Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 541 species
Yellow phantom tetra
Hyphessobrycon roseus
Hyphessobrycon roseus is a small phantom-type tetra (syn. Megalamphodus roseus) from the Maroni and Oyapock river basins (French Guiana/Guianas region). It is best kept in a planted, softwater setup in a group, where males may display but are generally peaceful.
Yellow rockpicker
Haplochromis flavus
A bright yellow Victorian hap that spends its day picking tiny critters and algae off the rocks, just like its name hints. Males really glow in a proper rocky setup and they have that classic feisty-but-manageable Lake Victoria attitude. Give them space and they reward you with tons of personality and great color.
Yellow-spotted dwarf loach catfish
Zaireichthys flavomaculatus
Zaireichthys flavomaculatus is a truly tiny, bottom-hugging African loach catfish from the Congo basin that spends its time tucked into sand and gaps like a little river goblin. Its yellowish base color with blotchy/marbled spotting is the whole vibe, and it is the kind of fish you keep because you love oddball micro-predators and watching subtle behavior, not because it is always out front.
Yellow tail polka dot loach
Yasuhikotakia splendida
This is a super active little botiid loach from the Mekong basin that spends its time cruising the bottom, nosing around rocks, and sorting out a pecking order with its buddies. The giveaway look is the yellow fins with polka-dot markings plus that bold dark ring around the tail base - it is a really sharp, weirdly classy pattern for a loach. Not a chill "peaceful community" fish, but in a proper group with hiding spots and flow, they are a blast to watch.
Yunnanilus longibulla
Yunnanilus longibulla
Tiny stone loach from Yunnan’s Lake Chenghai with a neat party trick - that long swim bladder helps it hover and make quick dashes along the bottom. Think cool, very hard, alkaline water and lots of sand and pebbles to nosh through. It is rarely seen in the trade, so plan for a careful, species-focused setup.
Yunnan jieyu (云南结鱼)
Folifer yunnanensis
A rare freshwater cyprinid endemic to Lake Fuxian (Yunnan, China). Reported maximum length is about 21.5 cm standard length (SL). IUCN status: Endangered (assessment date 19 January 2011). Aquarium care information appears scarce in mainstream hobby references.
Yunnan loach
Eonemachilus altus
A petite stone loach from Yunnan, China, often listed in older books as Yunnanilus altus. It hangs around the bottom sifting for tiny bites and really perks up in a scape with smooth sand, pebbles, and steady current.
Yushan river loach
Hemimyzon yushanensis
This is a little Taiwan hillstream loach that lives its whole life clinging to rocks in fast, super-oxygenated streams. In a tank it does best in a "river" setup with smooth stones and lots of flow, where it will spend all day grazing biofilm and cruising the glass like a tiny underwater gecko.
Zebra Danio
Danio rerio
Zebra danios are those nonstop little stripey rockets that zip around the top and middle of the tank like they've had three espressos. They're super fun in a group because they chase, spar, and "race" each other without really meaning harm, and that constant motion makes the whole tank feel alive.
Zebra Mayan cichlid
Mayaheros zebra
Mayaheros zebra is one of those Yucatan Peninsula "Mayan cichlid group" fish that looks like a smaller, striped version of the better-known Mayan cichlid. The big gotcha is that a lot of modern checklists treat "zebra" as a form/synonym within Mayaheros urophthalmus rather than a clearly separate aquarium species, so you will almost always see it discussed under the Mayan cichlid umbrella.
Zebra pleco
Hypancistrus zebra
This is the famous black-and-white striped L-number pleco (L046) from the Rio Xingu, and it really does look like a little underwater zebra. Its best traits are how cavey and secretive it is by day, then it pops out at night to hunt meaty foods - and the male will guard eggs in a cave if you ever breed them. It is not an algae-cleaner pleco, so think of it more like a tiny, warm-water, rock-dwelling catfish with attitude over caves.
Zonatus sand catlet
Zaireichthys zonatus
Zaireichthys zonatus is a tiny little Congo River loach catfish that lives in fast, rocky water - it is one of those blink-and-you-miss-it micro predators. In an aquarium it is all about flow, oxygen, and lots of rock crevices, and the coolest part is watching it wedge itself into cracks and scoot around the bottom like a miniature river goblin.