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 255 species
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.
Acanthurus tractus
Acanthurus tractus is a Western Atlantic tang that cruises reefs in little groups, spending most of the day mowing down benthic algae. It is got that classic surgeonfish attitude (and the tail scalpel to match), so it likes real swimming room and steady, clean reef conditions.
Amphiprion ocellaris
Ocellaris clowns are that classic orange clownfish look-three white bars, a little black edging, and a ton of attitude packed into a small fish. They'll "pick a spot" in the tank (often a corner or a coral) and do that cute hover-wiggle thing, and a bonded pair will usually settle in fast and act like they own the place.
Polyipnus oluolus
Polyipnus oluolus is a tiny deepwater marine hatchetfish from the Marshall Islands that lives out in the open ocean and uses little light organs (photophores) on its body for camouflage and signaling in the dim water. It is super cool from a biology standpoint, but its pelagic deep-sea lifestyle makes it basically a non-aquarium species for normal hobby setups.
Notopogon fernandezianus
Notopogon fernandezianus is the orange bellowfish, a weird little deepwater "trumpet fish" with a long snout and a tall, humped body. It lives way down on the continental shelf and slope (roughly 150-580 m), so its natural world is cold, dark, and high-pressure - basically the opposite of a home aquarium. Super cool to look at, but not a realistic species to keep alive long-term in normal hobby setups.
Torquigener hypselogeneion
This is a small Indo-west Pacific puffer that hangs around sandy flats and estuaries, and it will literally bury itself in the sand to nap with just the eyes sticking out. Its cheek bars and orange-yellow spotting make it look like a little camo tank. Cool fish to read about, but its pufferfish teeth and potential toxicity mean its not a typical community-aquarium pet.
Doryrhamphus melanopleura
This is one of the little flagtail pipefish with the long snout and that flashy tail fan with orange spots. In a calm reef tank it tends to hover around rock crevices and pick at tiny prey all day, so it is a super cool fish to watch - but it really needs gentle tankmates and frequent small meaty foods.
Lepidopsetta bilineata
This is a cold-water right-eyed flatfish from the North Pacific that lives on sand-and-gravel bottoms and tops out around 2 feet. It is a bottom-hugging predator that munches worms, crustaceans, and other benthic critters, and it is really more of a public-aquarium/sea pen kind of animal than a home-tank fish.
Sphaeramia nematoptera
This little cardinalfish looks like it got dressed in a rush-polka-dot back half, bold stripes up front, and that neon-orange tail spot that really pops under reef lights. It's a super chill, "hang in the shadows" kind of fish that likes to hover around rockwork and just cruise calmly all day. If you keep a small group, they'll often tuck in together and make your tank feel instantly more alive without causing any drama.
Ventrifossa macroptera
This is a deepwater rattail (grenadier) that lives way down on the slope - think roughly 685-710 m - so it is absolutely not an aquarium fish in any normal sense. Cool details though: it has a dark first dorsal fin and a blackish pattern on the head, and it tops out around 40 cm (about 16 inches).
Ophichthus puncticeps
This is a saltwater snake eel from the western Atlantic that spends a lot of its life down on the bottom and will happily disappear into sand. It gets way too large for most home aquariums, and like other burrowing eels it is an escape artist if the lid is not tight.
Yarrella argenteola
Yarrella argenteola is a deep-water lightfish from the Panama Gulf, living way down in the bathypelagic zone. Its whole deal is being a midwater, deep-sea predator-ish micronekton fish with light-organ family vibes - super cool biologically, but basically never an aquarium species because it comes from hundreds of meters down.