Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 419 species
Bigfin shrimpgoby
Vanderhorstia macropteryx
This is one of those classic sand-dwelling shrimp gobies that posts up at a burrow entrance and keeps watch while its pistol shrimp roommate does the digging. In the tank its vibe is basically "little sentinel" - calm, bottom-oriented, and super fun to observe if you give it sand and a secure lid (they can jump).
Black dwarfgoby
Eviota vader
Eviota vader is a truly tiny, purplish-black little reef goby from Papua New Guinea that was only described in 2025. It was named after Darth Vader because the whole fish is basically dark purple-black, which is wild for an Eviota. Its size is the big story here - at barely over 1 cm, its main challenge in aquariums would be making sure it actually gets enough to eat.
Black mouth conger
Bathycongrus melanostomus
This is a deepwater congrid eel described from eastern Taiwan. It is marine and bathydemersal (reported to ~300 m). Diagnostic features include a much reduced caudal fin and blackish mouth cavity and gill chamber; the pectoral fin is yellowish with a black margin. Aquarium availability and behavior/husbandry are not well documented for the species.
Black verilus
Verilus sordidus
Verilus sordidus (the black verilus) is a deep-reef Caribbean ocean bass with a big eye and a seriously toothy mouth for its size. It is not really an aquarium fish - it is a deeper-water marine species that shows up around rocky bottoms and is rarely seen in the trade.
Black-chest cardinalfish
Xeniamia atrithorax
A tiny deep-reef cardinalfish described in 2016 that reaches about 3.0 cm SL. It has a distinctive dark melanophore patch on the chest/isthmus region and shows male mouthbrooding (brooding eggs reported in males). Recorded from the South China Sea off central Vietnam, with later records from Taiwan; reported from ~40–119 m depth (often ~70–119 m).
Black-edge cabillus
Cabillus nigromarginatus
Cabillus nigromarginatus is a very small marine goby (to about 3 cm) described from Rodrigues in the Western Indian Ocean, with records including Seychelles; it is known as the black-edge cabillus.
Blackfin pygmy skate
Fenestraja atripinna
Fenestraja atripinna is a small, deepwater (upper slope) bathydemersal pygmy skate from the Western Central Atlantic (e.g., Bahamas/Cuba/Florida region) reported from ~310–870 m (often deeper than ~440 m). Biology is poorly known; like other skates it is oviparous (egg cases).
Blackfin slatey
Diagramma melanacrum
This is a big Indo-West Pacific sweetlips/grunt that cruises reefs and hangs in caves, and it gets that cool yellow-and-silver look sprinkled with dark spots plus the really obvious black on the lower tail and the pelvic/anal fins. Juveniles show up in murkier estuary and silty reef areas, then the adults shift deeper and often sit in small groups until they go hunting at night. In aquariums its size is the whole story - it is a public-aquarium kind of fish once grown.
Blackfin stargazer
Ichthyscopus nigripinnis
This is a little sand-sitting stargazer from Australia that likes to lie in wait with its eyes up top and nail passing prey. That black mark on the front part of the dorsal fin is basically its signature. Cool fish, but its more of a wild marine predator than something you set up in a typical home aquarium.
Blackflash ribbonfish
Trachipterus jacksonensis
This is one of those true open-ocean ribbonfish - long, silvery, and super weird-looking in the best way, with a tall red dorsal fin when its in good shape. Its a deepwater, roaming marine species that occasionally turns up nearshore or even in estuaries, but its not something you can realistically keep in a home aquarium.
Blackspot razorfish
Iniistius dea
This is one of the coolest "knife-bodied" wrasses - it hangs over open sand and, when it gets spooked or wants to sleep, it literally torpedoes straight into the sand. Give it a deep, fine sand bed and it will act totally different (and way more natural) than a typical rock-hugging reef wrasse. Adults are usually shy and cruisy with tankmates, but they are not forgiving about rough handling or sketchy setups.
Blackspotted snake eel
Quassiremus ascensionis
A tropical marine snake eel that buries in soft substrates (sand/mud/gravel) with only the head exposed to ambush prey. Recorded to 71 cm TL and occurs mainly in the western Atlantic (also Brazil) and at Ascension Island; typically found in shallow inshore habitats to ~12 m, including sand and seagrass (turtle grass) areas.