Search Species
Search for fish species by common or scientific name, or use filters to browse by water type, size, temperament, and difficulty.
Found 235 species
Green-peritoneum snailfish
Paraliparis entochloris
Paraliparis entochloris is a deepwater snailfish from the northwest Pacific, and the name is basically calling out its weird party trick: it has a green peritoneum (the lining around the organs) that can show through the body wall. This is not an aquarium fish at all - it is a cold, deep, bottom-associated species that is mostly known from scientific collections rather than the hobby.
Guaymas goby
Quietula guaymasiae
This is a small, bottom-hanging goby from Mexico's Gulf of California, usually found in shallow estuaries and lagoons. The really cool bit is it can do facultative air-breathing, so its built for those warm, low-oxygen, mucky spots. Its not a typical community freshwater fish - think brackish/marine lagoon goby that wants sand or mud and calm water.
Gubal goatfish
Upeneus gubal
Upeneus gubal is a tiny Red Sea goatfish that cruises over sand and mud and uses its little chin barbels to feel around for food. Its max size is under 9 cm standard length, so it is more of a "dwarf" goatfish compared to the bigger goatfish you see in the trade. Because it is a wild marine demersal species from the Gulf of Suez area, it is not something you will run into with a normal, well-established aquarium care playbook.
Halfbelt wriggler
Xenisthmus semicinctus
Xenisthmus semicinctus is a tiny little reef-dweller (barely 2 cm) from the Rowley Shoals off Western Australia. It is one of those blink-and-you-miss-it benthic fishes that lives right down on shallow coral reef habitat, kind of wriggling and hugging cover instead of swimming out in the open. Super cool fish biologically, but its so small and specialized that it is basically never seen in the normal aquarium trade.
Harlequin filefish
Oxymonacanthus longirostris
This is that super-cool orange-spotted, long-snouted filefish that hangs tight in branching Acropora like it's part of the coral. In the wild it's basically an Acropora-polyp specialist and usually lives in pairs, which is exactly why it's so tricky in home aquariums unless you're ready for the feeding challenge.
Hawaiian bandfish
Owstonia hawaiiensis
Owstonia hawaiiensis is a deepwater Hawaiian bandfish - a slim, rosy-red slope fish that hangs close to the bottom in the dark, cooler zones most divers never see. It is not really an aquarium fish in the normal sense, since it comes from deep water and would need specialized coldwater/deepwater life support to have a shot long-term.
Hawaiian cleaner wrasse
Labroides phthirophagus
This is the little reef "dentist" from Hawaii that sets up a cleaning station and does that classic flitty dance to invite other fish in. Its whole life revolves around picking parasites (plus mucus/scales) off clients, which is fascinating to watch but also exactly why it so often wastes away in typical home aquariums.
Hawaiian surf sardine
Iso hawaiiensis
Iso hawaiiensis is a tiny surf-zone silverside that lives right in the splashy, wave-battered edge of rocky headlands and reefs. Its whole vibe is fast, nervous, and built for rough water, so it is way more of a cool natural-history fish than a typical home-aquarium resident.
Highfin threadsail
Hime diactithrix
This is a deepwater little threadsail/flagfin from the Western Pacific that lives way down on the continental shelf. Its whole vibe is that tall, sail-like dorsal fin with warm orange spotting and bands, but because it comes from around 200-300 m it is basically never an aquarium fish in any normal sense.
Humpback unicornfish
Naso brachycentron
This is the big, open-water cruising unicornfish with that chunky hump on the back and a horn that really shows up on adult males. In the ocean youll see them in small groups (sometimes big schools) working reef slopes and rocky areas, grazing algae and just covering ground all day. In aquariums the main thing is simple: it gets enormous and needs a truly massive, stable system to thrive.
Hung's silvermouth cardinalfish
Jaydia hungi
Jaydia hungi is a little marine cardinalfish from the western Indian Ocean (including the Red Sea) that spends its time down near the bottom and comes alive more at night. Like a lot of cardinalfish, the cool party trick is the male mouthbroods the eggs, so breeding behavior is way more interesting than you would guess from a small, silvery fish.
Hyaline cardinalfish
Foa hyalina
This is a tiny little reef cardinalfish that looks almost glass-clear with a few reddish-brown stripes, so it kind of vanishes when it hangs in soft corals. In the wild it tends to be solitary and it tucks itself into Sinularia-type soft coral for cover, then comes alive more at night like a lot of cardinals do. Like other apogonids, it is a mouthbrooder, so once you see a male holding, he will go off food for a bit.