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.
Greater Amberjack
A large, torpedo-shaped jack with a bronze-amber stripe running through the eye, commonly found around offshore reefs and wrecks worldwide.
reef
Fugu
The Tiger Puffer, an East Asian coastal pufferfish capable of rapid inflation, with internal organs containing the potent biological toxin tetrodotoxin as a natural defense.
saltwater
Garibaldi
A large, brilliant orange damselfish and the official marine state fish of California, found among rocky reefs and kelp forests of the temperate northeast Pacific.
reef
Eyestripe Surgeonfish
An Indo-Pacific tang with fine blue pencil-lines over a yellow-brown body and a distinctive yellow stripe through the eye; notably long-lived, reaching nearly 30 years.
reef
Greater Pipefish
One of Europe's largest pipefish, the Greater Pipefish is a long, tube-snouted relative of the seahorse found among seagrass and rocky shallows from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.
saltwater
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
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
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
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
Galapagos Shark
A large, robust gray shark commonly encountered around remote oceanic islands, closely resembling the Dusky and Silky Sharks but slightly stockier.
saltwater
Buffalo Head Cichlid
A stocky, bottom-dwelling cichlid from the fast rapids of the Congo River, the buffalo head cichlid is named for the pronounced fatty hump that develops on the forehead of mature males.
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
Coral Beauty Angelfish
The Coral Beauty Angelfish is a small dwarf angelfish with a deep purple-blue body and orange-yellow scale highlights, widely distributed across Indo-Pacific reefs.
reef
Fangtooth Moray
A slender reef-dwelling moray with strongly curved jaws lined with long, protruding fangs that prevent the mouth from ever fully closing, giving it a permanently menacing gape.
reef
Dragon Goby
The Dragon Goby is a long, eel-like fish with a violet sheen and a large upturned mouth, found burrowing in muddy estuaries along the Americas' Atlantic coast.
brackish
Fangtooth
The fangtooth is a small, deep-sea fish with the largest teeth relative to body size of any fish, identified by its oversized fangs, armored head, and compact dark body.
deepsea
Cubbyu
A small, deep-bodied drum with a tall dorsal fin and faint dark stripes, often seen hovering near reef ledges in the western Atlantic.
reef
Figure-Eight Puffer
A small brackish-water pufferfish named for the bold black figure-eight-shaped markings across its yellow-green back. Like other puffers, it can inflate its body with water as a defense against predators.
brackish
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
Fingerfish
Another common name for the disc-shaped Mono, called Fingerfish for its thin, laterally compressed body. It schools in Indo-Pacific estuaries and coastal waters, flashing bright silver as it moves.
brackish
European Flounder
The European flounder is a right-eyed flatfish notable for its unusual tolerance of low salinity, regularly venturing far up rivers and estuaries.
brackish
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
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
Estuarine Stonefish
A heavily camouflaged, encrusted-looking fish that lies motionless on muddy estuary and mangrove bottoms across the Indo-Pacific, bearing venomous dorsal spines as a natural defense.
brackish
European Conger
A large, powerfully built grey eel that shelters in rocky crevices and shipwrecks across the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, among the largest eel species in the region.
saltwater
European Ling
A very large, elongated, eel-shaped cod relative found on deep rocky and muddy grounds along the continental shelf edge of the northeastern Atlantic.
deepsea
Creek Chub
A stout, adaptable minnow common in small North American creeks, the creek chub is a dominant predator in headwater streams, feeding on insects and small fish, and known for building spawning nest mounds.
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
Cornetfish
An extremely elongated, needle-thin fish with a whip-like tail filament, the Cornetfish hovers near reefs and seagrass, using its long tubular snout to snap up small fish.
reef
Epaulette Shark
A small, slender reef shark famed for 'walking' across exposed reef flats on its paddle-like fins, marked by a large dark eyespot behind each gill.
reef
Ctenopoma (African Bushfish)
A stealthy, mottled labyrinth fish from West and Central Africa that ambushes small prey from cover and can gulp air to survive in oxygen-poor swamps.
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
European Plaice
European plaice is a right-eyed flatfish easily recognized by the vivid orange spots scattered across its smooth brown upper side.
saltwater
Emperor Tetra
A refined, violet-blue tetra from Colombia known for a bold black lateral stripe and males' elongated, sword-like central tail rays.
freshwaterEuropean Hake
The European hake is a large, slender Gadiform predator of northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean shelf waters, identifiable by its sharp-toothed jaws, two dorsal fins, and complete absence of a chin barbel.
saltwater
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
European Sea Bass
The European sea bass is a sleek, silvery predator common along European and North African coasts, prized by anglers as a hard-fighting sport fish.
saltwater
European Anchovy
A slender, small-bodied schooling fish with a distinctive pointed snout and underslung mouth, found in enormous shoals along European and North African coasts and throughout the Mediterranean.
pelagic
European Pilchard (Sardine)
A small, silvery schooling fish found along the eastern Atlantic coast and throughout the Mediterranean, forming vast shoals that graze on plankton near the surface of coastal waters.
pelagic
Domino Damselfish
A hardy black damselfish marked with three bold white spots as a juvenile, named for its resemblance to a domino tile.
reef
Diamond Watchman Goby
A pearly white sleeper goby with pale yellow stripes and sky-blue head markings that spends its day sifting mouthfuls of sand for hidden invertebrates near its burrow.
reef
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
Electric Catfish
An African freshwater catfish capable of generating strong electric discharges from specialized body tissue used for hunting and defense.
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
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
Dwarf Lionfish
A compact, mottled lionfish with broad fan-like fins and venomous spines, ambushing prey on Indo-Pacific reefs.
reef
Dwarf Seahorse
One of the smallest seahorse species in the world, standing barely a few centimeters tall and clinging to seagrass blades in shallow waters of the southeastern United States and Bahamas.
saltwater
Electric Ray
A round-bodied ray capable of generating a powerful electric shock from specialized organs, used to stun prey and deter predators.
cartilaginous