Fish That Start With Y
Browse all aquarium fish species with common names beginning with "Y". Each profile includes care requirements, water parameters, tank size recommendations, and compatibility information for freshwater, marine, and brackish species.
The letter 'Y' features a diverse range of aquarium species, including the lively Panda loach (Yaoshania pachychilus) and the striking Yellowfin toxic goby (Yongeichthys criniger). With both unique loaches and intriguing eels like Gjellerup's snake eel (Yirrkala gjellerupi), this selection provides options for enthusiasts looking to enhance their tanks with distinctive and captivating fish.
Yaluwak armored catfish
Yaluwak primus
This is a super rare, fast-water loricariid from the upper Ireng River system in Guyana - the kind of fish most hobbyists will only ever see in a scientific paper. Its neat party trick (for an armored catfish) is a big cluster of evertible cheek odontodes and it even lacks a normal adipose fin, replacing it with a low ridge of plates.
Yangi loach
Yunnanilus yangi
Yunnanilus yangi is a small freshwater stone loach (Nemacheilidae) described in 2024 from Yunnan, China (upper Pearl River/Nanpanjiang drainage). Species-specific aquarium guidance is limited in the literature; husbandry is typically inferred from related small Yunnanilus/Micronemacheilus-type loaches, emphasizing clean, well-oxygenated water, cover, and small foods.
Yellow conger
Rhynchoconger flavus
Rhynchoconger flavus is the yellow conger, a burrowing, soft-bottom conger eel from the western Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico down toward the Amazon mouth). It gets truly huge (up to about 150 cm) and lives in deeper coastal water, so its "cool factor" is more in the wild-ecology/ID side than as an aquarium fish - this is not a realistic home tank species.
Yellow enteromis
Enteromius cerinus
Enteromius cerinus is a tiny Congo Basin barb that stays under 2 inches and shows a neat pattern of three dark flank spots with a darker midline. It was described in 2024, so it is basically unheard of in the aquarium trade right now, but it reads like a classic little schooling river barb if it ever shows up.
Yellow kribensis
Wallaceochromis humilis
This is the bigger, tougher-looking cousin in the "krib" group, with a more streamlined body and that classic West African river-cichlid attitude around a chosen cave. Kept as a bonded pair with lots of cover, they will settle in, stake out a little territory, and do that awesome cave-spawning routine where the female runs the nursery.
Yellow mystery wrasse
Pseudocheilinus citrinus
Think of this as the mystery wrasse’s lemony cousin from the far South Pacific. It stays small, flashes pink accents and cute little dorsal filaments, and spends its day weaving through rockwork picking off tiny critters. Super rare in the trade, but behavior and care are like other Pseudocheilinus wrasses.
Yellow phantom tetra
Hyphessobrycon roseus
Hyphessobrycon roseus is a small phantom-type tetra (syn. Megalamphodus roseus) from the Maroni and Oyapock river basins (French Guiana/Guianas region). It is best kept in a planted, softwater setup in a group, where males may display but are generally peaceful.
Yellow tail polka dot loach
Yasuhikotakia splendida
This is a super active little botiid loach from the Mekong basin that spends its time cruising the bottom, nosing around rocks, and sorting out a pecking order with its buddies. The giveaway look is the yellow fins with polka-dot markings plus that bold dark ring around the tail base - it is a really sharp, weirdly classy pattern for a loach. Not a chill "peaceful community" fish, but in a proper group with hiding spots and flow, they are a blast to watch.
Yellow tang
Zebrasoma flavescens
If you want a fish that actually puts in work, the Yellow tang is a nonstop algae grazer that cruises the rockwork all day. Its bright solid-yellow color is the whole reason people fall in love with it, but the real trick is keeping it well-fed on greens so it stays chunky and less cranky. Give it strong flow, high oxygen, and enough swimming length and it will act like the little yellow boss of the reef.
Yellow-and-black triplefin
Forsterygion flavonigrum
This is a tiny New Zealand triplefin that hangs around rocky reefs and overhangs, picking off little crustaceans. When males go into breeding colors they turn into a wild black-and-yellow flag, then they post up and guard the eggs like a grumpy little bouncer.
