Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Water Type
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 365 species
Poecilia reticulata
The Guppy is one of the most popular freshwater fish among aquarium enthusiasts due to its colorful appearance and lively nature. These fish have a wide range of vibrant colors and tail shapes, making them a visual delight in any aquarium. Guppies are known for their peaceful temperament and ease of care, making them ideal for both beginner and experienced fishkeepers.
Urocampus carinirostris
This is a tiny, stick-thin pipefish that lives in seagrass and algae beds and uses its prehensile tail to hang on like a little underwater chameleon. The coolest part is the "hairy" fringing (little filaments) all over the body that breaks up its outline, and like other syngnathids the male carries the eggs in a brood pouch under the tail.
Pangio semicincta
Pangio semicincta is one of those classic "striped kuhli" loaches that spends the day wedged in plants and caves, then comes out at lights-down to wiggle around like a tiny eel. They're super social once you keep a proper group, and they're famous for piling into the same hidey-hole together. Also: they're one of the species that gets mixed up/mislabeled in the trade a lot, so buying from a shop that IDs them carefully is a win.
Moxostoma lacerum
Moxostoma lacerum (the harelip sucker, also called the hairlip redhorse) was a temperate North American sucker with a really odd split lower lip and a specialized bottom-feeding setup. Sadly its whole story is basically a cautionary tale - it was sensitive to silt and habitat changes, and it is now listed as Extinct (IUCN assessed August 4, 2012).
Trigonostigma heteromorpha
Harlequin rasboras are those little coppery-orange fish with the bold black "wedge" on their sides that somehow look even better once they're cruising in a group. Give them a nice school and some plants to weave through and they'll do this tight, synchronized swimming thing that's honestly kind of hypnotic.
Oxymonacanthus longirostris
This is that super-cool orange-spotted, long-snouted filefish that hangs tight in branching Acropora like it's part of the coral. In the wild it's basically an Acropora-polyp specialist and usually lives in pairs, which is exactly why it's so tricky in home aquariums unless you're ready for the feeding challenge.
Bunocephalus hartti
Bunocephalus hartti is a tiny little banjo catfish from the Sao Francisco basin in Brazil that lives its best life looking like a dead leaf and pretending it does not exist. Give it sand and leaf litter and it will vanish for days, then suddenly pop out at night like a little cryptid vacuuming up food off the bottom.
Hemigrammus ocellifer
This little tetra does a neat trick in the light-there's a shiny "headlight" spot near the gills and a glowing "taillight" at the base of the tail, so the whole school kind of sparkles as they turn. They're super chill in a group, and they look way better the bigger the shoal is and the more plants you give them to cruise through.
Triplophysa hexiensis
This one is a little taxonomic curveball: Triplophysa rossoperegrinatorum (Prokofiev, 2001) is treated as a synonym of Triplophysa hexiensis in major references, so in the hobby you will basically want to think of it as T. hexiensis. Its a bottom-dwelling river loach from northern China that likes clean, well-oxygenated water and spends a lot of time hugging the substrate and darting between rocks.
Xiphophorus malinche
Xiphophorus malinche is a smaller, cooler-water swordtail from fast, clear rivers in Mexico, and the males can show a really neat golden-brown look with blue/purple sheen plus a short yellow sword. It is a livebearer, but it is not the "toss it in a warm community tank" kind of swordtail - it does best kept cool with very clean, oxygen-rich water.
Trichogaster chuna
Honey gouramis are those little chill labyrinth fish that spend a lot of time cruising the upper half of the tank and "feeling" around with their long thread-like belly fins. Give them plants (especially floaters) and calm tankmates and they really settle in-males can glow that warm honey/orange color and will build bubble nests at the surface.
Prodontocharax howesi
This is a tiny Amazon-basin cheirodontine characin associated with unusual jaw/tooth morphology in the Prodontocharax/Amblystilbe group. Recent revisionary work revalidated the genus Amblystilbe and treats Amblystilbe howesi as distinct; older secondary sources may list the fish under Prodontocharax howesi, so identification and naming can be inconsistent in non-specialist contexts.