Fish That Start With C - Page 2 of 3
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.
Chikame daruma-garei
Engyprosopon multisquama
This is a small lefteye flounder from sandy-muddy bottoms around Japan and Taiwan. Its vibe is classic flatfish - it buries in the substrate and vanishes until food shows up, and the long, filament-y pectoral fin rays are a neat little detail you do not see on every flounder.
Chilean round stingray
Urotrygon chilensis
Looks like a tan-brown pancake dusted with tiny spots, and it loves to bury in fine sand with just the eyes and spiracles peeking out. It is a cool Eastern Pacific round ray with a venomous tail spine, so it is strictly for big, cool-running marine tanks and careful hands. Give it lots of open floor space and meaty seafood and it will cruise around like a little hovercraft.
Chinese hillstream loach
Jinshaia sinensis
Jinshaia sinensis is one of those slick, fast-water loaches built for life clinging to rocks in strong current - big fins, low profile, and always looking for biofilm to pick at. It can do great in a purpose-built river tank with tons of oxygen and flow, but it is not the kind of loach that tolerates "average community tank" conditions for long.
Chinese zebra goby
Ptereleotris zebra
Ptereleotris zebra is one of those slick, torpedo-shaped dartfish that likes to hover in the water column, then instantly zip back into a bolt-hole when it gets spooked. In the wild it hangs out on exposed seaward reefs in groups, often in current, and in a tank the big thing is giving it open swim room plus tight cover because it is absolutely a jumper.
Chingilt
Yirrkala chaselingi
Yirrkala chaselingi is a snake eel (worm eel family) from the western central Pacific. It is one of those secretive, sand-hugging eels that spends a lot of time buried and cruising the bottom, so its "cool factor" is more about the weird eel vibe than being a showy display fish.
Chiou's snake eel
Xyrias chioui
Xyrias chioui is a marine snake/worm eel (Ophichthidae) described from Taiwan; the holotype was collected over sand bottom at 60–70 m depth, and it has numerous needle-like teeth. Natural history beyond collection/habitat notes is poorly documented in the primary description.
Chocolate-colored catfish
Rineloricaria lanceolata
This is a slim little whiptail (a Loricariid) that spends most of its time gliding over sand and leaves, picking at biofilm like a tiny vacuum cleaner. Give it driftwood, caves, and calm tankmates and it turns into a super chill, sneaky-bottom-dweller with that awesome long whip tail and high dorsal fin.
Circular stingaree
Urolophus circularis
This is a small-ish temperate Australian stingray that likes rocky reef and kelp zones, so it tends to stay tucked in and out of sight. The really cool bit is the dorsal pattern - pale spots and rings plus a dark central circle of spots - it looks like someone hand-painted it. Also worth respecting: it has a venomous tail spine, so its "hands-off" by nature.
Citrine goby
Bollmannia litura
Bollmannia litura (citrine goby) is a western Atlantic goby associated with soft substrates; published records place it over mud and mixed-mud bottoms at roughly 12.8–71 m depth in the western Caribbean.
Clouded archerfish
Toxotes blythii
This is the freshwater archerfish that does the whole "shoot water at bugs" thing, and it is ridiculously fun to watch once they settle in. They are surface-oriented, quick, and kind of predatory in that "if it fits, it might get eaten" way, so you plan tankmates around their mouth size. Give them clean, well-oxygenated water and a tight lid, and they act like little hunters all day.
Clown loach
Chromobotia macracanthus
Clown loaches are those orange fish with the chunky black bands that act like total goofballs-piling into the same cave, clicking at each other, and sometimes doing that "am I dead?" sideways nap. They stay way calmer and more confident in a proper group, and once they're settled they'll spend all day cruising the bottom and sifting around for snacks.
Cobalt blue goby
Stiphodon semoni
Stiphodon semoni is one of those little river gobies that spends its whole day perched on rocks, scooting around, and grazing biofilm/aufwuchs like a tiny underwater goat. Give it clean, oxygen-rich water and a nice algae-y rockscape, and the males especially can look unreal with that blue-green sheen and bands.
