Fish That Start With A
Browse all aquarium fish species with common names beginning with "A". Each profile includes care requirements, water parameters, tank size recommendations, and compatibility information for freshwater, marine, and brackish species.
Welcome to the letter 'A' index, where you'll find a variety of aquarium species. Highlights include the popular Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) and the unique Bristlenose Pleco (Ancistrus cirrhosus). Whether you prefer community fish like the Banded-tail glassy perchlet (Ambassis urotaenia) or specialized types, this section provides options for all aquarists.
Abe's eelpout
Japonolycodes abei
Japonolycodes abei is a temperate, deepwater demersal eelpout (family Zoarcidae) endemic to Japan (Kumano-nada Sea reported; other sources also report Sagami Bay and Tosa Bay). It is the only species in the genus Japonolycodes and occurs roughly 40-300 m depth, making it an uncommon/atypical aquarium species.
Aboina barb
Enteromius aboinensis
Enteromius aboinensis (the Aboina barb) is a small West African barb with a clean black midline stripe and a little spot right at the base of the tail. It does best when you treat it like a proper schooling fish - keep a decent group and give it plants around the edges with open swimming room in the middle.
Affinis blind cusk-eel
Barathronus affinis
Barathronus affinis is a tiny, super-weird deep-sea blind cusk-eel from the western-central Indian Ocean. It is one of those gelatinous, loose-skinned brotula-type fishes that live way down in the dark and are basically never seen alive, so almost everything we know comes from preserved specimens and taxonomic work.
African moony
Monodactylus sebae
This is that shiny, diamond-shaped "mono" that cruises around in a tight pack and looks like a little silver dinner plate with black bars when it's young. The big thing with African moonies is they're euryhaline-so they'll tolerate freshwater as juveniles, but they really shine long-term in brackish (and can be transitioned toward marine as they mature). Give them a big, open tank and a group, and they turn into nonstop, super fun midwater swimmers.
African red snapper
Lutjanus agennes
This is a true snapper from West Africa - a big, fast-growing predator that goes from coastal reefs to brackish lagoons and estuaries (especially as a juvenile). Super cool fish in the wild, but it gets absolutely huge and will eat smaller tankmates once it has the mouth for it, so its really more of a public-aquarium scale animal than a home-aquarium fish.
Ajuricaba tetra
Jupiaba ajuricaba
Jupiaba ajuricaba is a South American freshwater characin from the Amazon basin in Brazil (rio Negro, rio Solimões, and rio Tapajós basins). It reaches about 9.5 cm SL and is diagnosed by a narrow dark midlateral stripe, an elongated humeral spot, and an ocellated spot on the upper caudal-fin lobe. Wild specimens have been collected from blackwater forest streams and also oxbow-lake habitats.
Aleutian skate
Bathyraja aleutica
This is a big, cold-water deep-slope skate from the North Pacific that cruises muddy bottoms and eats chunky benthic prey like crabs and shrimp. The really cool bit is its egg-laying skate life - it does distinct pairing (the classic skate "embrace") and drops those tough egg cases on the seafloor. Not an aquarium fish at all unless you're basically running a public-aquarium-style chilled system.
Allen's river garfish
Zenarchopterus alleni
A poorly known freshwater halfbeak endemic to West Papua (Mamberamo River), described from a single specimen (~13 cm SL). Beyond basic habitat/occurrence, little is published about its ecology or aquarium suitability; assume it is a surface-oriented, jump-prone halfbeak only by analogy with related taxa.
Altipedunculata stone loach
Schistura altipedunculata
Schistura altipedunculata is one of those little stream loaches that wants clean, well-oxygenated water and a bunch of rock nooks to claim as home. It is a bottom-hugger that will spend its day scooting from crevice to crevice, and it tends to get a bit spicy with its own kind if you do not give it enough hiding spots.
Amapa tetra
Hyphessobrycon amapaensis
This is a tiny, super sleek little tetra with a clean red stripe down the side that really pops once its settled in. It does best in a planted, slightly tinted "creek-style" setup and looks way cooler when you keep a proper group so they school and flash that line together. If you can give it soft, slightly acidic water and a calm community, its an easy fish to fall for.
Amatlan chub
Yuriria amatlana
Yuriria amatlana (the Amatlan chub) is a little Mexican native minnow from the Ameca River basin. Its wild range is pretty limited and it is listed as Endangered, so its care info in the aquarium hobby is basically nonexistent and its availability is usually low. In the original species description, preserved fish show a dark lateral stripe with a darker patch on the caudal peduncle, and they can have tiny barbels at the mouth corners.
