Fish That Start With E
Browse all aquarium fish species with common names beginning with "E". Each profile includes care requirements, water parameters, tank size recommendations, and compatibility information for freshwater, marine, and brackish species.
The letter 'E' offers a mix of aquarium fish, from beloved community species to unique finds. Notable species include the Midas blenny (Ecsenius midas), known for its vibrant colors and engaging behavior, and the Green chromide (Etroplus suratensis), a hardy species that can thrive in various setups. These fish offer diverse options for aquarists looking to enhance their aquatic environments.
East Indian lipsucker
Andamia heteroptera
This is one of those wild intertidal blennies that clings to wave-battered rocks with a sucker-like lower lip and will even pop out onto damp rock when conditions let it. In the ocean its whole lifestyle is about hanging on in the splash zone, grazing and picking at tiny foods between surges, so it is a super cool fish but honestly not a typical "throw it in a reef tank" kind of species.
East-Pacific ventbrotula
Ventichthys biospeedoi
This is a deep-sea cusk-eel that lives right around hydrothermal vents on the Southeast Pacific Rise - basically the fish equivalent of hanging out next to an underwater volcano. Its thick skin and other oddball body features are thought to be adaptations for that extreme vent neighborhood, and it seems to be a scavenger/predator on small stuff down on the bottom.
Eastern mudminnow
Umbra pygmaea
Eastern mudminnow (Umbra pygmaea) is a small freshwater umbrid native to eastern North America that inhabits slow, vegetated waters such as swamps, ponds, and ditches. It feeds mainly on insect larvae and small aquatic invertebrates and is noted for tolerance of low-oxygen wetland habitats.
Edward cichlid
Haplochromis pharyngalis
This is one of those Lake Edward haplochromines that has the typical sleek, fast "hap" shape and attitude. It is not something you see in the average fish store, but if you do find it, treat it like a medium-sized African cichlid that appreciates hard, alkaline water and some real swimming room.
Eichhornia (water hyacinth) pencil catfish
Ituglanis eichorniarum
Ituglanis eichorniarum is a tiny, secretive trichomycterid (pencil catfish) from the Paraguay-Parana system, the kind of fish that spends its time nosing through plants and leaf litter instead of cruising the open water. The species name comes from Eichhornia (water hyacinth), which is a fun clue to the sort of weedy habitat it was found in.
Elongate duckbill eel
Saurenchelys elongata
Saurenchelys elongata is a skinny, deepwater duckbill eel - basically a living piece of spaghetti with a long, pointed snout. It is not an aquarium fish in any normal sense (it is a marine, bathydemersal species), and it is the kind of animal you mostly see in research catches, not at fish stores.
Elongate killifish
Titanolebias elongatus
Titanolebias elongatus is a giant annual killifish from temporary waters in the Lower Parana-La Plata basin - it grows way bigger than most "typical" killies and has that chunky, predatory vibe. It is a bottom spawner with a long egg diapause (months), and its whole lifestyle is built around racing the dry season, which is just wild to watch and work with if you are into breeding projects.
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Elongate mudskipper (pointed-tailed goby)
Pseudapocryptes elongatus (syn. Pseudapocryptes lanceolatus)
This is that super-cool "mudskipper-ish" goby that mostly stays in the water, but will park itself in the shallows and periscope its eyes above the surface like it's keeping watch. It's an obligate air-breather from tidal rivers/estuaries, so it really appreciates shallow, brackish setups with soft mud/sand and gentle flow-more of a mangrove vibe than a typical community tank.
Ember tetra
Hyphessobrycon amandae
Ember tetras are tiny little orange "glow fish" tetras that look insanely good over a dark substrate with plants and a bit of leaf litter. They're happiest in a proper little gang, and when they settle in and feel safe the whole school starts moving like one warm, flickery cloud.
Emperor tetra
Nematobrycon palmeri
Emperor tetras are those classy little Colombian characins with the dark horizontal stripe and the males' awesome trident/lyretail look. Keep a decent-sized group and you'll see the males do their little posturing displays without really hurting each other, especially in a planted tank with some shade.
Endler's livebearer
Poecilia wingei
Endlers are basically tiny little firecrackers-males stay small but flash a ton of neon color and never stop cruising the tank. They're super social and active, and if you keep males and females together you'll have babies before you've even finished tweaking the aquascape.
Eregli minnow
Garra kemali
Garra kemali is a tiny Turkish Garra that hangs close to the bottom and spends a lot of time grazing surfaces for edible bits. It comes from marshes and lakes rather than the typical fast riffles people associate with many other Garra, and its wild populations are considered endangered, so its story is more conservation-focused than aquarium-trade focused.
Eurasian Minnow (Common Minnow)
Phoxinus phoxinus
Phoxinus phoxinus is a small, fast-swimming minnow associated with cool, well-oxygenated waters. It is a gregarious shoaling fish; males intensify in colour during breeding. Note: the name P. phoxinus has historically been applied broadly across Eurasia, but the group is now treated as a species complex in which true P. phoxinus may be restricted to parts of Western Europe.
European Perch
Perca fluviatilis
The European Perch is a predatory freshwater fish recognized by its olive-green body, dark vertical bars, and bright red/orange pelvic and anal fins. It is an active hunter that can grow quite large and is best suited to coolwater, spacious aquariums with strong filtration and plenty of cover.
European gudgeon
Gobio gobio
The European gudgeon is a small bottom-dwelling cyprinid with a slender body, sandy-brown mottling, and distinct barbels at the corners of the mouth used to locate food in the substrate. It is an active schooling fish that prefers well-oxygenated water and a sand or fine-gravel bottom, often resting on the substrate between foraging bouts. Best kept in cool, river-style aquariums with moderate flow rather than warm tropical setups.
European seabass
Dicentrarchus labrax
This is the classic Mediterranean/NE Atlantic seabass (the restaurant branzino) - a super sleek, silver predator that cruises shorelines, harbors, and estuaries. Juveniles will school, but bigger adults get more solitary and are built to inhale shrimp and smaller fish. It can handle brackish water and a pretty wide temp swing, but it is absolutely not a typical home-aquarium fish because it gets huge and needs serious swimming room.
Evezard's loach
Indoreonectes evezardi
This small Indian brook/stone loach occurs in stream habitats in India (Western Ghats and Satpura range). The species includes cave-adapted forms (e.g., reported from Kotumsar Cave) that may show reduced pigmentation and regressed eyes.
Exquisite wrasse
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
This is one of those fairy wrasses that looks like it was painted with highlighters - males can shift through greens, reds, blues, and purples depending on mood and whether they are showing off. In a reef tank its usually out and cruising the water column, grabbing tiny meaty foods, and doing little display flare-ups at its own reflection or other wrasses. Biggest real-world gotcha is they are jumpers, so a tight lid or mesh top is basically mandatory.
Eyespot pufferfish (Figure-8 puffer)
Dichotomyctere ocellatus
This is the little "figure-8" puffer with the yellow-green squiggles and the two bold eyespots near the tail-tons of personality in a small body. They're basically snail-hunting machines with a curious, interactive vibe, but they can be spicy with their own kind, so you plan the tank around that.