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
Peterson's grenadier
Ventrifossa petersonii
Deepwater marine bathydemersal grenadier (family Macrouridae) from the Indian Ocean region; reported depth range about 296–1019 m (often ~350–700 m). Not a practical aquarium species due to deepwater capture/handling constraints and cold, dim habitat requirements.
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 slender flounder
Japonolaeops gracilis
Japonolaeops gracilis (syn. Laeops gracilis) is a marine bathydemersal lefteye flounder (Bothidae) recorded from sandy/muddy bottoms in deep water (reported roughly ~180-500 m; FishBase records ~197-216 m). Maximum size reported up to about 20 cm SL (also reported ~16-16.5 cm TL). It is a deepwater species and is not an established aquarium fish.
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).
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.
Pullus viviparous brotula
Nielsenichthys pullus
This is a tiny little livebearing brotula from reefy coastal waters around Bali, Indonesia, topping out at only about 3.8 cm standard length. It is basically a secretive, bottom-hugging marine fish you would expect to live tucked into cracks and crevices, and its whole genus is just this one species.
Raconda
Raconda russeliana
A pelagic-neritic pristigasterid (longfin herring) occurring in marine coastal waters and often in estuaries; elongate, compressed body with a sharp keel of scutes and a very long anal fin; feeds mainly on prawns (especially Acetes) and also copepods.
Rainford's goby
Koumansetta rainfordi
This little goby is a tiny striped hoverer that spends its day scooting between rock crevices and pecking at the sand and micro-stuff on the rocks. In the right setup its a super chill, reef-safe character fish, but the big trick is keeping it well-fed in a mature tank so it doesnt slowly waste away.
Randall’s shrimp goby
Amblyeleotris randalli
Randall's shrimp goby is that little candy-cane striped goby you'll see parked at the entrance of a burrow, doing sentry duty like it's getting paid for it. The really fun part is the partnership with a pistol shrimp-goby keeps watch, shrimp does the digging, and they basically run a tiny construction site in your sand bed. Give it a cozy sand area and a few rubble bits and it'll settle in and start acting like it owns the place (in the cutest way).
Rattail (grenadier)
Ventrifossa rhipidodorsalis
Deep-water marine rattail (family Macrouridae) from the Western Pacific (reported from southern Japan, northeastern Taiwan, the South China Sea, and the Philippines) occurring around ~500–535 m depth. Notable ID features include a relatively large ventral luminous organ (photophore) between the pelvic-fin bases and a mostly dark first dorsal fin with pale/white areas basally and distally. This is a deep-sea species and is not an appropriate/realistic home-aquarium fish.
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.