Fish That Start With P
Browse all aquarium fish species with common names beginning with "P". Each profile includes care requirements, water parameters, tank size recommendations, and compatibility information for freshwater, marine, and brackish species.
The 'P' species index showcases a diverse range of aquarium fish, from popular community favorites to unique and captivating specimens. Notable species include the vibrant Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi) and the colorful Guppy (Poecilia reticulata), alongside intriguing options like the Striped Krib (Pelvicachromis taeniatus). Whether you are looking for schooling fish, hardy livebearers, or beautiful cichlids, this selection provides ample choices for aquarists of all levels.
Pacific blue-eye
Pseudomugil signifer
Pacific blue-eyes are tiny Aussie "blue-eye" fish with those unreal electric-blue eyes and a nice little shimmer when they're in a group. Give them plants, gentle flow, and a proper shoal, and the males will posture and flare at each other in this super cool, non-lethal (usually) displayy way. They'll also tolerate a bit of salt (brackish), which is handy if you're doing an estuary-style setup.
Pacific bluestripe pipefish
Doryrhamphus melanopleura
This is one of the little flagtail pipefish with the long snout and that flashy tail fan with orange spots. In a calm reef tank it tends to hover around rock crevices and pick at tiny prey all day, so it is a super cool fish to watch - but it really needs gentle tankmates and frequent small meaty foods.
Pacific Four-Eyed Fish
Anableps dowii
This is the goofy, super-cool "four-eyed" fish that cruises the surface and looks like it's wearing little goggles-each eye is split so it can see above and below the water at the same time. They're active, always on the move, and they really shine in a long brackish tank where they can patrol the top like little patrol boats.
Pacific rock sole
Lepidopsetta bilineata
This is a cold-water right-eyed flatfish from the North Pacific that lives on sand-and-gravel bottoms and tops out around 2 feet. It is a bottom-hugging predator that munches worms, crustaceans, and other benthic critters, and it is really more of a public-aquarium/sea pen kind of animal than a home-tank fish.
Pajama Cardinalfish
Sphaeramia nematoptera
This little cardinalfish looks like it got dressed in a rush-polka-dot back half, bold stripes up front, and that neon-orange tail spot that really pops under reef lights. It's a super chill, "hang in the shadows" kind of fish that likes to hover around rockwork and just cruise calmly all day. If you keep a small group, they'll often tuck in together and make your tank feel instantly more alive without causing any drama.
Palau grenadier
Ventrifossa macroptera
This is a deepwater rattail (grenadier) that lives way down on the slope - think roughly 685-710 m - so it is absolutely not an aquarium fish in any normal sense. Cool details though: it has a dark first dorsal fin and a blackish pattern on the head, and it tops out around 40 cm (about 16 inches).
Pale spotfin croaker
Johnius glaucus
Johnius glaucus is a small-ish croaker from muddy, shallow coastal water off northwest India (and it has also been reported from Pakistan). Its whole deal is living near the bottom in turbid marine/estuary edges, and like other croakers it is built for prowling around for worms and little inverts - not really an aquarium fish so much as a commercial food/fishery species.
Pale-spotted eel
Ophichthus puncticeps
This is a saltwater snake eel from the western Atlantic that spends a lot of its life down on the bottom and will happily disappear into sand. It gets way too large for most home aquariums, and like other burrowing eels it is an escape artist if the lid is not tight.
Panamanian banded knifefish
Gymnotus panamensis
Gymnotus panamensis is a little Central American electric knifefish that cruises around mostly at night, using a weak electric field to navigate and sniff out food. Its banding is more of a mottled, broken-up look than clean zebra stripes, and it really appreciates a dim tank with lots of cover where it can feel secure.
Panamanian lightfish
Yarrella argenteola
Yarrella argenteola is a deep-water lightfish from the Panama Gulf, living way down in the bathypelagic zone. Its whole deal is being a midwater, deep-sea predator-ish micronekton fish with light-organ family vibes - super cool biologically, but basically never an aquarium species because it comes from hundreds of meters down.
Panda Corydoras (Panda Cory)
Corydoras panda
Corydoras panda is a small, bottom-dwelling catfish known for its pale body with distinctive black patches over the eyes and near the tail, resembling a panda's markings. It is a peaceful, social schooling species that does best in groups and appreciates soft substrate and clean, well-oxygenated water. Like other corydoras, it forages constantly and should be offered sinking foods rather than relying on leftovers.
