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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lombok viviparous brotula
Paradiancistrus lombokensis
This is a tiny, super-cryptic marine brotula from around Lombok, Indonesia - the kind of fish that lives tucked deep in reef cracks where you basically never see it. The really neat part is its group (viviparous brotulas) gives live birth, so its biology is way cooler than its shy little "hide in the rocks" lifestyle suggests.
Long tail pipefish
Festucalex prolixus
This is a tiny little marine pipefish from the Western Central Pacific, and it tops out around 3.6 cm standard length. What's wild is that most of what we know comes from planktonic specimens collected in the upper water column, with adults expected deeper than about 40 m - so it is not really an aquarium species you will run into.
Long-barbel sheatfish
Kryptopterus limpok
Kryptopterus limpok is a Southeast Asian sheatfish with really long maxillary barbels - FishBase notes they reach past the last quarter of the anal fin, so it has that "extra-whiskery" look. In the wild its a river/stream predator that eats small fish and also takes prawns and insect larvae, so think of it as a sleek, hunting-style catfish rather than a chill algae-picker.
Long-dorsal Yasuhikotakia (no established common name)
Yasuhikotakia longidorsalis
This is one of those super-under-the-radar Mekong botia/loach species that you almost never see for sale. It stays fairly small (around 8 cm/3 inches max reported), but it still acts like a proper botiid - busy, social, and very into wedging itself under wood and rocks when it wants to chill.
Long-lipped Whiptail Catfish
Loricariichthys anus
This is one of the big Loricariinae whiptails - long, armored, and built to cruise the bottom and sift/suck up detritus. Males can develop a noticeably elongated lower lip in breeding season, and the whole genus is noted as facultative air-breathers, so they are pretty adaptable as long as the tank is clean and oxygenated.
Longfin goatfish
Upeneus supravittatus
This is a small goatfish from the eastern Indian Ocean (Sri Lanka and southern India) that spends its time cruising near the bottom and rummaging through sand with its chin barbels. The cool part is watching it "hunt" - it will probe and sift like a little metal detector, then pounce on tiny buried critters. Not really a typical home-aquarium fish, but if you did keep one, you'd treat it like a sand-sifting predator that needs space and a mature, food-rich system.
Longfin sculpin
Jordania zonope
Jordania zonope is a super cool coldwater marine sculpin from the NE Pacific that clings to rocks and kelp and will even hang vertically on rock faces. Males get very territorial in breeding season, and some individuals are reported to act like little cleaner fish on bigger predators like lingcod - wild stuff for a fish this small.
Longnose conger
Bathycongrus wallacei
This is a marine, deepwater (bathydemersal) conger eel reported from roughly 250-500 m depth in the Indo-West Pacific (including the southwestern Indian Ocean and Japan/Taiwan). It is a pale greyish eel shading paler below, with dorsal/anal fins that become increasingly blackish posteriorly and a black caudal fin; maximum reported total length is about 55 cm.