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
No established common name
Jupiaba potaroensis
This is a little Guyanese characin from the Potaro River blackwaters. It stays small and really shows off when kept as a group in soft, tea-colored water with leaf litter. Give it a calm, shaded tank and it will cruise midwater all day.
No established common name
Megalamphodus khardinae
Tiny rosy-tetra relative from the lower Purus blackwaters in Brazil with a neat triangular shoulder spot and red-tipped dorsal and adipose fins. Keep a good-sized group and they will glow over leaf litter and show off those subtle oranges. They appreciate soft, acidic water like their slow, tea-colored home creeks.
No established common name
Phenacogrammus urotaenia
Think of this as a shy little African tetra with a bold dark band near the tail and a soft pink tint on the fins. It comes from shady blackwater forest creeks in Cameroon and Gabon, so it looks happiest in tea-colored, gentle-flow tanks and in a good-sized group.
No established common name
Xenisthmus nigrolateralis
Tiny wriggler from Taiwan with a bold dark stripe down its side that makes it easy to pick out when it peeks from the sand. It hugs shallow reef flats and sandy patches and snacks on teeny crustaceans, so in a tank it would do best with plenty of fine sand and microfauna to graze.
No established common name
Ventrifossa macrodon
A deep-sea rattail from the Sala y Gomez Ridge in the southeast Pacific, this fish lives way down in near-freezing water and reaches around 40 cm with that classic long whiptail profile. It is a cold, high-pressure environment specialist and really more of a research subject than something for home aquariums.
Nomi stone loach
Schistura nomi
Schistura nomi is one of those little river loaches that wants brisk, clean, oxygen-rich water and a bottom full of rounded gravel and stones to poke around in. Its whole vibe is hanging in riffles and darting between rock cracks, so it really shines in a high-flow, hillstream-style setup.
none
Dysomma fuscoventralis
A deep Red Sea cutthroat eel that lives way below normal diving depths, so it is very much a look-dont-keep species. Adults get to around 26 cm and likely snack on small fishes and crustaceans in the dark. If you are planning a tank, skip this one - you just cant recreate true deep-water conditions at home.
Northern studfish
Fundulus catenatus
Northern studfish are big, tough native killifish from clear creeks and rivers in the southcentral US, and the males get absolutely wild colors when they're in breeding mode. They cruise the midwater and surface like little torpedoes, but they are still stream fish at heart - clean, well-oxygenated water and room to swim makes all the difference. If you like active fish with real personality (and a bit of attitude), this one is a blast.
Numamutsu
Nipponocypris sieboldii
Nipponocypris sieboldii (Numamutsu) is a Japanese native minnow-type fish that likes calmer water than a lot of stream cyprinids, but it is still a strong, active swimmer. Give it room and some current, and it really comes into its own in a group with lots of open swimming space.
Oblique-swimming triplefin
Forsterygion maryannae
A small New Zealand triplefin found over rocky reefs (reported ~1–50 m). It is unusual among triplefins for schooling in the water column above reefs and feeding on planktonic crustaceans (e.g., copepods/euphausiids), often holding an oblique body posture.
Obscure spiny eel
Macrognathus obscurus
A shy little spiny eel from northern Myanmar, it stays around 13.5 cm and spends a lot of time buried in sand with just the snout peeking out. Give it soft sand, plenty of hides, and meaty foods like worms and insect larvae and it will reward you with goofy dusk-time foraging and gentle, curious behavior. ([fishbase.se](https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Macrognathus-obscurus))
Ocellaris clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
Ocellaris clowns are that classic orange clownfish look-three white bars, a little black edging, and a ton of attitude packed into a small fish. They'll "pick a spot" in the tank (often a corner or a coral) and do that cute hover-wiggle thing, and a bonded pair will usually settle in fast and act like they own the place.