Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 29 species
Banggai Cardinalfish
Pterapogon kauderni
Banggai cardinals just sort of hover like little underwater satellites, and the bold black bars with those long, polka-dotted fins look unreal under reef lighting. They're super chill most of the time, but once a pair forms you'll see real "fish drama," and the male will even mouthbrood the babies like a champ.
Blueband goby
Valenciennea strigata
This is that classic gold/yellow-headed sand-sifting goby with the little blue cheek stripe-always busy, always rearranging your sandbed. In a reef tank it'll spend the day taking mouthfuls of sand, filtering out tiny critters/foods, then "snowing" clean sand back out, and it'll usually claim a burrow area (often as a pair in the wild). It's super cool behavior-wise, but you really do need a mature tank with a proper sandbed and a lid because they can jump.
Blue Green Chromis (Green Chromis)
Chromis viridis
Blue Green Chromis are those shimmery little green-blue darts you'll see zipping around the top of a reef tank, always looking like they're catching the light just right. They're super fun in a group because they hover and cruise together, but they've got a bit of a "pecking order" thing going on if the tank's tight or the group's too small.
Blueline demoiselle
Chrysiptera caeruleolineata
A little reef damsel with a bright electric-blue line riding over a yellow body, it tends to live deeper on rubble slopes and hugs the bottom in small groups. In aquariums it prefers dimmer light, plenty of rock cover, and frequent small feedings of planktony foods; males guard eggs stuck to the substrate.
Bristletail Filefish (Aiptasia-Eating Filefish)
Acreichthys tomentosus
This little weirdo is one of my favorites because it's got that goofy filefish "face," a knack for wedging itself into rockwork, and a ton of personality once it settles in. People love them for the chance they'll snack on nuisance Aiptasia, but even when they're not on pest patrol they're just fun to watch cruise around and pick at stuff all day.
Chinese zebra goby
Ptereleotris zebra
Ptereleotris zebra is one of those slick, torpedo-shaped dartfish that likes to hover in the water column, then instantly zip back into a bolt-hole when it gets spooked. In the wild it hangs out on exposed seaward reefs in groups, often in current, and in a tank the big thing is giving it open swim room plus tight cover because it is absolutely a jumper.
Common fusegoby
Fusigobius neophytus
A tiny sand-perching goby from Indo-Pacific reefs, it spends its days sitting on rubble or sand patches and making quick dashes for tiny prey. The body is semi-translucent with fine speckling and a small black spot on the first dorsal, and it usually shows up alone or in small loose groups.
Diamond Watchman Goby
Valenciennea puellaris
This is that sand-sifting goby you'll see cruising the bottom, taking huge mouthfuls of sand and spitting it out like a little construction crew. It's awesome for keeping a sandy substrate looking clean, but it'll also redecorate-so anything sitting on the sand is gonna get buried or undermined sooner or later. Super cool personality too, especially once it picks a favorite burrow and starts "working" all day.
Firefish (Fire Goby / Fire Dartfish)
Nemateleotris magnifica
This is that little "hover-and-dart" reef fish with the yellow face and the white-to-red fade that looks like it was airbrushed on. It'll pick a bolt-hole in the rockwork, hang in the water column facing the current, and do that cute little flag-flick with the tall first dorsal fin when it's feeling bold.
Flaming Prawn Goby
Discordipinna griessingeri
This tiny reef goby flashes long orange fins as it shuffles between rock crevices, so you usually spot it in quick cameos. At barely 3 cm long, its crisp white-and-orange striping and spiky fin displays look wild for such a small fish.
Gorgeous prawn-goby
Amblyeleotris wheeleri
Amblyeleotris wheeleri is that classic shrimp-goby that picks a sandy spot, makes a burrow, and basically turns your tank into a little nature documentary if you pair it with a pistol shrimp. It hangs at the burrow entrance, does the whole lookout routine, and flashes those red bands and blue speckling when it is settled in.
Jewelled blenny
Salarias fasciatus
This is the classic "lawnmower" blenny - a little reef perch-fish that spends its day scooting around the rocks, scraping film algae and looking like it has tiny eyebrows. Give it a mature tank with lots of live rock to graze and it will stay busy all day, but if the tank is too clean it can slowly starve unless you supplement greens.