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
Philippine cardinalfish
Ostorhinchus mydrus
Ostorhinchus mydrus is a little marine cardinalfish from the Philippines that hangs around coral reefs and comes alive at night. Like a lot of cardinals, its claim to fame is the male carrying the eggs in his mouth - super cool behavior if you ever get to see a pair settle in and spawn.
Philippine croaker
Johnius philippinus
Johnius philippinus is a tiny little croaker from the Philippines (family Sciaenidae) that lives down near the bottom in marine water. Its known records are super limited (FishBase lists it only from the Davao Gulf area), so its real-life habits in the aquarium trade are basically a mystery - this is more of a scientific/market-fish kind of species than a home-aquarium fish.
Philippine halfbeak
Zenarchopterus philippinus
This is a tiny little surface-dwelling halfbeak from the Philippines that spends its time cruising the top like a mini garfish. The really cool part is its halfbeak vibe and livebearer-style family traits (Zenarchopteridae), so you get that constant "topwater hunter" behavior in the tank. Give it calm water up top, a tight lid (they jump), and lots of open swimming room.
Pinafore goby
Drombus simulus
This is a tiny little drombus goby that hangs out on the bottom in tropical saltwater. It is one of those small, sandy-area gobies that tends to get overlooked because it is subtle rather than flashy, but it is a neat micro-predator for a calm marine setup. The big thing to know is there is basically no solid aquarium-focused care info published for it, so you treat it like a small wild goby and plan around its needs (sand, peaceful tankmates, and meaty foods).
Plainfin grenadier
Ventrifossa divergens
This is a deep-sea rattail from the Indo-West Pacific that cruises slopes 183-772 m down, so you will never see it in home aquariums. It reaches about 30 cm and has a plain dark first dorsal fin instead of the pale blotch a lot of its cousins show. Cool fish to read about, but it needs near-freezing water and deepwater conditions that we just cannot provide in tanks.
Plains topminnow
Fundulus sciadicus
This is a little North American topminnow that hangs out near the surface and loves weedy edges, spring runs, and calm backwaters. When males are in breeding mode they get some really pretty iridescent fin color, but otherwise they are kind of subtle and "wild" looking in a cool way. Its not a seasonal killifish, so you are not dealing with the whole dry-season egg thing.
Point catfish
Aspidoras poecilus
Aspidoras microgalaeus is now treated as a junior synonym of Aspidoras poecilus, so care-wise you can think of it as that same tiny Aspidoras species. They are little bottom-scooters that do best in a group, and once they settle in you get that classic cory-style foraging and quick little dashy behavior over sand.
Polylepis hillstream loach
Vanmanenia polylepis
Vanmanenia polylepis is one of those slim, rock-hugging hillstream loaches that wants to live right in the current, perched on smooth stones like a little suction-cup torpedo. Its natural home is subtropical southern China, so think cool-to-mild temps, high oxygen, and lots of flow - it gets stressed fast in warm, stagnant tanks. They're super fun to watch grazing and scooting around, but they do best when you set the tank up more like a river than a typical community tank.
Polynesian chromis
Pycnochromis bami
This is a tiny, reef-associated chromis from the South Pacific that stays out in the water column picking at plankton. It is kind of a sneaky-cool fish: mostly brown, but with a sharp white tail that really pops when it is moving in a little group.
Poso halfbeak
Nomorhamphus celebensis
This is a cool little Sulawesi halfbeak that spends most of its time cruising the surface and picking food right off the top. They do best in a small group with lots of surface cover (floating plants are perfect), and they really reward you if you keep the water clean and stable. Also worth knowing: a lot of info online mixes up their exact habitat, and that can lead people to keep them too warm.
Powell's False Moray
Powellichthys ventriosus
Powell's False Moray is a tiny, cave-loving eel from the Cook Islands that tops out around 5 inches. It spends most of the day tucked in rock nooks and comes out at night to pick off tiny crustaceans and little fishes - a neat oddball you almost never see for sale.
Precarious dragonfish
Eustomias precarius
Eustomias precarius (Gomon & Gibbs, 1985) is a deep‑sea barbeled dragonfish (family Stomiidae) known from the western central Atlantic off Puerto Rico. It is a pelagic‑oceanic predator with bioluminescent organs and enlarged jaws/teeth typical of stomiids; FishBase lists a maximum size of about 13.8 cm SL. As a pressure‑adapted deep‑sea species, it is not suitable for home aquaria.