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.
Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish
A bright yellow Indo-Pacific butterflyfish with a very long tweezer-like snout and a black eyespot near the tail.
reef
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
Lined Surgeonfish
A boldly striped blue, black, and yellow tang that fiercely defends algal-turf patches on shallow, wave-exposed reef crests across the Indo-Pacific.
reef
Palette Surgeonfish
The vivid blue-and-black Blue Tang, famous for its palette-shaped markings and bright yellow tail; an Indo-Pacific coral reef species that feeds mainly on drifting plankton rather than algae.
reef
Orangespine Unicornfish
A hornless unicornfish marked by a black eye mask, yellow dorsal stripe, and vivid orange blade-like spines at the tail base; common on shallow Indo-Pacific reefs.
reef
Tanganyika Goby
A small, goby-shaped cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika's rocky shallows, grazing algae from wave-washed rocks and instantly recognizable by its blunt head and bottom-hugging posture.
freshwater
Bluespine Unicornfish
A large Indo-Pacific tang with a bony forehead horn and paired fixed blue-white spines at the tail base, browsing brown macroalgae on coral reefs and reef flats.
reef
Yellowtail
A streamlined, silvery jack with a distinctive yellow stripe running along its flanks and a yellow tail, found in temperate coastal waters worldwide.
pelagic
Yellowhead Jawfish
A pale, yellow-headed jawfish that hovers above a self-dug sand burrow, diving in tail-first when startled.
reef
Yellowfin Tuna
A sleek, fast-swimming tuna named for its long, bright yellow dorsal and anal fins, found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.
pelagic
Walleye
A slender, golden-olive freshwater predator named for its large, glassy, light-reflective eyes that give it excellent low-light vision for hunting at dusk and in murky water.
freshwater
Bluestriped Grunt
A vividly striped Caribbean reef fish with a bright yellow body crossed by narrow electric-blue lines, often seen in dense daytime schools beneath reef ledges.
reef
French Grunt
The French grunt is a small, abundant reef fish of the Caribbean and western Atlantic, marked by narrow yellow stripes over a silvery-white body and known for forming dense daytime schools.
reefYellowfin Rainbowfish
A slender rainbowfish endemic to Misool Island in Indonesia's West Papua region, named for its bright yellow unpaired fins that contrast with its silvery-olive body.
freshwater
Yellowbelly Damselfish
A small blue-grey damselfish with a bright yellow underside, found sheltering around coral and rubble on shallow reefs of the western Pacific.
reef
Yellowtail Wrasse
A striking Indo-Pacific wrasse whose bright red spotted juveniles transform into green-blue adults with a yellow tail.
reef
Yellowfin Croaker
A silvery drum common in Pacific surf zones, recognized by faint diagonal lines along its flanks and yellow-tinted fins.
saltwater
Yellowfin Grouper
The yellowfin grouper is a reddish-brown to olive reef grouper of the Caribbean and western Atlantic, easily recognized by the bright yellow patch on its pectoral fins.
reef
Yellowtail Rockfish
A slender, olive-brown Pacific rockfish with yellow-tinted fins that schools in large midwater aggregations over rocky reefs and open water along the North American coast.
saltwater
Yellowtail Amberjack
A powerful, streamlined jack marked by a bold yellow lateral stripe and yellow tail, roaming temperate and subtropical waters worldwide around reefs, wrecks, and open water.
pelagic
Salvini Cichlid
A colorful, feisty Central American cichlid, the salvini displays a striking mix of gold, black, and turquoise, and is known for defending territory vigorously in the rivers and lakes it calls home.
freshwater
Boxfish
A rigid, box-shaped Indo-Pacific reef fish encased in fused bony plates; juveniles are bright yellow with black spots, dulling to olive-grey tones as adults.
reef
Yellowtail Snapper
A slender Caribbean reef fish with a bold golden stripe running from snout to its deeply forked yellow tail. Often seen swimming in open water above reefs rather than hugging the bottom.
reef
Yellowtail Flounder
A slender northwest Atlantic flatfish recognized by the rusty-yellow tint along its tail edge, reddish-brown upper body, and preference for sandy continental shelf bottoms.
saltwater