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
Paradiancistrus lombokensis
This is a tiny, super-cryptic marine brotula from around Lombok, Indonesia - the kind of fish that lives tucked deep in reef cracks where you basically never see it. The really neat part is its group (viviparous brotulas) gives live birth, so its biology is way cooler than its shy little "hide in the rocks" lifestyle suggests.
Festucalex prolixus
This is a tiny little marine pipefish from the Western Central Pacific, and it tops out around 3.6 cm standard length. What's wild is that most of what we know comes from planktonic specimens collected in the upper water column, with adults expected deeper than about 40 m - so it is not really an aquarium species you will run into.
Kryptopterus limpok
Kryptopterus limpok is a Southeast Asian sheatfish with really long maxillary barbels - FishBase notes they reach past the last quarter of the anal fin, so it has that "extra-whiskery" look. In the wild its a river/stream predator that eats small fish and also takes prawns and insect larvae, so think of it as a sleek, hunting-style catfish rather than a chill algae-picker.
Yasuhikotakia longidorsalis
This is one of those super-under-the-radar Mekong botia/loach species that you almost never see for sale. It stays fairly small (around 8 cm/3 inches max reported), but it still acts like a proper botiid - busy, social, and very into wedging itself under wood and rocks when it wants to chill.
Jordania zonope
Jordania zonope is a super cool coldwater marine sculpin from the NE Pacific that clings to rocks and kelp and will even hang vertically on rock faces. Males get very territorial in breeding season, and some individuals are reported to act like little cleaner fish on bigger predators like lingcod - wild stuff for a fish this small.
Zaphotias pedaliotus
This is a tiny deep-sea bristlemouth that lives way down in the midwater-dark and comes up and down the water column on a day-night cycle. Its little light organs (photophores) and even a slight nightly color shift are part of the whole "life in the deep" vibe - super cool, but absolutely not a home-aquarium fish.
Nansenia longicauda
This one is a deepwater pencilsmelt that lives way down in the mesopelagic zone, so its more of a research-species than an aquarium fish. It tops out around 13 cm and seems to show up in patchy spots in the subtropical Atlantic and North Pacific, typically hundreds of meters down.
Hyphessobrycon loweae
This is a tiny Upper Xingu tetra that can glow gold in the right light, with males showing that cool elongated dorsal fin. It does best when you keep a real group and give it a calm, planted setup so it feels bold enough to come out and color up.
Zebrias lucapensis
A small marine demersal sole (family Soleidae) described from Lucap Bay / Hundred Islands area of Lingayen Gulf, Philippines; known from very limited records. Aquarium care information is not species-specific in the literature; if kept, husbandry would likely follow general small marine sole/flatfish needs (fine sand, peaceful tankmates, benthic meaty foods).
Eleotris lutea
Eleotris lutea is a tiny little sleeper (eleotrid) that hangs out on the bottom in coastal/estuary type habitats and tends to just park itself and watch the world go by. Its wild environment is listed as marine and brackish (and it is amphidromous), so it is one of those fish people often mis-label as "freshwater goby" even though it usually does best with some salt and stable conditions.
Vinciguerria mabahiss
Vinciguerria mabahiss is a tiny deepwater lightfish from the Red Sea that uses rows of photophores (light organs) for counter-illumination - basically a living stealth mode in the midwater dark. Its whole lifestyle is mesopelagic (open-water, deep), so its "care" is really more science-lab territory than home aquarium stuff.
Wheelerigobius maltzani
This is a tiny West African coastal goby that lives right down on the bottom in warm, shallow inshore water. Its big appeal is the "little predator" vibe - it perches, scoots, and hugs structure like a classic goby, but its real-world habitat is marine shoreline rather than a typical freshwater community setup.