Codheaded rattail
Bathygadus cottoides
This is a true deep-sea rattail that lives way down the continental slope - like 1000+ meters deep. In the wild its cruising cold, dark bottom water from Mozambique over toward Australia and New Zealand, topping out around 24 cm. Neat fish, but its basically impossible to keep long-term in a normal aquarium because it needs near-freezing temps and deepwater conditions.
Colombian shark catfish
Ariopsis seemanni
This is that slick silver "shark-looking" catfish with the black fins and white tips that cruises around like it owns the place. The big gotcha is it's not a true freshwater community fish long-term-juveniles show up in shops as "freshwater," but as it grows it really wants brackish and eventually full marine conditions, plus a lot of swimming room.
Comb flounder
Marleyella bicolorata
Marleyella bicolorata is a small, bottom-hugging marine flatfish from the western Indian Ocean that spends its life laid up on sand or mud. Its eyed side is dark with blotches and bars, so it blends in really well, and it can handle cooler-to-warm tropical temps depending on where it settles. This is a deepwater demersal species, so its needs line up way more with a chilled, specialized marine setup than a typical home reef tank.
Comet
Calloplesiops altivelis
This is the famous "Marine Betta" look-alike: jet-dark with those starry spots, and that wild fake eye near the back that makes predators bite the wrong end. It's a super shy cave-dweller by day and then turns into a sneaky night hunter, cruising out for crustaceans and small fish.
Common fusegoby
Fusigobius neophytus
This is a tiny reef-associated sand goby that hangs out over sand and rubble patches near coral, usually solo or in loose little groups. Its semi-translucent gray body is peppered with fine spots and it blends in amazingly well, then you catch that little black spot on the first dorsal fin and go, oh there it is. In a tank it is all about having sand to perch on and plenty of calm, peaceful neighbors so it is not bullied.
Common otocinclus
Otocinclus vittatus
O. vittatus is that tiny little "oto" you see plastered to plant leaves and the glass, just quietly vacuuming up soft algae and biofilm all day. The big trick with them is they're amazing grazers, but they can absolutely run out of food in a too-clean/new tank, so you've got to plan on supplementing with algae wafers/blanched veg.
Common stinkfish
Foetorepus calauropomus
This is a southern-Australia dragonet with a super long tailfin and a sneaky camouflage look, and the males can actually show some really neat color and filament action when theyre feeling bold. The whole "stinkfish" thing is real too - they have a strong-smelling body slime that can taste bitter and may be toxic, so its not a fish you handle unless you have to.
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.
Compressed ilisha
Ilisha compressa
Ilisha compressa (compressed ilisha) is a Persian Gulf pristigasterid (longfin herring relative) described from the Persian Gulf and generally associated with coastal pelagic/neritic habitats.
Compressiceps dwarf pike cichlid
Wallaciia compressiceps
This is one of those tiny pike cichlids that looks cute until you watch it start running the tank like a little biting terrier. It stays small, but it is a real predator with a ton of attitude, and it gets especially spicy with its own kind when pairs form.
Confused lanternfish
Diaphus confusus
Diaphus confusus is a small lanternfish (family Myctophidae) known from the southeastern Pacific, recorded from deep mesopelagic/bathypelagic depths around 545–560 m near the Sala y Gómez Ridge. It is a wild, deepwater species and not realistically maintained as a typical home-aquarium fish due to capture/shipping and pressure/light/feeding constraints.
Conger
Japonoconger sivicolus
Japonoconger sivicolus is a deepwater conger eel from the Northwest Pacific (Japan and nearby waters), the kind of fish you basically never see in the aquarium hobby because it lives way down on sandy-muddy bottoms. It tops out around 57 cm and is more of a science-and-fisheries-records eel than a home tank animal.