Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 235 species
Moorish idol
Zanclus cornutus
Moorish idols are that black-white-yellow reef fish with the long streamer off the dorsal fin - they look like theyre floating more than swimming. In the wild they cruise reefs in pairs or little groups and pick at sponges and other encrusting critters all day. Theyre gorgeous, but the big challenge in aquariums is getting them eating well long-term.
Mottled mojarra
Ulaema lefroyi
Ulaema lefroyi is that shiny silver beach mojarra with the crazy-protrusible mouth, always nosing around sandy bottoms for little critters. Adults hang out along sandy shores and inlets and they can show a neat mottled/banded look that helps them blend over sand. Its a true saltwater fish, so think marine setup, not a community freshwater tank.
Mottled triplefin
Forsterygion malcolmi
This is a little New Zealand temperate reef triplefin that spends its time parked on rockwork, peeking out from overhangs and holes like a tiny goby-meets-blenny. It is a crustacean-and-snail picker in the wild, and its whole vibe is "hang close to cover and watch everything" - super cool if you like natural behavior more than flashy open-water swimming.
Munahosi cardinalfish
Ostorhinchus cheni
Think of a deepwater cardinalfish with a moody, reddish body, two slim dusky stripes, and a bold spot at the tail base. It hangs in the shadows, cruises slowly, and the male mouthbroods eggs, which is wild to watch if you ever see it happen. Super cool fish, but it comes from 70-100 m and prefers cooler marine temps, so it is definitely a specialist project.
Murray Island bandfish
Owstonia merensis
Owstonia merensis is a tiny deepwater bandfish from the western Pacific - think slope/reef-edge trawl depths, not a reef tank fish. It stays small (around 5.7 cm standard length in the literature) and lives way down where water is cool, dark, and super stable, which is why it is basically never a realistic home-aquarium species.
Narrowbody handfish
Pezichthys compressus
A very small, demersal Australian handfish (family Brachionichthyidae) that uses its modified fins to move along the seafloor. It is an extremely rare deepwater species known from very few records, and it is not an established aquarium species.
Narrowhead catshark
Bythaelurus tenuicephalus
Bythaelurus tenuicephalus is a tiny deepwater catshark from the western Indian Ocean with a really narrow head and snout (the name is basically calling it out for that). It lives way down around 463-550 m, so its "normal" world is cold, dark, and stable - definitely not something that fits typical home aquarium life.
Needlespine coral goby
Gobiodon acicularis
This is that tiny, jet-dark coral goby with the cool needle-like first dorsal spine - it basically lives tucked into branching corals and just perches all day like it owns the place. Super cryptic and chill, but it is way happier (and easier to keep eating) when it has a real coral head or tight branching structure to call home.
New Zealand rough skate
Zearaja nasuta
Zearaja nasuta is a big, cold-water skate from New Zealand that spends its time on the bottom, often half-buried in sand. It is an egg-layer that drops those classic "mermaid's purse" capsules in sandy or muddy areas, and it hunts down fish, crabs, shellfish, and worms. Super cool animal, but not something that belongs in a normal home aquarium due to its size and cold marine needs.
Northern smoothtongue
Leuroglossus schmidti
This is a coldwater deep-sea smelt from the North Pacific that spends its days deep and comes up at night to hunt zooplankton. Super cool little "midwater" fish from the dark zone - but its near-freezing temps and deepwater lifestyle mean its basically not an aquarium species at all.
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.
Ocular coralblenny
Ecsenius oculatus
Ecsenius oculatus is a tiny little reef-percher from the Christmas Island/Western Australia area that spends its day scooting between holes and ledges and watching you like it owns the place. It is an algae-and-film grazer by nature, so in a mature reef it will constantly pick at rocks and glass and do that classic blenny hover-and-hop routine.