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 365 species
Encrasicholina intermedia
Encrasicholina intermedia is a tiny, open-water anchovy from the western Indian Ocean that spends its life cruising the coastal shallows in big, nervous schools. In the wild it is basically bite-sized forage fish, constantly picking off plankton and flashing around near the surface - super cool behavior, but it is not really a normal home-aquarium species.
Onychostoma breve
Onychostoma breve is a small river carp from the Yangtze River system in China, topping out around 14.6 cm standard length. Its whole vibe is a streamlined, current-loving minnow that wants lots of oxygen and moving water, so it is way happier in a river-style setup than a typical calm community tank.
Xiphophorus continens
Xiphophorus continens is a tiny little wild-type livebearer from the Rio Panuco drainage in Mexico, and the males have just a short "stub" sword instead of the big flowing one you see on common swordtails. They really shine in a planted, oxygen-rich tank with some current, where you can watch the males do their low-key "sneaker" style mating behavior and the females quietly cruise the plants.
Gymnoscopelus opisthopterus
This is a coldwater deep-sea lanternfish from the Southern Ocean that spends its life way down in the dark and uses photophores (light organs) like a little living constellation. Its habitat is near-freezing and very deep, so it is really a research-specimen kind of fish rather than something that can be kept in a normal aquarium.
Jenkinsia stolifera
Jenkinsia stolifera is a tiny, super-flashy little round herring from Florida and the Caribbean that spends its life in tight, nervous schools near the surface. In the wild it is basically living fish confetti - tons of silver, constant motion, always picking at zooplankton - and that "always on the move" vibe is what makes it so cool. It is not really an aquarium species though; most setups cannot provide the huge swimming room, flow, and constant live plankton-style feeding it does best with.
Glyptophidium argenteum
Glyptophidium argenteum is a deepwater/bathydemersal cusk-eel (Ophidiidae) from the Indo-West Pacific (e.g., Bay of Bengal to the Philippines) recorded hundreds of meters deep. It is primarily known from scientific/monitoring collections and deepwater fisheries bycatch rather than the aquarium trade.
Monodactylus argenteus
Silver moonies are those shiny, diamond-shaped "mono" fish you see cruising nonstop in brackish tanks-super active and way more fun to watch when they're in a proper group. They start out in estuaries (often sold too small and too fresh), and the big "gotcha" is they really want you to ramp them up to stronger brackish/near-marine as they grow. Feed them like a hungry, messy omnivore and give them swimming room, and they're absolute show-stealers.
Jaydia photogaster
Jaydia photogaster is a small, nocturnal cardinalfish from the western Pacific that hangs around deeper lagoon patch reefs and tends to be seen solo or in little loose groups. The really neat bit is the silvery belly light-organ system (hence the name) and the subtle dusky bars down the sides - it is one of those understated fish that looks way cooler the longer you stare at it.
Ambassis kopsii
Ambassis kopsii is one of those cool little see-through mangrove/estuary fish that likes to hang out in a tight group, flashing silver in the light. It naturally lives where fresh and saltwater mix, so it does best when you treat it like a calm, slightly brackish schooling fish and give it lots of friends.
Hyporhamphus snyderi
This is a sleek little open-water halfbeak from the Tropical Eastern Pacific, with that classic underbite beak and a silvery body with dark lines along the back. Its whole vibe is cruising the surface in a school, so if you ever tried keeping one you would be planning around swimming room and a seriously escape-proof lid.
Sciadonus pedicellaris
Sciadonus pedicellaris is a rare deep-sea livebearing brotula (family Bythitidae) with a very slender body, small deep-set eyes, and loose translucent skin; it occurs at bathyal to abyssal depths and is not suited to typical aquarium care. The name refers to the stalk-like (“pedicellate”) pectoral-fin base.
Zappa confluentus
This is a tiny New Guinea mudskipper that lives around tidal mudflats by murky, brackish river water, and it can do the classic mudskipper trick of air-breathing when it is out of the water. In aquarium terms, think of it less like a regular "fish" and more like a little amphibious goby that wants a land area, lots of damp mud/sand to perch on, and calm brackish conditions.