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
Wheelerigobius maltzani
This is a tiny West African coastal goby that lives right down on the bottom in warm, shallow inshore water. Its big appeal is the "little predator" vibe - it perches, scoots, and hugs structure like a classic goby, but its real-world habitat is marine shoreline rather than a typical freshwater community setup.
Synchiropus splendidus
This is the classic mandarin dragonet-the little reef crawler that looks like someone hand-painted neon blue and orange squiggles onto a fish. It spends basically all day pecking at live rock for tiny pods, and at dusk you can sometimes catch the pair-spawning "rise" if you keep a bonded male/female. Absolutely reef-safe, but it's one of those fish that does amazing only when the tank is truly mature and full of microfauna.
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.
Coryphaenoides marshalli
This is a deep-sea grenadier (rattail) from the Gulf of Guinea - think big head, huge eyes for the dark, and that classic long tapering tail. It lives way down on the slope, so it's not an aquarium fish in any realistic sense, but it's a really neat example of how fish are built for cold, high-pressure life.
Ogilbia mccoskeri
This is a tiny, super-secretive little reef brotula from the SW Caribbean that spends its life tucked into coral rubble and crevices. It is a bottom-hugging carnivore that picks off small mobile crustaceans, and you will mostly see it at dusk or when food hits the water. Cool fish, but it is absolutely not a typical aquarium species, so most "care" info out there is guesswork or confused with McCosker's flasher wrasse (totally different fish).
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.
Kasatkia memorabilis
Kasatkia memorabilis is a tiny, eel-shaped marine prickleback from the Sea of Japan area that spends its life down on the bottom in nearshore water. Its whole vibe is "hide in cracks and hug the rocks," so if you ever did keep one, you would treat it more like a coldwater tidepool fish than a tropical reef fish.
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.
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.
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.
Moenkhausia aurantia
This is a little Brazilian Moenkhausia tetra described in 2011 from clear, shallow streams in the upper rio Tocantins basin. In the wild it turns up around rocky/sandy bottoms with riparian vegetation, and its name (aurantia) is literally a nod to an orangish tone. It is not a common aquarium fish, so most keepers end up treating it like a small, schooling South American tetra and focusing on stability and a calm setup.
Zanclus cornutus
Moorish idols are that black-white-yellow reef fish with the long streamer off the dorsal fin - they look like theyre floating more than swimming. In the wild they cruise reefs in pairs or little groups and pick at sponges and other encrusting critters all day. Theyre gorgeous, but the big challenge in aquariums is getting them eating well long-term.