Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 275 species
Promethean goby
Varicus prometheus
Tiny deep-reef goby with a bright yellow body and chunky brown saddle markings that pop in photos. It was only just described in 2023 from 247 m off Roatan, so it is a true unicorn for hobbyists and basically never seen in the trade. If anyone ever tried it, think cold, dim, super-stable conditions more like a chilled deepwater setup than a warm reef tank.
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).
Rao's hover goby
Parioglossus raoi
Tiny, zippy little dartfish that hangs in loose groups and hovers midwater like it is on invisible strings. The slim gold stripe and blue-rimmed eyes pop under reef lights, and they spend the day picking tiny zooplankton from the water column. Give them frequent small feedings and they settle in great with peaceful tankmates.
rattail
Kuronezumia macronema
A deep-sea rattail from the Philippines and the South China Sea, this fish cruises 600-800 m down where the water is cold and dark. It has that classic whiptail body and even a small light organ, picking off tiny crustaceans or scavenging what it finds. Super neat to learn about, but it is a look-only species for public aquariums, not something to keep at home.
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.
Reticulate clingfish
Tomicodon lavettsmithi
This is a tiny little clingfish from the NW Caribbean that spends its life plastered to rubble and shells in super-shallow water. It has that classic clingfish suction disc, so it can hang on in surge and pick at small prey right on the bottom. Not really a "community tank" fish - its whole vibe is cryptic, rock-hugging micro-predator in a saltwater nano.
Reticulate round ray
Urotrygon reticulata
A small, demersal round ray endemic to the Gulf of Panama that inhabits shallow sandy bottoms. Like other stingrays it has a venomous tail spine, and it is assessed as Critically Endangered (IUCN, assessed 24 Jan 2020), so it should not be targeted for aquarium trade.
River garfish (halfbeak)
Zenarchopterus clarus
Zenarchopterus clarus is a true halfbeak - that long lower jaw is built for picking stuff off the surface. Its a tropical, surface-cruising fish from the Western Central Pacific (Thailand and Borneo), and it reproduces via internal fertilization with ovoviviparous young.