Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 232 species
Bristletail Filefish (Aiptasia-Eating Filefish)
Acreichthys tomentosus
This little weirdo is one of my favorites because it's got that goofy filefish "face," a knack for wedging itself into rockwork, and a ton of personality once it settles in. People love them for the chance they'll snack on nuisance Aiptasia, but even when they're not on pest patrol they're just fun to watch cruise around and pick at stuff all day.
Butterfly stingaree
Urolophus papilio
This is a deepwater little stingray from the Chesterfield Islands area (Coral Sea), with a super wide, diamond-shaped disc that earned it the butterfly name. It is a bathydemersal species recorded around 330 m deep, so its needs are basically the opposite of a normal home aquarium ray - cold, high pressure habitat, and not something the hobby can realistically support.
Cameroon goby
Wheelerigobius wirtzi
This is a tiny little marine goby from the Gulf of Guinea that hangs out shallow on rocky faces. Its whole vibe is "small, shy, and clingy to cover," so it does best when you give it lots of rockwork and calm tankmates. Not something you see in shops often, but its micro-goby size and habitat style make it a really interesting oddball.
Candystick goby
Vanderhorstia delagoae
This is a shrimp-associated sand goby from the western Indian Ocean and Red Sea area, and it spends its life hovering right by a burrow (usually shared with a snapping shrimp). In a tank it is all about a fine sand bed and feeling secure - when its setup is right, you get that cool watchman-style behavior and constant "standing guard" at the entrance.
Cantor's croaker
Johnius cantori
Johnius cantori is a tiny little tropical croaker from the eastern Indian Ocean, and its whole claim to fame is how obscure it is - FishBase lists it as known only from the holotype collected in Malaysia. Like other croakers, it lives near the bottom in coastal waters, making it unlikely to be found in aquarium trade.
Capitlineata silhouette goby
Silhouettea capitlineata
This is a super tiny tropical marine goby that basically lives its life glued to the bottom, blending in and keeping a low profile. The neat name clue is the "head lines" - it was named for dark lines running down from the eye, so its face patterning is part of the whole deal. Because it tops out around an inch, its care info in the aquarium hobby is pretty scarce compared to bigger, commonly-sold gobies.
Cartier's deepwater snake eel
Benthenchelys cartieri
A deepwater marine snake eel (Ophichthidae) known from the Philippines (Western Central Pacific). FishBase notes members of the genus Benthenchelys are pelagic; recorded depth range to 1168 m. Not an established aquarium species.
Chikame daruma-garei
Engyprosopon multisquama
This is a small lefteye flounder from sandy-muddy bottoms around Japan and Taiwan. Its vibe is classic flatfish - it buries in the substrate and vanishes until food shows up, and the long, filament-y pectoral fin rays are a neat little detail you do not see on every flounder.
Chinese zebra goby
Ptereleotris zebra
Ptereleotris zebra is one of those slick, torpedo-shaped dartfish that likes to hover in the water column, then instantly zip back into a bolt-hole when it gets spooked. In the wild it hangs out on exposed seaward reefs in groups, often in current, and in a tank the big thing is giving it open swim room plus tight cover because it is absolutely a jumper.
Circular stingaree
Urolophus circularis
This is a small-ish temperate Australian stingray that likes rocky reef and kelp zones, so it tends to stay tucked in and out of sight. The really cool bit is the dorsal pattern - pale spots and rings plus a dark central circle of spots - it looks like someone hand-painted it. Also worth respecting: it has a venomous tail spine, so its "hands-off" by nature.
Citrine goby
Bollmannia litura
Bollmannia litura (citrine goby) is a western Atlantic goby associated with soft substrates; published records place it over mud and mixed-mud bottoms at roughly 12.8–71 m depth in the western Caribbean.
Codheaded rattail
Bathygadus cottoides
This is a true deep-sea rattail that lives way down the continental slope - like 1000+ meters deep. In the wild its cruising cold, dark bottom water from Mozambique over toward Australia and New Zealand, topping out around 24 cm. Neat fish, but its basically impossible to keep long-term in a normal aquarium because it needs near-freezing temps and deepwater conditions.