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
Zebrias craticulus
This is a small striped sole from northern Australia that basically lives life glued to the sand, doing that classic flatfish thing where it vanishes the second it settles in. Those tight cross-bands that run right onto the fins are the whole vibe - it really does look like wicker-work up close. Not an aquarium fish for most people, but it is a super cool species if you are into oddball bottom-dwellers.
Trimma woutsi
Trimma woutsi is a true pygmy reef goby - maxing out around an inch - that spends its life perched close to the rockwork in shallow reef zones. Its tiny size is the whole game here: it is perfect for a peaceful nano reef where it can pick at micro-foods all day and not get bullied off meals.
Careproctus staufferi
Careproctus staufferi is a deepwater snailfish (family Liparidae) described from the central Aleutian Islands, Alaska (North Pacific) in 2016. The original description notes an overall red/pale coloration and a distinct lateral yellow slash across the dorsal part of the abdomen and posterior. It is a bathydemersal deep-sea species and is not a typical aquarium fish.
Rhynchoconger flavus
Rhynchoconger flavus is the yellow conger, a burrowing, soft-bottom conger eel from the western Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico down toward the Amazon mouth). It gets truly huge (up to about 150 cm) and lives in deeper coastal water, so its "cool factor" is more in the wild-ecology/ID side than as an aquarium fish - this is not a realistic home tank species.
Zebrasoma flavescens
If you want a fish that actually puts in work, the Yellow tang is a nonstop algae grazer that cruises the rockwork all day. Its bright solid-yellow color is the whole reason people fall in love with it, but the real trick is keeping it well-fed on greens so it stays chunky and less cranky. Give it strong flow, high oxygen, and enough swimming length and it will act like the little yellow boss of the reef.
Pervagor alternans
This is a little reef filefish with that classic sandpapery skin and a super eye-catching yellow ring around the eye. It spends a lot of time poking around rock and coral, and when it gets spooked it kind of eases back into crevices instead of bolting. Not the most common aquarium fish, but really neat if you can get one that is eating well.
Opistognathus nothus
This is a deepwater Atlantic jawfish that lives in burrows on sand and rubble, and it has that classic jawfish vibe of popping up like a little periscope from its hole. The yellow edging inside the mouth is the giveaway, plus the spotty head and striped/yellow-edged fins. Because it comes from about 92-100 m depth, it is not something you should treat like a typical warm, shallow-reef jawfish in a home tank.
Zebrias crossolepis
Zebrias crossolepis is a small marine sole with bold zebra-like bands, the kind of flatfish that spends its life glued to the bottom and trying to vanish into sand. It is a subtropical, demersal species from the northwest Pacific (reported from Guangdong, China) and tops out at around 14 cm standard length, so it stays pretty compact for a flatfish.
Astronesthes zetgibbsi
This is a deep-sea snaggletooth/dragonfish relative from the South Pacific high seas, built for life in the dark with that classic long, toothy mouth shape. Its "aquarium" needs are basically impossible at home because it naturally lives pelagic in cool ocean water and is usually only seen in scientific collections.