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
Whiskery shark
Furgaleus macki
A stout houndshark from southern Australia, it has little whisker-like barbels that it uses to nose around rocks and kelp for octopus snacks. It hits about 1.6 m, so this is a public-aquarium-only fish, but it is awesome to watch cruising a cool-water display.
Whitebanded sharpnose wrasse
Wetmorella albofasciata
This is one of those tiny, cryptic wrasses that spends a lot of time weaving through rockwork and poking into little cracks like it is on a constant scavenger hunt. The big eyes and sharp snout give it a weird-cute "mini predator" look, and it really shines in a peaceful reef where it feels safe enough to come out and cruise.
Whitebarred pink wrasse
Pseudocheilinus ocellatus
This is the fish most of us know as the Mystery Wrasse - a shy little reef wrasse with a bright yellow face, faint-to-bold white bars, and that signature eyespot back by the tail. It spends a lot of time weaving through rockwork and popping out to hunt tiny critters, and it can get surprisingly bossy once it feels settled in. Give it caves, a tight lid, and a steady meaty diet and it turns into a really fun, personable showpiece.
White-edged cardinalfish
Jaydia albomarginatus
Jaydia albomarginatus is a small marine cardinalfish from the Western Central Pacific. Like a lot of cardinalfish it is a mouthbrooder, and FishBase notes distinct pairing during courtship and spawning - the kind of behavior thats really fun to watch when a pair settles in. Its not a big open-water swimmer, so it does best with plenty of rockwork and calmer tankmates.
Whitemouth jack
Uraspis uraspis
A sleek open-water hunter, this jack flashes a stark white mouth against a silvery, torpedo-shaped body as it cruises in small schools. It is fast, strong, and built for long swims over deep reef slopes, which makes it a wow fish to see in the ocean but a nightmare to house at home. If anyone tries it, think public-aquarium scale and big, meaty feedings.
White-patch tuskfish
Choerodon oligacanthus
This is a chunky tuskfish wrasse from the Western Central Pacific with that classic Choerodon vibe - big attitude, big teeth, and a built-for-crunching mouth. Its natural menu is benthic critters, and it tends to live fairly shallow (roughly 2-15 m), so think "reef edge hunter" more than "open-water swimmer". Also worth knowing: there is basically no solid track record of long-term aquarium husbandry specifically for this exact species, so its care is a bit of educated guesswork based on other tuskfish.
Whitespotted stargazer
Uranoscopus polli
Uranoscopus polli is a bottom-dwelling marine stargazer from the eastern Atlantic (West Africa—Sierra Leone to Angola, including Cape Verde and São Tomé & Príncipe). It often buries in sand or mud with only its eyes and mouth exposed and ambushes passing prey, mainly fish. It is not a typical home‑aquarium species, and—as in other Uranoscopus—there is a large opercular/cleithral spine above the pectoral fin that may be venomous, so handle only with appropriate tools.
Wicker-work sole
Zebrias craticulus
This is a small striped sole from northern Australia that basically lives life glued to the sand, doing that classic flatfish thing where it vanishes the second it settles in. Those tight cross-bands that run right onto the fins are the whole vibe - it really does look like wicker-work up close. Not an aquarium fish for most people, but it is a super cool species if you are into oddball bottom-dwellers.
Windowpane flounder
Scophthalmus aquosus
A paper-thin, almost see-through flatfish that lives along the Northwest Atlantic, the windowpane looks wild when it vanishes into clean sand. It ambushes shrimp and small fish with quick bursts, then melts back into the bottom. Super cool animal, but it gets big and really wants cool, fully marine water and a roomy sandbed.
Wouter's pygmygoby
Trimma woutsi
Trimma woutsi is a true pygmy reef goby - maxing out around an inch - that spends its life perched close to the rockwork in shallow reef zones. Its tiny size is the whole game here: it is perfect for a peaceful nano reef where it can pick at micro-foods all day and not get bullied off meals.
Wry snailfish
Careproctus staufferi
Careproctus staufferi is a deepwater snailfish (family Liparidae) described from the central Aleutian Islands, Alaska (North Pacific) in 2016. The original description notes an overall red/pale coloration and a distinct lateral yellow slash across the dorsal part of the abdomen and posterior. It is a bathydemersal deep-sea species and is not a typical aquarium fish.
Yellow-and-black triplefin
Forsterygion flavonigrum
This is a tiny New Zealand triplefin that hangs around rocky reefs and overhangs, picking off little crustaceans. When males go into breeding colors they turn into a wild black-and-yellow flag, then they post up and guard the eggs like a grumpy little bouncer.