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.
Senegal Bichir
An elongated, primitive-looking freshwater fish with a row of small spiny finlets along its back and paired lung-like breathing organs, retaining features from ancient ray-finned fish ancestors.
freshwater
Marbled Grouper
The marbled grouper is an uncommon western Atlantic reef fish with a distinctive dark, marbled or streaked pattern that gives way to a dark 'charcoal' belly, often seen near caves and drop-offs.
reef
Potato Grouper
The potato grouper is one of the largest reef groupers, a pale grey fish covered in dark blotches resembling potato skin, found on Indo-Pacific reefs and known for its curious, approachable behavior toward divers.
reef
Piranha
A deep-bodied South American river fish famed for its sharp interlocking teeth and coordinated group feeding behavior, though most species are opportunistic scavengers.
freshwater
Hatchetfish
Hatchetfish are small, silvery deep-sea fish named for their laterally compressed, blade-like body and large upward-pointing tubular eyes adapted to detect faint light above.
deepsea
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.
reef
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
Bluestripe Pipefish
The bluestripe pipefish is a tiny reef pipefish with a bright blue lateral stripe running along a tan or orange body, often seen hovering near crevices where it also cleans parasites from larger fish.
reef
Wrestling Halfbeak
Named for the ritualized jaw-locking contests between rival males, the wrestling halfbeak is a slender surface-dwelling fish from Southeast Asian creeks and mangrove-fringed brackish waters.
brackish
Spotted Scorpionfish
A heavily camouflaged reef fish with mottled brown, red, and white patterning and venomous dorsal spines, blending seamlessly into coral rubble and rocky bottom across the western Atlantic.
reef
Sprat
A small, slender schooling herring relative found in vast numbers along European coasts, the Sprat is an important forage fish that filters plankton from the water column in dense, fast-moving shoals.
pelagic
Mahseer
A powerful, large-scaled carp of fast Himalayan rivers, the golden mahseer is prized as one of the hardest-fighting freshwater fish, with a thick, muscular body built for holding in strong current.
freshwater
Mahi-Mahi
A fast-growing, brilliantly colored open-ocean fish that gathers around floating debris and sargassum, easily recognized by its iridescent blue-green-gold body and long continuous dorsal fin.
pelagic
Japanese Anchovy
A small, abundant schooling fish found throughout the coastal waters of Japan, Korea, and China, the Japanese Anchovy is one of the most heavily fished species in the western Pacific and a vital link in regional marine food webs.
pelagic
Cherry Salmon
The cherry salmon is a Pacific salmon native to East Asia that exists in two forms: a smaller freshwater-resident form called yamame and a larger, silvery sea-run form, both named for the pink cherry-blossom hue of spawning fish.
freshwater
Wels Catfish
One of the largest freshwater fish in the world, the wels catfish is a scaleless, elongated predator native to European rivers and lakes, recognizable by its enormous flattened head and long barbels.
freshwater
Stingray
A flat, diamond-shaped cartilaginous fish that spends much of its time partly buried in sand on shallow tropical seafloors, related to sharks and equipped with a long, whip-like venomous-spined tail.
cartilaginous
Threadfin Shad
A small, deep-bodied herring relative native to the Gulf Coast and Mississippi basin, the Threadfin Shad is widely stocked in freshwater reservoirs across the United States as an important forage fish.
freshwater
Reticulated Hillstream Loach
The Reticulated Hillstream Loach is a flat, disc-shaped fish from Vietnamese mountain streams, patterned with an intricate net-like design and adapted to cling to rocks in swift current.
freshwater
Ornate Ghost Pipefish
The ornate ghost pipefish is a strikingly patterned reef fish covered in frilly skin extensions that let it blend seamlessly with crinoids and soft corals. It is one of the most photographed of the ghost pipefish species.
reef
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
Catla
One of India's most important aquaculture fish, the catla is a large, fast-growing surface-feeding carp with a broad head, upturned mouth, and deep body suited to filtering plankton from open water.
freshwater
Bluehead Wrasse
A small, abundant Caribbean reef fish famous for changing color and sex as it matures, with terminal males developing a striking blue head and green body. It is one of the most numerous fish on western Atlantic reefs.
reef
Spotted Scat
A deep-bodied, disc-shaped fish covered in dark spots over an olive-to-silver background, common in Indo-Pacific estuaries and harbors. Its bold pattern and spiny dorsal fin make it easy to pick out among schooling brackish fish.
brackish