Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 424 species
Phenax brotula
Brotula phenax
Brotula phenax is a marine cusk-eel (brotula) from Vietnam waters in the western-central Pacific. Its species name basically means "imposter" because it looks super close to the better-known Brotula multibarbata, and honestly thats a good hint that this one is still pretty poorly documented in the hobby.
Philippine cardinalfish
Ostorhinchus mydrus
Ostorhinchus mydrus is a little marine cardinalfish from the Philippines that hangs around coral reefs and comes alive at night. Like a lot of cardinals, its claim to fame is the male carrying the eggs in his mouth - super cool behavior if you ever get to see a pair settle in and spawn.
Philippine croaker
Johnius philippinus
Johnius philippinus is a tiny little croaker from the Philippines (family Sciaenidae) that lives down near the bottom in marine water. Its known records are super limited (FishBase lists it only from the Davao Gulf area), so its real-life habits in the aquarium trade are basically a mystery - this is more of a scientific/market-fish kind of species than a home-aquarium fish.
Philippine slender flounder
Japonolaeops gracilis
Japonolaeops gracilis (syn. Laeops gracilis) is a marine bathydemersal lefteye flounder (Bothidae) recorded from sandy/muddy bottoms in deep water (reported roughly ~180-500 m; FishBase records ~197-216 m). Maximum size reported up to about 20 cm SL (also reported ~16-16.5 cm TL). It is a deepwater species and is not an established aquarium fish.
Philippine snake eel
Yirrkala philippinensis
Yirrkala philippinensis is a little tropical snake eel from the Philippines that lives on the bottom and does that classic eel thing of vanishing into sand. It is not really an aquarium-trade fish, so most of what we know is scientific-record stuff rather than hobby care notes.
Pinafore goby
Drombus simulus
This is a tiny little drombus goby that hangs out on the bottom in tropical saltwater. It is one of those small, sandy-area gobies that tends to get overlooked because it is subtle rather than flashy, but it is a neat micro-predator for a calm marine setup. The big thing to know is there is basically no solid aquarium-focused care info published for it, so you treat it like a small wild goby and plan around its needs (sand, peaceful tankmates, and meaty foods).
Plainfin grenadier
Ventrifossa divergens
This is a deep-sea rattail from the Indo-West Pacific that cruises slopes 183-772 m down, so you will never see it in home aquariums. It reaches about 30 cm and has a plain dark first dorsal fin instead of the pale blotch a lot of its cousins show. Cool fish to read about, but it needs near-freezing water and deepwater conditions that we just cannot provide in tanks.
Polynesian chromis
Pycnochromis bami
This is a tiny, reef-associated chromis from the South Pacific that stays out in the water column picking at plankton. It is kind of a sneaky-cool fish: mostly brown, but with a sharp white tail that really pops when it is moving in a little group.
Precarius dragonfish
Eustomias precarius
Eustomias precarius is a deep-sea dragonfish from the open ocean off the western central Atlantic (Caribbean area). Its whole deal is the classic dragonfish vibe - bioluminescent light organs and a mouth built for grabbing whatever drifts by in the dark. This is strictly a wild, deepwater animal, not something that can be kept alive long-term in a normal aquarium.
Pullus viviparous brotula
Nielsenichthys pullus
This is a tiny little livebearing brotula from reefy coastal waters around Bali, Indonesia, topping out at only about 3.8 cm standard length. It is basically a secretive, bottom-hugging marine fish you would expect to live tucked into cracks and crevices, and its whole genus is just this one species.
Purple tang
Zebrasoma xanthurum
This is the deep-purple tang with the bright yellow tail - it cruises the rockwork all day picking at algae like a little lawnmower. It has that classic Zebrasoma "sailfin" shape and a real attitude if you crowd it with other tangs, so give it room and let it be the boss (or at least think it is).
Pygmy filefish
Stephanolepis setifer
Stephanolepis setifer (pygmy filefish) is a Western Atlantic filefish often found over seagrass beds and sandy/muddy bottoms; juveniles commonly associate with floating seaweeds/sargassum. It has variable coloration for camouflage, reaches about 18–20 cm total length, and likely feeds on plants/algae and small invertebrates.