Fish That Start With D - Page 2 of 2
Browse all aquarium fish species with common names beginning with "D". Each profile includes care requirements, water parameters, tank size recommendations, and compatibility information for freshwater, marine, and brackish species.
Dofleini's lanternfish
Lobianchia dofleini
This is a small mesopelagic lanternfish (Myctophidae) with photophores and diel vertical migration behavior. It occurs in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea, and is not a realistic home-aquarium species due to deep-pelagic habitat requirements.
Dotted gizzard shad
Konosirus punctatus
Konosirus punctatus is a coastal, open-water schooling shad from East Asia that runs in and out of bays and brackish estuaries to breed. It gets fairly big for a "shad" and is built for constant cruising, so its care is much closer to a coolwater baitfish setup than a typical home aquarium community fish.
Drab snake moray
Uropterygius inornatus
This is a tiny little reef moray that spends most of its time wedged into rock cracks and caves, with just its head poking out. It stays drab tan to brown and is more of a "blink and you miss it" eel, but its whole sneaky crevice-dweller vibe is exactly what makes it fun if you like oddball marine fish.
Drach's conger eel
Uroconger drachi
Uroconger drachi is one of those super-obscure conger eels that basically never shows up in the hobby - it is known from just a single collected specimen off the Republic of the Congo. FishBase lists it topping out around 41.5 cm total length, so it is not a giant conger, but its real "thing" is how little we actually know about it.
Dragon fin tetra
Diapoma terofali
This is a little South American characin from the Parana-Uruguay system that stays pretty small but has a neat "glandulocaudine" twist - males have a special caudal gland tied to breeding. In a calm planted setup they act like a typical small tetra-ish fish, cruising midwater and looking best in a group.
Duckbill eel
Nettenchelys erroriensis
This is a deepwater duckbill eel from around 400 m down off the Error Seamount and near Socotra. It tops out around a foot long and has that long, narrow snout that gives duckbill eels their look. Super cool fish to read about, but not a home aquarium candidate.
Durban sand-eel
Yirrkala ori
Yirrkala ori is a marine snake eel (Ophichthidae) described from South Africa (Western Indian Ocean) and recorded on coarse sand substrates at about 20 m depth; species-specific aquarium trade and behavior-in-captivity claims are not established in primary references.
Dusky sand eel
Yirrkala fusca
Yirrkala fusca is a little snake eel (worm eel) from the Ophichthidae family that spends its life nosing around sandy or silty bottoms and basically wants to stay hidden. It is not really an aquarium fish - it is small, cryptic, and super prone to escaping unless the tank is built like a fortress.
Dusky Tongue Sole
Paraplagusia sinerama
A tongue sole (family Cynoglossidae) from soft-bottom habitats in northern Australia (Exmouth Gulf, WA to Moreton Bay, QLD) and also New Guinea. It is a bottom-dwelling flatfish associated with soft substrates; aquarium care details (salinity/pH/tankmates) are not well documented in major references.
Duskybanded sole
Zebrias penescalaris
This is a small marine sole (family Soleidae) from southern Australian waters that inhabits soft-bottom (sand/mud) habitats; it is a demersal, sand-associated species with banding patterns used for camouflage.
Dwarf chain loach
Ambastaia sidthimunki
This is the little "Sid" loach people fall in love with once they see a whole group doing their goofy zoomies and clicking at each other. They stay tiny but act like big loaches - always busy, always social, and way more confident when you keep them in a proper gang. Give them sand, hiding spots, and lots of buddies and they really shine.
Dwarf goatfish
Upeneus parvus
Upeneus parvus is a sand-and-mud bottom goatfish that spends a lot of time prowling the substrate and picking out little critters to eat. In an aquarium it is basically a living metal detector with those chin barbels, and it can absolutely rearrange your sand while it hunts.
Dwarf gourami
Trichogaster lalius
Dwarf gouramis are those little jewel-box labyrinth fish that hang out near the surface, cruising through plants and popping up for air when they feel like it. Give them a calm, planted setup and they'll reward you with tons of personality-males especially will posture and show off, and they're classic bubble-nest builders when they're in the mood.
Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish
Melanotaenia praecox
These little rainbows are like living sparks-electric blue bodies with those punchy red/orange fins, and they look even better the more you keep together. They're constantly cruising the mid-water, flashing at each other and doing that classic rainbowfish "look at me" shimmy, especially when the lights first come on or at feeding time.
Dwarf pufferfish (Pea puffer)
Carinotetraodon travancoricus
This is the famous pea puffer-tiny (around 3.5 cm max) but it acts like a full-size puffer, cruising around and hunting little critters with a ton of attitude. If you give it a heavily planted tank with lots of line-of-sight breaks, you'll get to watch really cool "stalking" behavior all day.
Dwarf stingray
Urotrygon nana
This is a tiny tropical round stingray from the eastern Pacific that spends its time cruising and burying in soft sand in very shallow water. It stays relatively small for a stingray (still a real ray, not a "mini" aquarium species), and it does carry a venomous tail spine, so it is absolutely a hands-off animal.