Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 337 species
Sicklefin redhorse
Moxostoma ugidatli
This is a big, river-dwelling redhorse sucker from the southern Appalachians, and that crazy tall, sickle-shaped dorsal fin is what gives it away. Its Cherokee name (ugidatli, "it wears a feather") is straight-up perfect when you see the profile, and its whole vibe is clean, cool, fast water with lots of oxygen.
Slate cory
Hoplisoma concolor
Corydoras concolor is that deep slate-gray, chunky little cory that looks almost like a moody, high-backed cousin of the bronze cory. Give them a soft sand bottom and a group to hang with, and you will see those neat rusty-orange fin flashes when they are comfortable. They are bottom cruisers that spend all day sifting and snuffling for food, and they will dart up for air now and then (totally normal).
Slender-tail golden-line barbel
Sinocyclocheilus gracilicaudatus
A small cave fish from the Pearl River karst in Guangxi, this one actually has normal eyes and a skinny tail, so it does not look as alien as its horned cousins. It likes cool, dark, very steady water and will cruise along the walls with that classic cavefish wall-following behavior once it settles in.
Small Yunnan loach
Yunnanilus parvus
This is a tiny little stone loach from Yunnan, China that was originally described from a cave outlet - so think shady, cooler, clean water vibes. Its a bottom-hugging micro-loach that will spend a lot of time picking at the substrate for tiny bits of food, and its one of those species thats way more interesting to watch than its size suggests.
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.
South Caucasian gudgeon
Romanogobio macropterus
A neat little river gudgeon from the Kura-Aras drainages, it hangs out right on the bottom and spends the day nosing through sand and gravel for tiny critters. Keep it cool and well-oxygenated with some current and you will see a lot of busy, natural foraging. It is subtle-looking but super active and fun to watch in a small group.
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.