Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 654 species
Marshall's grenadier
Coryphaenoides marshalli
This is a deep-sea grenadier (rattail) from the Gulf of Guinea - think big head, huge eyes for the dark, and that classic long tapering tail. It lives way down on the slope, so it's not an aquarium fish in any realistic sense, but it's a really neat example of how fish are built for cold, high-pressure life.
Marsh Yunnan loach
Yunnanilus paludosus
A neat little stone loach from marshes in Yunnan, China, it tops out around 3 inches and spends its time nosing through plants and leaf litter for tiny critters. It is a coolwater, subtropical fish from calm vegetated marshes rather than a high-flow hillstream, so it appreciates gentle flow, clean water, and a soft sandy bottom. Keep a small group and it will settle in nicely once it feels safe.
McCosker's coralbrotula
Ogilbia mccoskeri
This is a tiny, super-secretive little reef brotula from the SW Caribbean that spends its life tucked into coral rubble and crevices. It is a bottom-hugging carnivore that picks off small mobile crustaceans, and you will mostly see it at dusk or when food hits the water. Cool fish, but it is absolutely not a typical aquarium species, so most "care" info out there is guesswork or confused with McCosker's flasher wrasse (totally different fish).
Megasema eartheater
Geophagus megasema
Geophagus megasema is one of those classic sand-sifting eartheaters that spends all day taking mouthfuls of sand, filtering out snacks, then "spitting" the clean sand back out. Give it a soft sandy bottom and roomy floor space and it really comes alive, plus that big side spot is a dead giveaway when you see one in person.
Mekong sheatfish
Kryptopterus paraschilbeides
Kryptopterus paraschilbeides is a small Mekong River sheatfish that does the whole sleek, no-dorsal-fin Kryptopterus look, but its body is more "normal catfish" than the super see-through glass catfish you usually see in shops. In the wild it moves with the flood cycle - heading into flooded forest at high water, then back to the main river seasonally - which is a pretty cool bit of behavior for a little catfish.
Mekran ponyfish
Deveximentum mekranense
This is a small ponyfish from the Gulf of Oman off Iran, and like other ponyfishes its whole vibe is being a little bottom-hugging, silvery coastal fish. It is a pretty recent species description (2021), and its natural range is very localized, so you are not going to see it come through the aquarium trade in any normal way. If you ever did encounter one, you would treat it like a delicate wild marine schooling fish rather than a typical hardy "saltwater beginner" fish.
Melanorivulus ivinhemensis
Melanorivulus ivinhemensis
Tiny Cerrado stream killie from the upper Parana basin, with males showing a yellow tail marked by fine red bars that pop in a planted setup. It is lively, inquisitive, and a skilled jumper, so a tight lid is a must. Keep it in a calm, leaf-littered tank and it will reward you with neat courtship displays.
Memorable rearspined fin prickleback
Kasatkia memorabilis
Kasatkia memorabilis is a tiny, eel-shaped marine prickleback from the Sea of Japan area that spends its life down on the bottom in nearshore water. Its whole vibe is "hide in cracks and hug the rocks," so if you ever did keep one, you would treat it more like a coldwater tidepool fish than a tropical reef fish.
Menderes garra
Garra menderesensis
A small-bodied cyprinid endemic to Lake Işıklı and the Büyük Menderes River system (Turkey). Described in 2015 (originally as Hemigrammocapoeta menderesensis) and currently treated as Garra menderesensis. Aquarium husbandry information appears scarce; avoid extrapolating care requirements from unrelated Garra species without species-specific sources.
Min County plateau loach
Triplophysa minxianensis
This is a coldwater, fast-river Triplophysa from Gansu, China - a little bottom loach built for current, with that classic 'stone loach' shape and a life spent hugging the substrate. Its wild range seems pretty localized (Taohe River and upper Weihe), and in the hobby its care gets tricky mostly because it really wants cool, super-oxygenated water and a clean, river-style setup.
Minerim banjo catfish
Bunocephalus minerim
This is a tiny little banjo catfish from Brazil that basically lives the stealth life - it melts into leaf litter and sand and you can go days thinking it vanished. Super chill fish, but it is one of those bottom hiders you feed with intention (sinking foods after lights-out), and it really appreciates a soft substrate to burrow into.
Mini zebra loach
Yunnanilus pulcherrimus
This is a tiny Chinese stone loach with a really crisp, zebra-like stripe pattern, and it spends most of its time nosing around the bottom like a little aquatic mouse. It does best in a mature, well-oxygenated tank with lots of cover and smooth sand or rounded gravel so it can cruise and forage without beating up its barbels.