Fish That Start With V
Browse all aquarium fish species with common names beginning with "V". Each profile includes care requirements, water parameters, tank size recommendations, and compatibility information for freshwater, marine, and brackish species.
In the letter 'V', you can find fish like the Diamond Watchman Goby (Valenciennea puellaris) and the Blueband Goby (Valenciennes strigata). These gobies are popular choices among aquarists for their engaging behaviors and unique appearances. While primarily found in reef setups, they contribute to a lively community tank when paired with compatible species.
Validus barb
Enteromius validus
Enteromius validus is a little Congo Basin barb that stays under 4 inches, with a chunky, sturdy body and proper barbels. Its wild diet is basically "whatever shows up" (insects, plant bits, seeds), so it is built for picking and browsing all day. This one is pretty obscure in the aquarium hobby, so most people keeping it are kind of blazing their own trail.
Vanmanenia gymnetrus (hillstream loach)
Vanmanenia gymnetrus
This is one of those true hillstream loaches built to live plastered onto rocks in fast current. It spends its time scooting around surfaces and grazing biofilm, and it really comes alive in a high-oxygen "river tank" setup. Not a "warm, still community tank" fish - it wants flow and clean water to look its best.
Vanuatu goatfish
Upeneus vanuatu
Upeneus vanuatu is a small deep-water goatfish from off Vanuatu that lives way down around 191-321 m, so its natural water is cooler and darker than typical reef goatfish. Like other goatfish it has the little chin barbels for rooting around for food, but honestly this one is more of a scientific oddball than a realistic aquarium fish because of the depth it comes from.
Variegated cardinalfish
Fowleria variegata
This is a small, mottled reddish-brown cardinalfish that likes to hang around rockwork and rubble and really comes into its own once the lights dim. In a calm reef tank its a super chill, slow swimmer, and if you keep a small group they tend to hover together and look way more natural.
Vaubans gurnard
Lepidotrigla vaubani
Lepidotrigla vaubani is a small, bottom-dwelling marine gurnard (sea robin) from the western Pacific. Like other gurnards its "walking" pectoral fin rays are the fun part - it creeps along the seafloor poking around for little crustaceans and worms, way more personality than you would expect from a bycatch-type fish.
Veilfin tetra
Hyphessobrycon elachys
This is one of those tiny Paraguay-basin tetras that looks kind of understated until the males mature and start throwing those longer, flowy fins - then it gets really classy. Keep them in a proper little group and theyll spend the whole day hovering and cruising the midwater, looking extra sharp over dark substrate and plants.
Vermiculated croaker
Ophioscion vermicularis
Eastern Pacific marine demersal croaker found over sandy and muddy bottoms in shallow waters; feeds on benthic invertebrates and is common in local markets. Aquarium care information is limited compared with typical ornamental marine species.
Vermiculated puffer
Takifugu snyderi
Takifugu snyderi (vermiculated puffer; Japanese: shōsai-fugu) is a demersal coastal puffer native to Japan and nearby northwest Pacific waters (including the Yellow Sea and South China Sea). It reaches about 30 cm standard length and feeds on hard-shelled prey such as crustaceans; like other fugu, certain organs (notably liver/ovaries) can be highly toxic (tetrodotoxin).
Vietnamese bitterling
Acheilognathus fasciodorsalis
Acheilognathus fasciodorsalis is a freshwater bitterling endemic to Vietnam. Like other bitterlings (Acheilognathidae), reproduction involves females using an ovipositor to deposit eggs in freshwater mussels.
Violet goby
Gobioides broussonnetii
This is the long, eel-y "dragon goby" you see at shops sometimes-looks scary with that toothy face, but it's actually a chill mud-and-sand sifter. In nature it hangs around muddy estuaries and river mouths, and that's the trick in aquariums too: soft sand, brackish-ish water, and food it can actually find (they're not great hunters).
Virgatula dwarf pike cichlid
Wallaciia virgatula
This is one of the little "dwarf" pike cichlids (recently moved out of Crenicichla into Wallaciia), so you get that sleek pike-cichlid look and attitude in a genuinely small package. Expect a smart, ambushy micro-predator vibe - it will hang around cover, watch everything, then dart in like a mini torpedo when food hits the water.