Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 275 species
Confused lanternfish
Diaphus confusus
Diaphus confusus is a small lanternfish (family Myctophidae) known from the southeastern Pacific, recorded from deep mesopelagic/bathypelagic depths around 545–560 m near the Sala y Gómez Ridge. It is a wild, deepwater species and not realistically maintained as a typical home-aquarium fish due to capture/shipping and pressure/light/feeding constraints.
Constellationfish
Valenciennellus tripunctulatus
This is that tiny deep-sea hatchetfish with little light organs that sparkle like a night sky, which is why folks call it the constellationfish. It cruises the mesopelagic zone and snacks on copepods and ostracods, and while it looks awesome, it is not an aquarium candidate since it lives hundreds of meters down in cold, dim water.
Convict goby
Lythrypnus phorellus
A tiny Caribbean goby with bold dark-and-pale bars, the convict goby spends its days perched under ledges and picking micro-crustaceans from the rock. It stays under an inch long, so it does best in a peaceful nano reef with lots of nooks and a steady supply of small foods like copepods or finely chopped mysis. Think of it as a shy little cave gremlin that comes out when it feels safe.
Crosseyed cardinalfish
Fowleria aurita
Think of this little cardinal as a night owl that hangs in the shadows by day and pops out at lights-off to snack. It stays small, has that quirky crossed-eye look, and like other cardinals the male mouthbroods the eggs, which is super cool to watch if you ever get a pair to spawn. Give it rockwork to hide in and it settles right in.
Dark-barred goatfish
Upeneus luzonius
This is a small demersal goatfish from the western Pacific associated with muddy coastal substrates. It swims in aggregations (sometimes mixed with similar species) and uses chin barbels to forage. It is silvery with a reddish mid-lateral line that breaks into spots and a red bar below the eye.
Darom's goatfish
Upeneus davidaromi
A deep-water Red Sea goatfish with a bold, banded tail and bright white chin barbels, it cruises the bottom and snuffles through sand for tiny critters. Super interesting behavior to watch, but it is a large, active marine fish from 150-500 m that is rarely (if ever) seen in the hobby and would need a very big, well-run system.
Diamond Watchman Goby
Valenciennea puellaris
This is that sand-sifting goby you'll see cruising the bottom, taking huge mouthfuls of sand and spitting it out like a little construction crew. It's awesome for keeping a sandy substrate looking clean, but it'll also redecorate-so anything sitting on the sand is gonna get buried or undermined sooner or later. Super cool personality too, especially once it picks a favorite burrow and starts "working" all day.
Disalvo's goby
Kelloggella disalvoi
Kelloggella disalvoi is a tiny little marine goby from Easter Island that tops out at just a couple centimeters, the kind of fish that can disappear in a rockscape if you blink. It is more of a cryptic, tidepool-style goby than a "show fish," so the fun is watching it perch, scoot, and hug the bottom like a little living punctuation mark.
Distant goby
Lythrypnus insularis
Lythrypnus insularis is a tiny little reef goby from the Revillagigedo Islands (Mexico) that hangs tight to rocky reef crevices and walls. Its reddish body with lots of narrow blue bars is super slick up close, and because it is only about an inch long, it lives a very "hide, peek, and dart" kind of life in the rocks.
Dofleini's lanternfish
Lobianchia dofleini
This is a small mesopelagic lanternfish (Myctophidae) with photophores and diel vertical migration behavior. It occurs in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea, and is not a realistic home-aquarium species due to deep-pelagic habitat requirements.
Duskybanded sole
Zebrias penescalaris
This is a small marine sole (family Soleidae) from southern Australian waters that inhabits soft-bottom (sand/mud) habitats; it is a demersal, sand-associated species with banding patterns used for camouflage.
Dusky sand eel
Yirrkala fusca
Yirrkala fusca is a little snake eel (worm eel) from the Ophichthidae family that spends its life nosing around sandy or silty bottoms and basically wants to stay hidden. It is not really an aquarium fish - it is small, cryptic, and super prone to escaping unless the tank is built like a fortress.