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.
American Shad
The largest member of the herring family in North America, this deep-bodied, silvery, anadromous fish spends most of its life at sea before migrating up coastal rivers each spring to spawn.
brackish
Allen's Damselfish
A slender, iridescent blue damselfish with a bright yellow tail, native to reefs of the Coral Triangle and known for its striking two-tone coloration.
reef
Arctic Lamprey
The Arctic lamprey is a jawless, circumpolar species found across Arctic and sub-Arctic rivers and coastal waters of North America and Asia, recognized by its sucker mouth and slender eel-like body.
brackish
African Pompano
A deep-bodied jack whose juveniles trail extraordinarily long fin filaments while drifting near floating debris, maturing into steep-headed adults over deep reefs and wrecks.
pelagic
Yoyo Loach
A patterned South Asian loach whose silvery body is marked with dark lines that form Y- and X-shaped patterns, giving rise to its common name.
freshwater
Sebae Clownfish
A dark brown clownfish with a bold yellow tail and two white body bars, native to reefs of the northern Indian Ocean and closely tied to the sebae sea anemone.
reef
Turquoise Rainbowfish
An electric-blue rainbowfish endemic to Lake Kutubu in Papua New Guinea's highlands, prized for its uniform turquoise sheen.
freshwaterCorvina
A large silvery weakfish native to the Gulf of California, best known by its bright orange mouth lining and countershaded body.
saltwaterBristlemouth
A tiny, worldwide deep-sea fish of the genus Cyclothone believed to be the most numerous vertebrate on Earth by sheer population size.
deepseaCombtooth Blenny
A general term for the large blenny family Blenniidae, small scaleless fish named for the comb-like row of fine teeth many species use to graze algae.
saltwater
Sterba's Corydoras
A popular armored catfish with a spotted body and bright orange pectoral fins, native to river tributaries along the Brazil-Bolivia border.
freshwater
Spined Loach
The Spined Loach is a small, striped bottom-dweller named for the tiny erectile spine beneath each eye, found in slow-moving European and Asian waters.
freshwater
Sandbar Shark
A robust, migratory requiem shark named for its very tall, triangular first dorsal fin, common in coastal nursery bays worldwide.
cartilaginous
Scooter Dragonet
A small, mottled reef-associated dragonet that rests on sand near coral reefs and moves in short scooting hops rather than continuous swimming.
reef
Scissortail Rasbora
A slender silver rasbora named for its striking black-and-white tail markings that open and close in a scissor-like motion while swimming.
freshwater
Ram Cichlid
A small, dazzlingly colorful South American dwarf cichlid prized for its violet-blue iridescence and peaceful, pair-bonding nature.
freshwater
Rock Goby
A small, mottled goby common in rocky tide pools along European and North African coasts, easily spotted darting between rocks at low tide.
saltwater
Red Devil Cichlid
A bold, thick-lipped Nicaraguan cichlid known for its fiery orange-red or white coloration and famously feisty, combative temperament.
freshwater
Pygmy Corydoras
The Pygmy Corydoras is one of the smallest armored catfish species, a tiny schooling fish native to slow-moving tributaries of the Amazon basin.
freshwater
Pacific Halibut
The Pacific halibut is a massive right-eyed flatfish of the cold North Pacific, closely related to the Atlantic halibut and among the largest bony fish in its range.
saltwater
Knife Livebearer
A slender Central American livebearer named for the sharp, blade-like keel along its belly, an adaptation believed to aid rapid escape jumps.
freshwater
Hillstream Loach
A flattened, disc-bodied loach adapted to cling to rocks in fast mountain streams, using its wide fanned fins as a natural suction system.
freshwater
Jaguar Cichlid
A large, powerfully built Central American predator whose irregular black leopard-like blotches over a pale body give it its common name.
freshwater
Frilled Shark
An eel-like, primitive deep-sea shark often called a living fossil, with six frilly gill slits and rows of needle-like teeth for catching soft-bodied prey.
deepsea