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 106 species
Umbra pygmaea
Eastern mudminnows are tough little swamp-and-ditch survivors that can handle low oxygen and even gulp air when they need to. They spend a lot of time lurking in weeds and leaf litter, then suddenly dart out to nail small bugs and crustaceans. Not a flashy fish, but super cool if you like oddball native species with real personality.
Wallago attu
Wallago attu is one of those true monster sheatfish - a long, compressed catfish with a ridiculously huge, deeply cleft mouth that makes it an absolute vacuum cleaner for anything it can catch. In the wild it hangs around deep, slower water over mud or silt and spends a lot of time tucked into holes and cover. In aquariums its main care requirement is simple but brutal: space (think indoor pond), because it gets enormous and anything smaller than it is food.
Xenotoca doadrioi
This is a little Mexican goodeid livebearer where the males do that awesome "blue body + orange/red tail" thing when they color up. They're super active, always grazing and pecking at surfaces, and they really appreciate cooler, clean, well-oxygenated water compared to your typical tropical livebearers.
Xiphophorus hellerii
This is the classic livebearer swordtail-the males grow that long tail "sword" and spend half their day showing off and chasing each other around. They're super active, always grazing and cruising, and they'll absolutely fill your tank with babies if you keep males and females together. Give them room to swim, hard-ish water, and some plants for cover and they're basically in their happy place.
Xiphophorus hellerii
Swordtails are busy, always-on-the-move livebearers, and the males' "sword" tail extension is the whole show-lots of displaying and posturing in the open water. They're tough as nails in hard, slightly alkaline water, but in tight tanks the males will absolutely bicker and chase each other around.
Xiphophorus maculatus
This is the classic platy-the little livebearer that's been bred into a ridiculous number of colors, but the wild-type is more of an olive-brown fish with dark blotches. They're super active, always cruising for snacks, and you'll see fun social behavior when you keep them in a small group. Also: if you mix males and females, you'll almost certainly end up with fry-these guys don't waste any time.
Yaoshania pachychilus
Hillstream loach from fast, highly oxygenated mountain streams; thrives in a mature, algae/biofilm-rich river-style aquarium with strong flow and smooth rocks. Peaceful but social, and best kept in groups where they become more active and confident.
Yasuhikotakia morleti
This is the little loach with the bold black "skunk stripe" down its back, and it acts just as sassy as it looks. Give it a group and a pile of caves and it turns into a busy, clicking, bottom-patrolling gremlin that will happily hunt snails. It stays fairly small, but it can get nippy if you try to keep just one or you pair it with slow, long-finned fish.
Yirrkala gjellerupi
This is a tiny little freshwater snake eel (worm eel family) that lives a pretty un-eel-like life, turning up in streams well away from the sea. It is one of those obscure oddballs you will mostly see in scientific papers rather than aquarium shops, and that rarity is honestly part of what makes it so interesting.
Zoogoneticus tequila
This is a little Mexican goodeid livebearer where the males get that awesome orange crescent in the tail and will spar and posture like tiny cichlids. They do best in a planted tank where they can duck into roots and stems, and once they're settled they'll breed steadily and you'll see lots of interesting social behavior.