Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 289 species
Leptura cichlid
Xenotilapia leptura
Xenotilapia leptura is a Lake Tanganyika ectodine cichlid that hangs around rocky areas and stays pretty small, topping out around 11 cm. What I love about these is the social vibe - females can school in big groups - and they do best when you keep the water hard, alkaline, and super stable.
Linke’s Licorice Gourami
Parosphromenus linkei
This is one of those tiny, dark little gouramis that looks kind of understated in a store tank... until it settles in and the male starts flashing those deep reds and blues with the fancy fin edging. They're shy and a bit secretive, but when you keep them the way they like (soft, acidic, calm), they turn into these surprisingly bold little show-offs around spawning time.
Longbarbel stone loach
Micronemacheilus longibarbatus
This is a little southern China stone loach with extra-long mouth barbels - built for feeling around the bottom in dark, rocky habitats. Its a super niche fish (not something you will randomly see at most stores), and it does best when you treat it like a small river/karst loach: clean water, lots of oxygen, and a soft substrate so those barbels stay perfect.
Lowe's tetra
Hyphessobrycon loweae
This is a tiny Upper Xingu tetra that can glow gold in the right light, with males showing that cool elongated dorsal fin. It does best when you keep a real group and give it a calm, planted setup so it feels bold enough to come out and color up.
Macedonia shad
Alosa macedonica
Landlocked shad endemic to northern Greece; formerly occurred in Lakes Volvi and Koronia but now restricted to Lake Volvi. Spawning occurs in summer (July–August) and begins around 19–20 °C.
Mandeville's loach catfish
Zaireichthys mandevillei
This is a tiny little Congo River loach catfish that stays about an inch long, with a bold dark collar right behind the head and a speckly pattern. Its basically built for life in moving water - it likes to tuck into sand and squeeze around rocks - so its a super cool "micro-catfish" for a river-style setup if you can actually source one.
Mandi
Rhamdioglanis frenatus
Rhamdioglanis frenatus is a freshwater heptapterid catfish endemic to Brazil's Atlantic Forest coastal drainages (SE Atlantic). It reaches about 22 cm total length and is primarily carnivorous; in aquaria it is expected to appreciate ample shelter and floor space, though detailed species-specific husbandry data is scarce.
Megasema eartheater
Geophagus megasema
Geophagus megasema is one of those classic sand-sifting eartheaters that spends all day taking mouthfuls of sand, filtering out snacks, then "spitting" the clean sand back out. Give it a soft sandy bottom and roomy floor space and it really comes alive, plus that big side spot is a dead giveaway when you see one in person.
Mekong sheatfish
Kryptopterus paraschilbeides
Kryptopterus paraschilbeides is a small Mekong River sheatfish that does the whole sleek, no-dorsal-fin Kryptopterus look, but its body is more "normal catfish" than the super see-through glass catfish you usually see in shops. In the wild it moves with the flood cycle - heading into flooded forest at high water, then back to the main river seasonally - which is a pretty cool bit of behavior for a little catfish.
Menderes garra
Garra menderesensis
A small-bodied cyprinid endemic to Lake Işıklı and the Büyük Menderes River system (Turkey). Described in 2015 (originally as Hemigrammocapoeta menderesensis) and currently treated as Garra menderesensis. Aquarium husbandry information appears scarce; avoid extrapolating care requirements from unrelated Garra species without species-specific sources.
Min County plateau loach
Triplophysa minxianensis
This is a coldwater, fast-river Triplophysa from Gansu, China - a little bottom loach built for current, with that classic 'stone loach' shape and a life spent hugging the substrate. Its wild range seems pretty localized (Taohe River and upper Weihe), and in the hobby its care gets tricky mostly because it really wants cool, super-oxygenated water and a clean, river-style setup.
Minerim banjo catfish
Bunocephalus minerim
This is a tiny little banjo catfish from Brazil that basically lives the stealth life - it melts into leaf litter and sand and you can go days thinking it vanished. Super chill fish, but it is one of those bottom hiders you feed with intention (sinking foods after lights-out), and it really appreciates a soft substrate to burrow into.