Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 665 species
Mekran ponyfish
Deveximentum mekranense
This is a small ponyfish from the Gulf of Oman off Iran, and like other ponyfishes its whole vibe is being a little bottom-hugging, silvery coastal fish. It is a pretty recent species description (2021), and its natural range is very localized, so you are not going to see it come through the aquarium trade in any normal way. If you ever did encounter one, you would treat it like a delicate wild marine schooling fish rather than a typical hardy "saltwater beginner" fish.
Melanorivulus ivinhemensis
Melanorivulus ivinhemensis
Tiny Cerrado stream killie from the upper Parana basin, with males showing a yellow tail marked by fine red bars that pop in a planted setup. It is lively, inquisitive, and a skilled jumper, so a tight lid is a must. Keep it in a calm, leaf-littered tank and it will reward you with neat courtship displays.
Meleiro livebearer
Jenynsia sanctaecatarinae
This is a little onesided livebearer from southern Brazil that stays pretty small, with males topping out around 3.7 cm and females around 4.2 cm. In a planted stream-style tank they are always cruising and picking at tiny foods, and like other Jenynsia they have that cool livebearer biology (no eggs to babysit). I'd treat them like a slightly feisty nano livebearer and give them space and a group so nobody gets singled out.
Memorable rearspined fin prickleback
Kasatkia memorabilis
Kasatkia memorabilis is a tiny, eel-shaped marine prickleback from the Sea of Japan area that spends its life down on the bottom in nearshore water. Its whole vibe is "hide in cracks and hug the rocks," so if you ever did keep one, you would treat it more like a coldwater tidepool fish than a tropical reef fish.
Menderes garra
Garra menderesensis
A small-bodied cyprinid endemic to Lake Işıklı and the Büyük Menderes River system (Turkey). Described in 2015 (originally as Hemigrammocapoeta menderesensis) and currently treated as Garra menderesensis. Aquarium husbandry information appears scarce; avoid extrapolating care requirements from unrelated Garra species without species-specific sources.
Mexican stargazer
Dactyloscopus metoecus
This is a teeny sand-stargazer that spends its time buried with just the eyes poking out, waiting to ambush tiny prey. Super cool little "sand-periscope" behavior, but its whole lifestyle is basically built around being in clean marine sand, so it is not a typical aquarium fish at all.
Midas blenny
Ecsenius midas
Midas blennies are those weirdly "blenny-but-also-open-water" fish that zip around the tank like a tiny golden torpedo, then duck into a hole like nothing happened. They'll even color-shift and loosely school with anthias in the wild, which is honestly one of the coolest behaviors you'll see in a reef fish.
Min County plateau loach
Triplophysa minxianensis
This is a coldwater, fast-river Triplophysa from Gansu, China - a little bottom loach built for current, with that classic 'stone loach' shape and a life spent hugging the substrate. Its wild range seems pretty localized (Taohe River and upper Weihe), and in the hobby its care gets tricky mostly because it really wants cool, super-oxygenated water and a clean, river-style setup.
Minerim banjo catfish
Bunocephalus minerim
This is a tiny little banjo catfish from Brazil that basically lives the stealth life - it melts into leaf litter and sand and you can go days thinking it vanished. Super chill fish, but it is one of those bottom hiders you feed with intention (sinking foods after lights-out), and it really appreciates a soft substrate to burrow into.
Mini zebra loach
Yunnanilus pulcherrimus
This is a tiny Chinese stone loach with a really crisp, zebra-like stripe pattern, and it spends most of its time nosing around the bottom like a little aquatic mouse. It does best in a mature, well-oxygenated tank with lots of cover and smooth sand or rounded gravel so it can cruise and forage without beating up its barbels.
Miracle triplefin
Enneapterygius mirabilis
This is a tiny reef perch that hops around the rockwork and flashes big pectoral fins and a tall first dorsal when it is fired up. It sticks to outer reef slopes in the Southwest Pacific and tops out around 3 cm, so think micro-reef showpiece rather than community fish. Give it mature live rock full of pods and it becomes a fun little hunter to watch.
Moenkhausia aurantia
Moenkhausia aurantia
This is a little Brazilian Moenkhausia tetra described in 2011 from clear, shallow streams in the upper rio Tocantins basin. In the wild it turns up around rocky/sandy bottoms with riparian vegetation, and its name (aurantia) is literally a nod to an orangish tone. It is not a common aquarium fish, so most keepers end up treating it like a small, schooling South American tetra and focusing on stability and a calm setup.