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 358 species
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.
Symphysodon aequifasciatus
This is one of the classic wild discus from the Amazon-big, round, and super "cichlid-smart," but way more chill than most cichlids. The coolest part to me is the parenting: the fry actually feed off a mucus layer from the parents' skin for a while, which is just wild to see if you ever breed them.
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.
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).
Melanotaenia boesemani
Boesemani rainbows are basically little swimming fireworks once they settle in-males get that wild split-color look (blue up front, orange in back) and they'll flash and posture at each other all day. They're super active and way happier in a real group with a long tank to cruise, not a cramped setup where they can't stretch out.
Knodus borari
Knodus borari is a tiny, brand-new-to-science (described in 2023) little characin from Brazil's lower Rio Tapajos area. Its wild habitat is a moderately fast stream over rock-gravel-sand, so I'd treat it like an active small schooling tetra that appreciates clean, oxygen-rich water and some current.
Gastromyzon spectabilis
This is one of the true Borneo "suckers" from fast, rocky streams - the kind that park themselves on stones and graze biofilm like a little living coaster. FishBase notes its distinctive live coloration/patterning (the whole reason it got named spectabilis), and it stays small, so its whole vibe is more "stream tank grazer" than "loach that cruises around." If you give it clean, oxygen-rich water and lots of algae-covered rock, it will reward you with nonstop weird, cool hillstream behavior.
Bryconaethiops boulengeri
This is a big, super-active African tetra from the Congo basin that really wants open swimming room and a group of its own kind. It cruises the mid-to-upper water and will absolutely chase down insects at the surface, so a tight lid is smart if you keep it.
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.
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Petitella bleheri (syn. Hemigrammus bleheri)
This is the rummy-nose with the really "full-face" red that runs back past the gill plate, plus that crisp black-and-white tail that flashes when the whole group turns together. When they're happy and the water's clean, they school tight and look like one living fish-when they're stressed, that red head fades fast, so they're basically your tank's mood ring.
Gonostoma denudatum
Gonostoma denudatum is a deep-sea bristlemouth that spends its life out in the dark, open ocean and does that classic daily up-and-down migration (deeper in the day, shallower at night). It has silvery flanks, a darker back, and light-producing photophores that start showing up as it grows - super cool biology, but not something you would ever realistically keep in a home aquarium.
Ancistrus cirrhosus
The Bristlenose Pleco is a small catfish with a sucker mouth, armored body, and distinctive bristles on its face, especially in males. It is primarily nocturnal and spends much of its time grazing on biofilm and algae from surfaces, making it a popular, hardy "algae-eater" in community aquariums.