Yelloweye filefish
Pervagor alternans
This is a little reef filefish with that classic sandpapery skin and a super eye-catching yellow ring around the eye. It spends a lot of time poking around rock and coral, and when it gets spooked it kind of eases back into crevices instead of bolting. Not the most common aquarium fish, but really neat if you can get one that is eating well.
Yellowfin croaker
Umbrina roncador
Yellowfin croaker is a nearshore drum that cruises sandy surf zones, bays, and harbors, usually in little schools. The cool giveaway is that single chin barbel - it uses it while rooting around for worms, crustaceans, and clams, and it can get surprisingly chunky for a "beach fish."
Yellowfin madtom
Noturus flavipinnis
Yellowfin madtoms are tiny, secretive native catfish from the upper Tennessee River system, and they act exactly like little river goblins - hiding under flat rocks all day and cruising around at night. The cool part is the male guards the eggs under cover, and they really appreciate clean, well-oxygenated current and a rock-and-leaf-litter kind of setup.
Yellowfin toxic goby
Yongeichthys criniger
An Indo-Pacific goby found on coastal mud/silty sand flats and in estuary/mangrove-associated habitats. It is documented as poisonous to eat and is known to carry tetrodotoxin; toxicity can be particularly high in the skin and varies by locality. Handle with care (avoid contact with mucus, especially with cuts) and avoid mixing with aggressive/boisterous species.
Yellow-lined shrimpgoby
Vanderhorstia flavilineata
This is a tiny sand-dwelling shrimp goby from Papua New Guinea that likes to hover right at the front door of a burrow and bolt inside when it gets spooked. In the wild it hangs out with an alpheid (pistol) shrimp in a rubble-lined burrow, which is exactly why it does best in a tank with a sand bed and some small rubble pieces it can use as "building material." Those yellow lines and little head spots pop way more than you'd expect from a fish that barely breaks an inch.
Yellowmouth jawfish
Opistognathus nothus
This is a deepwater Atlantic jawfish that lives in burrows on sand and rubble, and it has that classic jawfish vibe of popping up like a little periscope from its hole. The yellow edging inside the mouth is the giveaway, plus the spotty head and striped/yellow-edged fins. Because it comes from about 92-100 m depth, it is not something you should treat like a typical warm, shallow-reef jawfish in a home tank.
Yellownose skate
Zearaja chilensis
This is a big, cold-water skate from Chilean waters that lives on sandy and muddy bottoms and lays those classic horned skate egg cases. It gets seriously large (around 1.5 m max reported on FishBase), so it is more of a fisheries and public-aquarium animal than a home-aquarium fish.
Yellow-spotted dwarf loach catfish
Zaireichthys flavomaculatus
Zaireichthys flavomaculatus is a truly tiny, bottom-hugging African loach catfish from the Congo basin that spends its time tucked into sand and gaps like a little river goblin. Its yellowish base color with blotchy/marbled spotting is the whole vibe, and it is the kind of fish you keep because you love oddball micro-predators and watching subtle behavior, not because it is always out front.
Yellowtip halfbeak
Hemiramphus marginatus
This is a true marine halfbeak - it cruises right under the surface in open water and that goofy half-length lower jaw is exactly as cool in person as it sounds. Adults get pretty long (about 10 inches), so its more of a big, fast, jumpy schooling fish than a typical home-aquarium species.
Yunnan jieyu (云南结鱼)
Folifer yunnanensis
A rare freshwater cyprinid endemic to Lake Fuxian (Yunnan, China). Reported maximum length is about 21.5 cm standard length (SL). IUCN status: Endangered (assessment date 19 January 2011). Aquarium care information appears scarce in mainstream hobby references.
Yushan river loach
Hemimyzon yushanensis
This is a little Taiwan hillstream loach that lives its whole life clinging to rocks in fast, super-oxygenated streams. In a tank it does best in a "river" setup with smooth stones and lots of flow, where it will spend all day grazing biofilm and cruising the glass like a tiny underwater gecko.