fish among aquarium enthusiasts due to its colorful appearance and lively nature. These fish have a wide range of vibrant colors and tail shapes, making them a visual delight in any aquarium. Guppies are known for their peaceful temperament and ease of care, making them ideal for both beginner and experienced fishkeepers.
Urocampus carinirostris
This is a tiny, stick-thin pipefish that lives in seagrass and algae beds and uses its prehensile tail to hang on like a little underwater chameleon. The coolest part is the "hairy" fringing (little filaments) all over the body that breaks up its outline, and like other syngnathids the male carries the eggs in a brood pouch under the tail.
Pangio semicincta
Pangio semicincta is one of those classic "striped kuhli" loaches that spends the day wedged in plants and caves, then comes out at lights-down to wiggle around like a tiny eel. They're super social once you keep a proper group, and they're famous for piling into the same hidey-hole together. Also: they're one of the species that gets mixed up/mislabeled in the trade a lot, so buying from a shop that IDs them carefully is a win.
Trigonostigma heteromorpha
Harlequin rasboras are those little coppery-orange fish with the bold black "wedge" on their sides that somehow look even better once they're cruising in a group. Give them a nice school and some plants to weave through and they'll do this tight, synchronized swimming thing that's honestly kind of hypnotic.
Bunocephalus hartti
Bunocephalus hartti is a tiny little banjo catfish from the Sao Francisco basin in Brazil that lives its best life looking like a dead leaf and pretending it does not exist. Give it sand and leaf litter and it will vanish for days, then suddenly pop out at night like a little cryptid vacuuming up food off the bottom.
Hemigrammus ocellifer
This little tetra does a neat trick in the light-there's a shiny "headlight" spot near the gills and a glowing "taillight" at the base of the tail, so the whole school kind of sparkles as they turn. They're super chill in a group, and they look way better the bigger the shoal is and the more plants you give them to cruise through.
Kryptolebias hermaphroditus
This is one of those weirdly amazing little mangrove killifish where most individuals are self-fertile hermaphrodites, so a single fish can produce eggs on its own. In the wild its tied to Brazilian mangroves and coastal canals, and it tends to live a pretty secretive, solo life in shallow, mucky, low-oxygen spots.
Triplophysa hexiensis
This one is a little taxonomic curveball: Triplophysa rossoperegrinatorum (Prokofiev, 2001) is treated as a synonym of Triplophysa hexiensis in major references, so in the hobby you will basically want to think of it as T. hexiensis. Its a bottom-dwelling river loach from northern China that likes clean, well-oxygenated water and spends a lot of time hugging the substrate and darting between rocks.