Fish That Start With L
Browse all aquarium fish species with common names beginning with "L". Each profile includes care requirements, water parameters, tank size recommendations, and compatibility information for freshwater, marine, and brackish species.
The letter 'L' features an exciting mix of species popular among freshwater aquarists. Notable entries include the Banded Leporinus (Leporinus fasciatus), known for its striking appearance and active nature, and the Glow Light Tetra (Luminichthys noctifera), prized for its vibrant colors and peaceful temperament. Whether you want lively community fish or something unique, this index has plenty to discover.
La Lucha blind catfish
Rhamdia laluchensis
A troglobitic cave catfish endemic to the Sistema de La Lucha (Chiapas, Mexico), characterized by reduced pigmentation and rudimentary eyes covered by skin; not commonly maintained in aquaria and husbandry guidance is limited.
Lais kuning
Kryptopterus schilbeides
Kryptopterus schilbeides is a slim sheatfish from Southeast Asia that looks super "knife-like" because it has no dorsal fin, plus a neat narrow pink stripe along the side. In the wild it cruises rivers, canals, and swamps and even pushes into flooded forests when the water is high, picking off little fish, prawns, and insect larvae. Its not really a standard aquarium fish, so most people who want a "glass catfish" vibe are actually thinking of other Kryptopterus species.
Lake Malawi utaka (Copadichromis pleurostigma)
Copadichromis pleurostigma
This is one of the Lake Malawi utaka haps - a more open-water, sand-and-rock cruising cichlid rather than a hard-core rock brawler. Adults get a solid mid-size for Malawi, and they do best with lots of swimming room and stable, clean, alkaline water.
Lambari (Mimagoniates rheocharis)
Mimagoniates rheocharis
This is a tiny, stream-dwelling Brazilian characin that likes cooler, super-oxygenated water and some current - think clear Atlantic Forest creeks. In the right setup it stays busy and hangs mid-to-upper water, and it does best when you keep a little group so it feels secure.
Lambari (Sarda)
Oligosarcus pintoi
Oligosarcus pintoi is a slim, toothy little South American characin from the upper Parana basin - kind of a mini "pike" tetra vibe. It is a predator in the wild (FishBase lists a high trophic level), so in an aquarium it will absolutely treat tiny fish and shrimp as snacks if it can fit them in its mouth.
Lambari de adiposa preta
Diapoma itaimbe
This is a tiny southern Brazilian characin (a lambari) that comes from clear, cooler waters in the Tramandai-Mampituba region. In a tank it acts like a little open-water micro-predator/omnivore - happiest in a small group with plants and gentle flow. The big gotcha is temperature: its natural range is more subtropical than "hot tropical," so it does best kept cooler and stable.
Lambchop rasbora
Trigonostigma espei
This is that tiny coppery-orange rasbora with the sharp "lambchop" black wedge on its side-super slick-looking in a planted tank. Keep a proper little gang of them and they'll cruise the midwater together, flashing color way more than when they're kept in a sad little trio. They're gentle, easy to feed, and honestly one of my favorite small-school fish for calmer community setups.
Lanceolate shrimpgoby
Tomiyamichthys lanceolatus
This is a little sand-bottom shrimp goby from sheltered lagoons and bays in the western Pacific. It hangs close to its burrow on fine sand or mud and does the classic goby thing of hovering and darting back to cover when spooked. The lance-shaped tail and the bold side blotches make it a really neat, understated fish if you are into sandbed micro-predators.
Lancer red banner blenny
Emblemariopsis lancea
This is a tiny little Caribbean tube blenny that lives tucked into holes in reef rock, corals, and even sponges, basically poking its head out like a grumpy periscope. The showy part is the male display - a darkened head with an anterior dorsal fin that can flash a red-over-white "banner" when it is posturing.
Lang Tso naked carp
Gymnocypris chui
Gymnocypris chui is a high-altitude Tibetan "naked carp" from cold endorheic lakes, and it gets that name because its body is largely scaleless. Its whole vibe is built for chilly, oxygen-poor plateau water - not your typical tropical aquarium fish, but super interesting if you're into oddball cyprinids.
Lang's blenny
Hypleurochilus langi
This is a little West African combtooth blenny that hangs around mangroves and river mouths, and it can handle changing salinity (it is euryhaline). In a tank it would be one of those perch-and-peek fish that wedges into cracks and watches everything, but the big gotcha is it is not a true freshwater fish - it is a brackish-to-marine coastal species.
