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 249 species
Owstonia psilos
Owstonia psilos is a deepwater bandfish from off northwestern Australia - long, ribbon-bodied, reddish, and it has that neat black blotch up front on the dorsal fin. Its home turf is way down around 360-446 m, so its "cool factor" is real, but its natural lifestyle is totally a deep-reef, low-light thing rather than a normal home-aquarium fish.
Kertomichthys blastorhinos
This is a weird little deepwater snake eel with a short, club-shaped snout and a burrowing, bottom-hugging lifestyle. It is basically a science-only fish - it's known from a single specimen collected off French Guiana, so there is no real aquarium trade care info to lean on.
Opistognathus jacksoniensis
This is an Aussie jawfish that lives in sandy-rubble areas near reefs and basically runs a little burrow like its own front porch. When its feeling safe, it will hover right at the entrance and dart back tail-first if anything spooks it. Super cool fish, but it is absolutely the type that needs the right setup (deep substrate and a tight lid) to do well.
Zapteryx xyster
This is a little guitarfish from the tropical eastern Pacific that cruises sandy and rocky bottoms and comes out more at night to hunt. The coolest thing on adults is the yellow ocelli (eyespots) sitting in the dark bands across the back - it looks like someone dotted it with paint. It is a true saltwater ray-like elasmobranch, so think big footprint, lots of sand, and a heavy meaty diet.
Ichthyococcus australis
This is a deep-ocean little lightfish that lives way down in the dark and uses photophores (tiny light organs) for camouflage and signaling. It is a pelagic marine species from the southern hemisphere, and its whole vibe is "midwater stealth" rather than anything you would ever keep like a normal aquarium fish.
Siokunichthys southwelli
A tiny tropical marine pipefish from Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Like many syngnathids, it is a slow, deliberate feeder that may require abundant small live foods and low-competition tankmates in captivity.
Discordipinna griessingeri
This is that tiny little reef goby with the crazy tall first dorsal spines and orange striping that makes it look like a living piece of candy. It spends a lot of time tucked into coral rubble and little crevices, then darts out to grab food, so giving it real hiding spots is the whole game. Also, it gets mixed up in the trade with the wrong name sometimes, so its worth double-checking the label before you buy.
Johnius elongatus
Johnius elongatus (Spindle croaker) is a marine, demersal sciaenid from inshore waters of the western Indian Ocean (west coast of India and Sri Lanka), reported to feed on benthic worms and crustaceans; it is primarily a fisheries/food fish rather than a common aquarium species.
Dasyscopelus spinosus
This is a little deep-ocean lanternfish that does the classic nightly commute - hanging deeper in the day, then rising toward the surface after dark to feed. Its body is studded with light organs (photophores), and the species name 'spinosus' comes from the spiny scales around the anal-fin base. Not really an aquarium fish at all, but it is a super cool example of open-ocean life.
Diaphus metopoclampus
This is a deep-sea lanternfish with rows of photophores (little light organs) that it uses down in the dark, and it does that classic up-at-night, down-by-day vertical migration. Super cool animal, but its whole lifestyle is built around cold, high-pressure midwater life, so its not really an aquarium fish in any normal sense.
Synchiropus picturatus
This little dragonet is basically a living piece of reef art-chunky fins, goofy "hovering" swimming, and those crazy psychedelic spots that look painted on. The big thing with them is they're constant pickers, cruising rockwork all day hunting tiny critters, so they're happiest in a mature tank with tons of pods (or a keeper who's ready to meet them halfway on food). If you like chill fish with tons of personality that don't bother anyone, mandarin time is hard to beat.
Forsterygion capito
This is a little New Zealand triplefin that hangs out in rock pools and shallow sheltered reefs, perched on rocks and scooting around to hunt tiny critters. The cool part is the breeding behavior - the male sets up and guards a nest under a rock, and they can darken up a lot in season.