Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 285 species
South American Bumblebee Catfish
Microglanis parahybae
Microglanis parahybae is one of the little South American bumblebee catfish - a small, nocturnal bottom-dweller that spends the day wedged under wood, rocks, or leaf litter and comes alive at feeding time. They are peaceful with most community fish, but anything tiny enough to fit in that catfish mouth can disappear after lights-out.
Southern mountain swordtail
Xiphophorus monticolus
Xiphophorus monticolus is a small, wild-type swordtail from Mexico that tends to hang in deeper pools in fast headwater streams with rocks and riffles. Males show a slender sword with darker edging and faint orange striping that can fade as they age, so its charm is more subtle than the gaudy domestic swordtail strains. Its big "gotcha" is that it is not a generic warm, hard-water livebearer - it comes from cooler, cleaner, flowing habitats, so it appreciates lots of oxygen and good maintenance.
Southern platyfish
Xiphophorus maculatus
This is the classic platy-the little livebearer that's been bred into a ridiculous number of colors, but the wild-type is more of an olive-brown fish with dark blotches. They're super active, always cruising for snacks, and you'll see fun social behavior when you keep them in a small group. Also: if you mix males and females, you'll almost certainly end up with fry-these guys don't waste any time.
Speckled butterfly loach
Beaufortia polylepis
Beaufortia polylepis is one of those little hillstream loaches that looks like a tiny freshwater stingray with a speckled pattern, and it spends its day suctioned onto rocks grazing biofilm. The big trick with them is not "special water" so much as lots of oxygen and brisk flow - think cool, clean stream vibes, not a warm, still community tank.
Spinach pipefish
Microphis spinachioides
This is a freshwater pipefish from Papua New Guinea - basically a tiny river cousin of seahorses with that stiff, armored "stick" body and a little tube snout for picking off micro-crustaceans. The really wild part is the males brood the eggs, and the species is so rarely seen in the wild that a lot of info we normally lean on for aquarium care just straight-up is not documented.
Spindle Yunnan loach
Yunnanilus elakatis
Yunnanilus elakatis is a nemacheilid (stone loach) endemic to Yunnan, China (type locality: Yiliang County). Aquarium-specific husbandry data for this exact species is scarce in major references; when kept, it should be maintained like other small stream-associated stone loaches: high water quality, good oxygenation, and a fine, smooth substrate with cover.
Spotted blue-eye
Pseudomugil gertrudae
This little blue-eye is one of those fish that looks "cute" at first glance, then you notice the electric-blue eyes and the males flashing those spotted fins at each other all day. They're happiest in a planted, kind of shady tank with gentle flow, where they'll cruise in a loose group and do constant mini courtship displays.
Spottedfin sand cichlid
Xenotilapia spiloptera
Xenotilapia spilopterus is a Lake Tanganyika sand-sifter that spends its day cruising over open sand, scooping mouthfuls and filtering out tasty bits like insect larvae. They are at their best in a small group where you get to watch the schooling vibe, then pairs peel off to mouthbrood when they are ready. Give them fine sand and stable, hard alkaline water and they really settle in.
Starhead topminnow
Fundulus dispar
Fundulus dispar is a small native U.S. topminnow associated with vegetated standing waters and quiet pools/backwaters. It is known for reflective "star" spots on the head, and FishBase notes it can be difficult to maintain in aquaria long-term.
Stream catfish
Pseudobagarius macronemus
This is a tiny little akysid stream catfish from eastern Sumatra that spends its time down low, poking around the bottom (benthopelagic). The weird part with this one is the name - a lot of sources treat it as Pseudobagarius macronema, and you will see it sold or listed under either spelling.
Sundolyra catfish
Sundolyra latebrosa
This is a super obscure little bagrid catfish from northwestern Sumatra, and its whole vibe is "hidden" - the species name latebrosa literally points at how cryptic and rarely seen it is. In the wild it is known from a very limited drainage, and in the hobby it is basically unicorn-level rare, so most "care" advice you see online is going to be educated guesswork rather than proven aquarium experience.
Tachira rubbernose pleco
Chaetostoma tachiraense
This is a small mountain Chaetostoma from the Catatumbo (Lake Maracaibo) drainage, the kind of fish that wants to be plastered to rocks in high-oxygen water. It stays around 3.4 inches SL, spends its time grazing biofilm, and does best when you treat it more like a river fish than a typical warm, lazy pleco.