Lang's distichodus
Distichodus langi
Distichodus langi is a chunky, big-bodied Congo basin distichodus that grows into a serious hunk of fish (over a foot long). It is one of those species thats more of a "monster river fish" than a normal community aquarium pick, and it will absolutely redecorate and mow plants once it settles in.
Large-eye bigscale
Poromitra megalops
Tiny deep-sea ridgehead from the Atlantic with huge eyes, living in cold, dark water hundreds of meters down. It tops out around two-and-a-half inches and hangs in the mesopelagic-bathypelagic zone, which is awesome to read about but not something you can realistically keep at home.
Large-eye croaker
Johnius plagiostoma
Small sciaenid (croaker) from tropical Indo–West Pacific waters. Reported from shallow coastal habitats, estuaries, and rivers, and can occur across marine, brackish, and freshwater conditions. Not a common aquarium species; if kept, it requires a large, open-bottom system and predatory feeding.
Largescale chela
Chela macrolepis
Chela macrolepis is a tiny, super-sleek Indian danionid from Chembarampakkam Lake near Chennai. Its whole claim to fame is right in the name - it has noticeably larger scales than close relatives, and it has that fast, open-water "minnow" vibe that makes these fish fun to watch in a group. Its wild range is extremely limited, so it is not something you should expect to see regularly in the aquarium trade.
Large-scale Yunnan loach
Yunnanilus macrolepis
This is a little Chinese stream loach from Yunnan that spends its time down low, cruising the bottom and picking at tiny foods like a mini vacuum. It is not super common in the hobby, and it tends to get mixed up with close relatives (some references even treat it as the same species as Yunnanilus paludosus), so good ID matters if you ever see one for sale.
Large-spotted Yunnan loach
Yunnanilus macrositanus
Yunnanilus macrositanus is a little Chinese stone loach from the Heilongtan (Black Dragon Pool) area in Yunnan. Its wild biology is barely documented in the hobby, so I would treat it like a small, cool-water to mid-temp Nemacheilid: lots of oxygen, hiding spots, and a peaceful setup where it can poke around the bottom without getting bullied.
Leaf-nose legskate
Springeria folirostris
This is a deepwater skate from the Gulf of Mexico with a really funky leaf-like snout extension and those "leg-like" pelvic fins skates are famous for. It lives way down on soft mud/sand bottoms, so its whole vibe is slow, bottom-oriented, and built for cruising the seabed rather than darting around the water column.
Least pencilfish
Nannostomus minimus
Think of these as tiny floating dashes of color that cruise just under the surface in a loose group. They stay under an inch, show a crisp dark stripe with little red flecks, and really come into their own in soft, tea-colored water with plants and leaves. Super chill, but they do best in a decent-sized group so they feel secure.
Leichhardt's velvetfish
Kanekonia leichhardti
This is a tiny, bottom-hugging velvetfish from northern Australia that lives out on deeper, gritty sand. Its whole vibe is camouflage and sitting still, and it is absolutely not an aquarium trade fish - more of a scientific-record species than something you will ever see for sale.
Lemon Tetra
Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis
Lemon tetras are one of those fish that look kind of subtle at first, then you catch the light and the whole body glows yellow with those punchy black-and-yellow fins. Get them in a proper little group and they're constantly cruising together, super active but not obnoxious. I also love how their red eyes pop when they're settled in and feeling good.
Leopard dace
Rhinichthys falcatus
Leopard dace is a little cool-water river minnow from the Pacific Northwest that hangs around gravel runs and flowing pools, and it spends a lot of its day picking at insect larvae. Its speckly, "leopard" look is subtle but really nice in person, and it does best in a tank that feels like a stream - lots of oxygen, clean water, and some current.
Leptura cichlid
Xenotilapia leptura
Xenotilapia leptura is a Lake Tanganyika ectodine cichlid that hangs around rocky areas and stays pretty small, topping out around 11 cm. What I love about these is the social vibe - females can school in big groups - and they do best when you keep the water hard, alkaline, and super stable.
Linke’s Licorice Gourami
Parosphromenus linkei
This is one of those tiny, dark little gouramis that looks kind of understated in a store tank... until it settles in and the male starts flashing those deep reds and blues with the fancy fin edging. They're shy and a bit secretive, but when you keep them the way they like (soft, acidic, calm), they turn into these surprisingly bold little show-offs around spawning time.