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 255 species
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.
Lampanyctus indicus
Lampanyctus indicus is a tiny deep-sea lanternfish from the equatorial Indian Ocean. Like other myctophids it has rows of light organs (photophores) and does the classic up-and-down daily migration in the water column. Super cool animal, but realistically its a research/deep-ocean species, not an aquarium fish.
Prionurus chrysurus
A Prionurus (sawtail) surgeonfish from southern Indonesia with a distinct yellow caudal fin and fixed bony plates (“sawtail”) on the caudal peduncle; described from cool upwelled seas.
Yirrkala insolitus
This is a little snake eel from New Caledonia that lives down in the sand and pops out like a weird underwater worm when it feels like hunting. It was described from deeper water than most of its close relatives (about 59 m), which is a big hint that it is not really an aquarium trade kind of fish. Super cool on paper, but realistically one you will almost never see for sale - and for good reason.
Callionymus izuensis
This is a little Japanese sand-dwelling dragonet from around the Izu Islands. Think of it as a bottom-hopper that hangs out on coarse sand and rubble and spends its time picking at tiny critters like most dragonets do. Super cool fish, but it is really more of a niche, species-tank kind of project than a casual community add.
Zenion japonicum
Zenion japonicum is a small deepwater dory from way down on the continental slope - silvery, big-eyed, and kind of "alien-cute" in that zeiform way. This is not an aquarium fish in any normal sense (it lives hundreds of meters deep in cold water), but it is a really neat bycatch species with that classic dory shape and spiny fins.
Rhinopias argoliba
Rhinopias argoliba is one of those sit-and-wait ambush predators that basically looks like a chunk of reef rubble until it decides to inhale something whole. Its claim to fame is that pale teardrop mark under the eye and the more "clean" look (fewer frilly appendages) compared to some other Rhinopias. Super cool fish, but you plan the whole stocking list around its mouth size and the fact it is a venomous scorpionfish.
Gerres equulus
Gerres equulus (Japanese silver-biddy) is a temperate, demersal coastal mojarra from the northwest Pacific (southern Korea to southern Japan), typically over sandy shallows; it is generally reported as absent from the Ryukyu Islands. It is primarily a coastal fish and is not commonly maintained in home aquaria; if kept, provide ample open swimming space and stable marine conditions.
Salarias fasciatus
This is the classic "lawnmower" blenny - a little reef perch-fish that spends its day scooting around the rocks, scraping film algae and looking like it has tiny eyebrows. Give it a mature tank with lots of live rock to graze and it will stay busy all day, but if the tank is too clean it can slowly starve unless you supplement greens.
Plectroglyphidodon johnstonianus
This is one of those tough little reef damsels that acts like it owns the whole rock pile, especially once it settles in. Maxes out around 14 cm and will absolutely defend a favorite cave or coral head, but the blue eye and chunky "wide bar" look make it a really cool fish if you plan the tank around its attitude.
Ulvicola sanctaerosae
This is a skinny little kelp-forest perch that literally hangs out up in the kelp canopy and chills on the fronds. One of the coolest bits is how it uses its tail to wrap onto kelp like a grip, then picks off tiny crustaceans drifting by. Not really an aquarium trade fish, but its a super neat West Coast oddball if you ever see one while diving.
Zebrias keralensis
This is a small, sand-hugging marine sole from the Kerala coast area, with that classic zebra-style banding that helps it vanish the second it settles onto the bottom. Its whole deal is staying low, burying in fine sand, and picking off tiny bottom critters - super cool fish, but not really something you see in the aquarium trade.