Panda dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma nijsseni
A. nijsseni is one of those apistos that looks like it has face paint on - especially the females when they are fired up and guarding a cave. Give them leaf litter, little hidey-holes, and calm tankmates and they will show off tons of personality, with the female doing most of the up-close fry care while the male patrols the territory.
Panda loach
Yaoshania pachychilus
Hillstream loach from fast, highly oxygenated mountain streams; thrives in a mature, algae/biofilm-rich river-style aquarium with strong flow and smooth rocks. Peaceful but social, and best kept in groups where they become more active and confident.
Pantanal eartheater
Satanoperca pappaterra
This is one of those classic sand-sifting cichlids that will constantly take mouthfuls of substrate, filter out snacks, and spit out little clouds of sand like a tiny bulldozer. In the wild it even feeds in small groups and takes turns being the lookout, which is just insanely cool behavior for a cichlid. Give it a soft sandy bottom and calm tankmates, and it settles into a really mellow, busy little routine.
Panther knifefish
Rhamphichthys pantherinus
This is a weakly-electric South American sand knifefish (family Rhamphichthyidae) with a long tubular snout. It is associated with soft-bottom habitats and is largely bottom-oriented; provide a soft sand substrate and secure cover. Note that some authorities have treated Rhamphichthys pantherinus as a synonym of Rhamphichthys marmoratus (provisionally), so older sources may use different names.
Papilio cichlid
Xenotilapia papilio
Xenotilapia papilio is a small Lake Tanganyika cichlid that feeds by taking in mouthfuls of sediment/sand and filtering out tiny invertebrates. It inhabits rocky areas with sand (rock–sand transition zones) and shows biparental mouthbrooding, with adults forming territories/pairs during reproduction.
Papuan blenny
Rhabdoblennius papuensis
This is a tiny little combtooth blenny from the wave-smacked, super-shallow shoreline around Papua New Guinea. It is the kind of fish that spends its time glued to rocks, picking at film algae and micro-stuff, and wedging itself into tight crevices when it feels like it. Cool pick for a saltwater nano if you can actually source one and give it the right rocky, high-oxygen setup.
Paracatu rivulus (killifish)
Melanorivulus paracatuensis
This is a little Brazilian rivulus-type killifish from the rio Paracatu floodplains in the Sao Francisco basin. Like most Melanorivulus, it is a curious, surface-to-midwater cruiser that really shines in a planted, leafy setup with a tight lid because they can jump. It is not a big bruiser, but males can be spicy with each other in small tanks, so giving them space and cover makes a huge difference.
Parana leporinus
Leporinus paranensis
Leporinus paranensis is a smaller Leporinus from the Parana River basin - think quick, curious headstander vibes without getting into the really big, tank-busting sizes some relatives hit. In the wild it breeds in pairs around dense weeds, so it tends to appreciate cover and structure even though it still wants room to cruise.
Parasitic catfish
Ochmacanthus alternus
This is a tiny South American stegophiline parasitic catfish that latches onto other fish and feeds mainly on their mucus. Super weird little specialist - more of a scientific-curiosity fish than an aquarium pet, because keeping it humanely basically means providing suitable host fish and accepting some damage to them.
Parrot sand bass
Paralabrax loro
Paralabrax loro is a warm-water Eastern Pacific sea bass that hangs around rocky reef edges where the rock meets sand, and it has this awesome orange scribble-and-spot pattern on the head and fins. It is not really an aquarium fish - it gets big, it is a predator, and it wants a ton of space and clean, high-oxygen saltwater.
Parva goby
Valenciennea parva
Valenciennea parva is a little sand-flat sleeper goby (a Valenciennea "glidergoby") that hangs around clean sand patches near reefs, often as a bonded pair. In the wild it uses burrows and does this neat rocking/back-and-forth motion near the burrow, plus it will constantly sift and inspect the sand for tiny food.
Pasca
Paragoniates alburnus
Paragoniates alburnus (often called the pasca) is a slim, silvery Amazon characin that tops out around 6-7 cm. Its vibe is very much "open-water, always on the move," so it does best in a roomy tank with a current and a group of its own kind.
Patagonian toothfish
Dissostichus eleginoides
This is the real "Chilean sea bass" - a huge, cold-water deep-sea predator from the southern oceans that spends its life cruising way down over slopes and seamounts. It gets big enough to eat serious prey (fish and squid), grows slowly, and lives a long time, which is part of why it's so heavily managed in fisheries.