Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 562 species
Redback dragonet
Synchiropus tudorjonesi
This is a tiny deepwater scooter dragonet from Indonesia/Papua New Guinea that spends its whole day glued to the bottom, pecking at micro-crustaceans in the sand and rubble. The cool part is the male's little "flag" dorsal fin display and that rich red banding - but it is absolutely the kind of fish that does best in a mature, pod-rich reef where it can hunt constantly. If you like watching behavior more than a fish "doing laps," this one is a total vibe.
Red-lipped Wallaceochromis
Wallaceochromis rubrolabiatus
This is a tiny West African river cichlid that stays around 2.5 inches, and the adults get that really neat reddish-purple color around the lips that gives it its name. In a tank it acts more like a shy little cave cichlid than a bruiser - give it sand, leaf litter, and a couple tight caves and it settles in and starts doing the whole pair-bond and territory routine.
Redlips Darter
Etheostoma maydeni
This is a tiny Cumberland River drainage darter with a really neat telltale feature: the red pigment right on the lips. Its whole vibe is hanging out on the bottom in calmer pools along big creeks and rivers, tucked around boulders and woody cover.
Redrump blenny
Xenomedea rhodopyga
This is a tiny, bottom-hugging blenny from the Gulf of California that lives around rocky, weedy reef and tidepool habitat. The cool bit is how it spends its time tucked into rocks and algae, picking at little meaty critters, and it can show a neat pinkish body with darker bars and that red area near the rear that the name is calling out.
Redspotted snakehead
Channa andrao
Channa andrao is one of those "how is this real?" dwarf snakeheads-tiny, super colorful, and way more personable than you'd expect from a predator. It's a mouthbrooder, hangs near the surface a lot (air-breather), and it's happiest in a plant-choked, hidey-hole setup with a tight-fitting lid because, yep, it can jump.
Regan's dwarf pike cichlid
Wallaciia regani
This is one of the smaller pike cichlids, with that sleek, torpedo shape and the attitude to match - super fun to watch when it cruises and "stalks" around wood and leaf litter. It's a cave-spawning little predator that will absolutely snack on tiny fish, but compared to big pikes its size it can be surprisingly manageable if you give it space and lots of cover.
Renny's ricefish
Oryzias hadiatyae
Endemic to Lake Masapi (Malili Lakes system), Central Sulawesi, Indonesia; reported from shallow shoreline habitats and associated with shoreline root/vegetation structure. Diagnostic morphology includes a snout concavity (not unique within the genus).
Reticulate clingfish
Tomicodon lavettsmithi
This is a tiny little clingfish from the NW Caribbean that spends its life plastered to rubble and shells in super-shallow water. It has that classic clingfish suction disc, so it can hang on in surge and pick at small prey right on the bottom. Not really a "community tank" fish - its whole vibe is cryptic, rock-hugging micro-predator in a saltwater nano.
Reticulated hillstream loach
Sewellia lineolata
This is the little "stingray-shaped" loach that parks itself on rocks and glass like it's magnetized, then cruises around in the current like a tiny river skate. Give it cool, super-oxygenated, fast-moving water and lots of smooth stones with biofilm, and it'll spend all day grazing and doing hilarious little dominance shuffles with its own kind.
Riggenbach's ctenopoma
Ctenopoma riggenbachi
Ctenopoma riggenbachi is a small African anabantid (labyrinth fish) in the genus Ctenopoma. Like other labyrinth fishes it can breathe atmospheric air via a labyrinth organ; provide cover and ensure access to warm, humid air above the water with a secure lid.
Ripon Falls haplochromine
Haplochromis macrops
This is a smaller Lake Victoria haplochromine cichlid from the littoral zone, hanging around sandy and rocky shore areas. In the wild it picks at insect larvae and other small inverts, and like a lot of Victorian haps the females are maternal mouthbrooders. Its care is basically "Lake Victoria hap" style - clean, well-oxygenated water, sand/rock decor, and a bit of attitude like most cichlids.
Rippled rockskipper
Istiblennius edentulus
This is a tidepool combtooth blenny that basically lives life on the edge - it hangs in super-shallow rocky spots and can even air-breathe and hop between pools when it feels like it. Give it lots of rockwork and a covered tank, and it will perch, watch you, and cruise around grazing film algae like a little saltwater lawnmower with attitude.