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 249 species
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.
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.
Chromis viridis
Blue Green Chromis are those shimmery little green-blue darts you'll see zipping around the top of a reef tank, always looking like they're catching the light just right. They're super fun in a group because they hover and cruise together, but they've got a bit of a "pecking order" thing going on if the tank's tight or the group's too small.
Malacanthus latovittatus
This is the long, torpedo-shaped tilefish with the blue front end and that bold black stripe down the side. In the wild it hangs over outer reef slopes and will also claim a burrow area, so in a tank you are basically keeping a cruise-missile that also wants a safe "home base" and a tight lid.
Valenciennea strigata
This is that classic gold/yellow-headed sand-sifting goby with the little blue cheek stripe-always busy, always rearranging your sandbed. In a reef tank it'll spend the day taking mouthfuls of sand, filtering out tiny critters/foods, then "snowing" clean sand back out, and it'll usually claim a burrow area (often as a pair in the wild). It's super cool behavior-wise, but you really do need a mature tank with a proper sandbed and a lid because they can jump.
Chrysiptera caeruleolineata
This is one of those damsels that looks like it should be a little terror, but its vibe is way more chill than the classic blue devils. You get that bright blue body with a clean line detail, and it spends a lot of time zipping low around the rockwork like it owns a tiny little neighborhood.
Chaetodontoplus caeruleopunctatus
This is one of those super underrated Chaetodontoplus angels - dark body absolutely peppered with electric-blue spots and a bright yellow tail that pops under reef lighting. Its also a Philippines endemic, so you do not see them every day, and they tend to be a bit shy until they settle in and start cruising the rockwork looking for snacks.
Pseudochromis persicus
This is a bigger dottyback from the Persian Gulf area that lives tight to rocky reef crevices and will absolutely claim a little cave as its home. Gorgeous dark body with bright blue spotting, but it has that classic dottyback attitude - tough, alert, and a bit territorial once it settles in.
Xenocephalus elongatus
This is a deepwater stargazer that likes to sit on sand and basically "look up" for a meal, with those classic top-mounted eyes and a big ambush-predator mouth. It is a wild-caught marine fish from the Indo-West Pacific, and while it shows up in the aquarium trade sometimes, it is really more of a specialty oddball than something most home tanks can sensibly house long-term.
Kyphosus ocyurus
Kyphosus ocyurus is that slick-looking sea chub with the wavy blue and yellow stripes that make it look like it was painted on. It cruises rocky shorelines and reefs and will also show up in little schools (sometimes mixed with other chubs), especially around drop-offs or even floating debris offshore. It gets way too big and too active for normal home tanks, but it is a really cool fish to spot in the wild.
Neotrygon bobwardi
A bluespotted maskray (Neotrygon bobwardi) described as part of the former Neotrygon kuhlii species complex, reported from Indonesia in the eastern Indian Ocean (notably western Sumatra).
Coelophrys bradburyae
A tiny deep-sea batfish (family Ogcocephalidae) known from deep water off Japan; the original description was based on a single specimen collected at 557–595 m, and the species remains poorly known.