Fish Encyclopedia
Search and identify 1,000+ fish species — freshwater, saltwater, reef, and pelagic — with habitat, size, diet, behavior, and how to tell them apart.
Green Neon Tetra
A Rio Negro blackwater characin closely related to the Neon Tetra, identified by its shimmering blue-green stripe and limited rear-body red coloration.
freshwater
Forktail Rainbowfish
A tiny, colorful blue-eye rainbowfish from New Guinea named for its distinctively forked, yellow-edged tail fin.
freshwater
Flagtail Prochilodus
The Flagtail Prochilodus is a schooling South American river fish named for its bold red-and-black striped tail fin, which resembles a flag.
freshwater
Freshwater Archerfish
The largest and most freshwater-tolerant of the archerfish, marked by scattered dark spots rather than bold bars. It uses the same precise water-spitting technique as its relatives to knock insects from overhanging vegetation.
freshwater
Gizzard Shad
A deep-bodied, silvery freshwater fish easily recognized by its blunt, rounded snout and long, whip-like filament trailing from the last dorsal fin ray, common in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs across North America.
freshwater
Glowlight Tetra
A slender, translucent tetra marked by a bright iridescent orange-red stripe running the length of its body, giving it a luminous glow effect.
freshwater
Freshwater Angelfish
An iconic Amazonian aquarium fish with a tall, disc-shaped, laterally compressed body, long trailing fins, and bold vertical stripes that help it blend among submerged roots and plants.
freshwater
Gardner's Killifish
A small, brilliantly colored non-annual killifish from West African forest streams, with males showing an iridescent steel-blue body dotted with red spots and a lyre-shaped tail.
freshwater
Freshwater Butterflyfish
The freshwater butterflyfish is a surface-dwelling African fish with huge wing-like pectoral fins that let it glide above the water to snatch insects, giving it its butterfly-like name.
freshwater
Featherback Knifefish
A smaller, unspotted relative of the Clown Knifefish found across South and Southeast Asia, with a humped back and a single long fin running beneath its body.
freshwater
Green Swordtail
The naturally colored, wild-type form of the swordtail, the green swordtail displays an olive-green body with a red-brown stripe and the species' signature elongated tail extension in males.
freshwater
Gila Trout
The Gila trout is a rare golden-hued native trout restricted to a handful of remote headwater streams in New Mexico and Arizona, and remains one of North America's most range-limited trout species.
freshwater
Goldfish
A hardy freshwater fish domesticated from the wild Prussian carp, prized worldwide as an ornamental pond and aquarium species in many color forms.
freshwater
Giant Freshwater Stingray
One of the largest freshwater fish on Earth, a massive river-dwelling stingray capable of exceeding 2 meters across and hundreds of kilograms.
freshwater
Golden Wonder Killifish
A golden-orange color form of the striped panchax, this hardy topminnow patrols the water's surface hunting insects and small fish in South Asian wetlands.
freshwater
Dwarf Gourami
A small, colorful labyrinth fish from South Asia, with males displaying vivid diagonal red and blue stripes, popular in the freshwater aquarium trade.
freshwater
Demasoni Cichlid
One of the smallest mbuna cichlids, the demasoni is instantly recognizable by its bold blue-and-black barring and is known for surprisingly intense territorial aggression despite its diminutive size.
freshwater
Golden Topminnow
A small southeastern U.S. killifish whose males show golden-yellow coloring with iridescent blue-green spotting. It favors quiet, well-vegetated ponds, swamps, and slow backwaters.
freshwater
Eastern Rainbowfish
A widespread eastern Australian subspecies of the splendid rainbowfish complex, showing blue-green to golden flanks and yellow-orange fins along coastal Queensland rivers.
freshwater
Goonch Catfish
A massive, mottled bottom-dwelling catfish of South and Southeast Asian rivers, capable of growing to enormous size in deep river pools below rapids.
freshwater
Dojo Loach
An elongated, whiskered East Asian loach, sold in the aquarium and pond trade under the Japanese name 'dojo,' known for burrowing in soft mud and tolerating cold water.
freshwater
Emperor Killifish
Emperor Killifish is an alternate name for the Blue Gularis, one of the largest and most dramatically finned West African killifish, with males sporting an elongated lyre-shaped tail.
freshwater
Firemouth Cichlid
A Central American cichlid famous for the fiery red-orange throat it flares open to intimidate rivals during territorial disputes.