American flagfish
Jordanella floridae
Jordanella floridae is that little Florida native with the red-and-cream striping that really does look like a tiny flag once a male colors up. They graze algae like champs (especially stringy/hair algae), but they have a bit of attitude - give them plants and space so the bossy behavior stays manageable. Bonus: the male guards the eggs and will actively fan them, which is pretty fun to watch.
American shadow goby
Quietula y-cauda
This is a little mudflat goby from California down into the Gulf of California that loves hanging tight to the bottom and vanishing into burrows. The neat tell is that sideways Y-shaped blotch right at the base of the tail, plus the row of dark spots along the side. Its whole vibe is brackish estuary life - calm water, soft substrate, lots of hiding holes.
Amur sculpin
Alpinocottus szanaga
This is a little coldwater sculpin from the Amur drainage - a bottom-hugging, rock-and-gravel fish that spends its day wedged under stones and darting out to grab food. Super cool behavior and attitude, but it is absolutely not a warm tropical community fish - it wants chilly, fast, oxygen-rich water and will bicker with other bottom fish.
Andrica moenkhausia
Moenkhausia andrica
Moenkhausia andrica is a little Brazilian characin from the Tapajos system that tops out around 7 cm (about 2.8 inches) standard length. It has a neat netted (reticulated) scale pattern plus a dark spot on the caudal peduncle, and the really wild part is that mature females can have tiny fin hooklets too, which is usually a male-only thing in a lot of characins.
Anhanga pygmy pencil catfish
Potamoglanis anhanga
This is a truly tiny Amazonian trichomycterid catfish - like 1.3 cm max - so it is more of a micro-predator oddball than a typical community catfish. It is the kind of fish that disappears into sand, leaf litter, and plant roots, and you will spend way more time setting up the right micro-habitat than you will actually seeing it.
Anitápolis livebearer
Jenynsia weitzmani
Jenynsia weitzmani is a freshwater anablepid livebearer endemic to southern Brazil (currently known only from the type locality near Anitápolis, Santa Catarina). Like other Jenynsia (onesided livebearers), reproduction involves lateralized mating morphology/behavior; aquarium care guidance is not well-documented for this species specifically.
Annandale's zebra sole
Zebrias annandalei
Zebrias annandalei is a small, bottom-hugging sole from coastal India that lives on sandy/muddy flats and spends its life glued to the substrate. Its whole deal is camouflage and "disappearing" behavior like other soles - cool fish, but not really a typical home-aquarium species and you would need a proper marine sand-bottom setup to even try it.
Anteridorsal Homatula loach
Homatula anteridorsalis
This is a benthic Chinese stream loach from Yunnan that lives right down on the bottom in clear, flowing water over gravel and rocks. Think of it as a "river tank" fish - it wants current, oxygen, and lots of surfaces to poke around on for bits of food and algae.
Arabian spiny eel
Notacanthus indicus
Notacanthus indicus is a deep-sea spiny eel (family Notacanthidae; not a true eel) known from the Arabian Sea on the continental slope at roughly ~960–1,046 m depth, with reported maximum length around 20 cm TL; it is a deep-water bycatch species and not established in the aquarium trade.
Aracu-comum
Schizodon vittatus
Schizodon vittatus is a large South American anostomid (family Anostomidae). Reported maximum size is about 35 cm standard length; it is harvested/consumed in parts of Brazil and is not commonly covered by mainstream aquarium husbandry references.
Arctic rockling
Gaidropsarus argentatus
This is a deepwater North Atlantic rockling (a cod relative) that hangs out on soft bottoms way down the slope. It is a cold-water, bottom-hugging predator that snoots around for crustaceans and will also take small fish when it gets the chance.
Arianae tetra
Hyphessobrycon arianae
Tiny South American tetra from the Parana River basin that tops out around an inch, so a little school looks awesome in a planted nano tank. It is mellow, fast, and active in groups, but you do not see it for sale very often. Keep a decent shoal and it will show more confidence and color.
Armoured stickleback
Indostomus paradoxus
This is that goofy little "freshwater seahorse"-looking fish that just kind of perches and scoots around like a tiny armored twig. Its whole vibe is slow, sneaky micropredator - once its settled in, you will catch it stalking microfoods and doing these subtle little posture displays. The big trick is feeding: they do best when you can provide lots of small live foods in a calm, planted tank.