Fish That Start With C - Page 2 of 2
Browse all aquarium fish species with common names beginning with "C". Each profile includes care requirements, water parameters, tank size recommendations, and compatibility information for freshwater, marine, and brackish species.
Compact sand catlet
Zaireichthys compactus
This is one of those tiny African sand-dwelling loach catfish that likes to hug the bottom and vanish into the substrate. In the wild it comes from fast-flowing, muddy-brown water with mixed sand, mud, and rocky areas, so in a tank it really appreciates flow, oxygen, and a soft sandy spot to scoot around on.
Congo Ichthyborus
Ichthyborus congolensis
Ichthyborus congolensis is one of those Congo basin oddball characins with that long, predatory-looking snout - built for grabbing smaller fish and bugs in open water. Its a real "niche" species in the hobby, so most of the time youre planning a tank for its size and behavior (active, boisterous, potentially fin-nippy) rather than following a super-established community-fish care recipe.
Copper mahseer
Neolissochilus hexagonolepis
This is the chocolate/copper mahseer - a big, powerful river cyprinid that lives in fast, rocky streams and gets built like a torpedo. It is the kind of fish that wants current, oxygen, and room to cruise, and it will absolutely outgrow normal home aquariums if you try to keep it long-term.
Coral Beauty Angelfish
Centropyge bispinosa
Coral Beauty is that classic little dwarf angel with the purple-blue body and orange striping that looks different from fish to fish. It spends a lot of the day weaving through rockwork and picking at algae and other bits, so a tank with mature live rock really brings out its best behavior. It can be a little bossy (especially with other dwarf angels) and some individuals will nip corals, so it is reef-safe with caution.
Creek livebearer
Jenynsia eigenmanni
Jenynsia eigenmanni is a little South American livebearer from southern Brazil, and it has that classic Jenynsia "one-sided" mating setup, which is pretty wild to watch once you keep a group. It's not a showy neon fish, but it is super active and always cruising and grazing, more like a tiny, tougher molly-type fish that stays busy all day.
Cuban cusk-eel
Lucifuga subterranea
This is one of Cuba's weird, wonderful cave brotulas - pale, blind, and built for cruising around in dark cave pools and sinkholes. It is a livebearer (yep, it gives birth to fully formed young), and it hunts small crustaceans in those underground waters.
Cutthroat eel (Ilyophis robinsae)
Ilyophis robinsae
This is a deep-sea cutthroat eel that lives way down on the seafloor - like, thousands of meters deep. Its whole vibe is "muddy abyss predator/scavenger" with that classic eel-shaped body, and its name honors ichthyologist Catherine Robins. Not an aquarium fish in any realistic sense, but it is a seriously cool species from an extreme habitat.