freshwater
Egg-laying Killifish
A general term for the many oviparous killifish species that scatter fertilized eggs rather than bearing live young, exemplified by the widespread blue panchax of South and Southeast Asian wetlands.
freshwater
Freshwater Drum
The Freshwater Drum is the only entirely freshwater member of the drum family, recognized by its humpbacked silvery body and tail-extending lateral line.
freshwater
Flathead Catfish
A massive, flat-headed catfish with a mottled yellow-brown body and a protruding lower jaw, known for its solitary, ambush-predator lifestyle in large river systems.
freshwater
Electric Eel
A long, air-breathing South American knifefish, not a true eel, famous for generating powerful electric discharges from specialized organs used to stun prey, navigate, and defend itself.
freshwater
European Eel
The European Eel is a catadromous fish found across European rivers and lakes, now critically endangered after a population collapse exceeding 90% since the 1980s.
freshwater
Fathead Minnow
A small, hardy North American minnow famous as baitfish and a standard toxicology test species, able to survive low-oxygen, turbid water most fish avoid.
freshwater
Far Eastern Brook Lamprey
A small, jawless, non-parasitic lamprey native to clear freshwater streams across Japan, Korea, and mainland East Asia, spending most of its life as a burrowing larva before a brief non-feeding adult stage.
freshwater
Ember Tetra
A tiny, glowing orange-red tetra that shoals in large numbers and is among the smallest characins kept in freshwater aquaria.
freshwater
European Brook Lamprey
The European brook lamprey is a small, non-parasitic freshwater lamprey found across Europe, closely related to the river lamprey but spending its entire life cycle in streams and never feeding as an adult.
freshwater
Emperor Tetra
A refined, violet-blue tetra from Colombia known for a bold black lateral stripe and males' elongated, sword-like central tail rays.
freshwater
Endler's Livebearer
A tiny, dazzlingly colorful relative of the guppy discovered in a handful of Venezuelan lagoons, the Endler's livebearer is prized by aquarists for its metallic, jewel-toned males.
freshwater
Crimson-spotted Rainbowfish
A small, deep-bodied rainbowfish native to coastal rivers of eastern Australia, recognized by its iridescent blue-green flanks marked with rows of crimson-red spots.
freshwater
Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish
A pint-sized New Guinea rainbowfish and one of the smallest Melanotaenia species, known in the aquarium trade for its saturated blue-violet males.
freshwater
Dwarf Livebearer
One of the smallest fish species in the world, this tiny freshwater livebearer from the southeastern United States is prized for its miniature size and easy breeding.
freshwater
Corydoras
A small, armored bottom-dwelling catfish native to South American streams, Corydoras species are recognized by their rows of bony plates, paired barbels, and constant substrate-sifting behavior in search of food.
freshwater
Discus
A round, flattened Amazonian cichlid prized for its vivid patterns and colors, considered one of the most striking freshwater aquarium fish and a demanding species to keep well.
freshwater
Emerald Rainbowfish
A deep-bodied rainbowfish endemic to Lake Wanam in Papua New Guinea, with mature males displaying a brilliant iridescent emerald-green sheen.
freshwater
European Grayling
The European grayling is a slender salmonid famous for its tall, sail-like, iridescent dorsal fin, found in cold, clear rivers and lakes across much of Europe.
freshwater
Cutthroat Trout
A native western North American trout named for the distinctive red-orange slash marks under its jaw, found in an array of subspecies across cold streams and mountain lakes.
freshwater
Electric Catfish
An African freshwater catfish capable of generating strong electric discharges from specialized body tissue used for hunting and defense.
freshwater
Emperor Cichlid
The largest cichlid species in the world, the emperor cichlid grows to nearly a meter long in the deep waters of Lake Tanganyika and is notable for spawning only once before dying shortly after.
freshwater
Dolly Varden
A char of Pacific coastal rivers named for a colorfully dressed Dickens character, closely related to and often confused with Arctic Char.
freshwater
Denison Barb
A striking torpedo-shaped barb endemic to fast hill streams of India's Western Ghats, known for its bold red-black-yellow stripe and endangered status.
freshwater
Electric Yellow Cichlid
A vividly yellow mbuna cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi's rocky shorelines, popular in aquariums for its bright, almost uniform coloration and relatively peaceful temperament.
freshwater
Electric Blue Hap
One of the most vividly colored Lake Malawi haplochromine cichlids, males display an intense electric-blue body that makes this predatory species a standout among the lake's rock-dwelling cichlids.
freshwater