Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 528 species
Redback dragonet
Synchiropus tudorjonesi
This is a tiny deepwater scooter dragonet from Indonesia/Papua New Guinea that spends its whole day glued to the bottom, pecking at micro-crustaceans in the sand and rubble. The cool part is the male's little "flag" dorsal fin display and that rich red banding - but it is absolutely the kind of fish that does best in a mature, pod-rich reef where it can hunt constantly. If you like watching behavior more than a fish "doing laps," this one is a total vibe.
Redbanded seabream
Pagrus auriga
This is a large sparid from the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean that lives over rocky/mixed bottoms and feeds on hard-shelled invertebrates (crustaceans, bivalves) and cephalopods. Due to its eventual size, it is generally considered suitable only for very large display/public aquaria rather than typical home systems.
Redblotch razorfish
Iniistius twistii
Iniistius twistii is a razor-thin little wrasse that lives over sandy patches next to reefs, and it will absolutely vanish into the sand when it spooks - its whole body shape is built for that trick. It tops out around 20 cm and is usually seen alone or in loose groups in the wild, so in a tank it does best as a single showpiece fish with plenty of open sand to cruise over.
Red hake
Urophycis chuss
Think of a small cod with a single little chin whisker that prowls cold New England waters at night. Red hake cruise up off the bottom to hunt and their youngsters even hide under sea scallops, which is wild to watch in research footage. They get big and need 7-10 C water, so this is a public-aquarium kind of fish, not a home tank candidate.
Redrump blenny
Xenomedea rhodopyga
This is a tiny, bottom-hugging blenny from the Gulf of California that lives around rocky, weedy reef and tidepool habitat. The cool bit is how it spends its time tucked into rocks and algae, picking at little meaty critters, and it can show a neat pinkish body with darker bars and that red area near the rear that the name is calling out.
Redsaddled snake eel
Quassiremus nothochir
This is a big, sand-loving snake eel from the eastern Pacific that spends a lot of its time tucked into the bottom with just the head showing. The cream-and-tan body with those dark-edged reddish saddle marks is the giveaway, and it is built for backing into the sand fast when it feels spooked. Cool animal, but realistically more of a public-aquarium fish than a home-tank project because of size and escape-artist vibes.
Reticulate clingfish
Tomicodon lavettsmithi
This is a tiny little clingfish from the NW Caribbean that spends its life plastered to rubble and shells in super-shallow water. It has that classic clingfish suction disc, so it can hang on in surge and pick at small prey right on the bottom. Not really a "community tank" fish - its whole vibe is cryptic, rock-hugging micro-predator in a saltwater nano.
Reticulate round ray
Urotrygon reticulata
A small, demersal round ray endemic to the Gulf of Panama that inhabits shallow sandy bottoms. Like other stingrays it has a venomous tail spine, and it is assessed as Critically Endangered (IUCN, assessed 24 Jan 2020), so it should not be targeted for aquarium trade.
Rikuzen flounder
Dexistes rikuzenius
Dexistes rikuzenius is a demersal right-eyed flounder (Pleuronectidae) from the NW Pacific (Japan/Korea), living on sandy/muddy bottoms at ~42–200 m and feeding on benthic invertebrates.
Rippled rockskipper
Istiblennius edentulus
This is a tidepool combtooth blenny that basically lives life on the edge - it hangs in super-shallow rocky spots and can even air-breathe and hop between pools when it feels like it. Give it lots of rockwork and a covered tank, and it will perch, watch you, and cruise around grazing film algae like a little saltwater lawnmower with attitude.
River garfish (halfbeak)
Zenarchopterus clarus
Zenarchopterus clarus is a true halfbeak - that long lower jaw is built for picking stuff off the surface. Its a tropical, surface-cruising fish from the Western Central Pacific (Thailand and Borneo), and it reproduces via internal fertilization with ovoviviparous young.
Robust assfish
Bassozetus robustus
Bassozetus robustus (robust assfish) is a deep-sea marine cusk-eel (Ophidiidae) with a circumglobal distribution in tropical to temperate waters. It occurs at great depths (reported to >1000 m and to over 4000 m). Reproduction is oviparous and has been described as producing buoyant/pelagic eggs (reported as occurring in a gelatinous egg mass in some references). It is not an aquarium species, as its habitat conditions (depth/pressure and deep-sea environment) cannot be replicated in typical home systems.