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.
Fourstripe Damselfish
A white damselfish marked with three bold black bars plus a black tail, forming a four-banded pattern as it hovers around branching coral on Indo-Pacific reefs.
reef
Colombian Shark Catfish
A sleek, silver, shark-shaped catfish with a tall dorsal fin and long barbels, native to brackish river mouths along the Pacific coast of Central and South America.
brackish
Magnificent Rabbitfish
A striking white rabbitfish patterned with bold black head markings and a black-edged dorsal fin, giving it a panda-like appearance among the more brightly colored reef rabbitfishes.
reef
Racoon Butterflyfish
An Indo-Pacific butterflyfish with a black 'mask' over the eyes bordered by white and a broad yellow body.
reef
Banded Butterflyfish
A white Caribbean butterflyfish crossed by bold black vertical bands, including one masking the eye.
reef
Midnight Parrotfish
A large, dark blue-black Caribbean parrotfish speckled with bright blue-green patches around the head.
reef
Saddleback Butterflyfish
A large Indo-Pacific butterflyfish with a bold black 'saddle' patch edged in white on the upper rear body.
reef
Picasso Triggerfish
A boldly patterned triggerfish with geometric blue, yellow, and black markings, common on shallow Indo-Pacific reef flats.
reef
Yellow Longnose Butterflyfish
A bright yellow Indo-Pacific butterflyfish with a very long tweezer-like snout and a black eyespot near the tail.
reef
Redband Parrotfish
A small, variable Caribbean parrotfish; terminal males are green with a red band and a distinctive yellow-and-black shoulder spot.
reef
Ornate Butterflyfish
A showy Indo-Pacific butterflyfish with diagonal orange stripes across a white body and black-and-yellow face bands.
reef
Jackknife-fish
A boldly black-and-white striped reef drum with a dramatic, curved dorsal fin that resembles the blade of an open jackknife.
reef
Domino Damselfish
A hardy black damselfish marked with three bold white spots as a juvenile, named for its resemblance to a domino tile.
reef
Bumblebee Fish
A tiny, boldly banded goby popular in brackish aquariums, named for its wasp-like black-and-yellow stripes.
brackish
Raccoon Butterflyfish
A round, orange-and-white butterflyfish with a black mask-like eye band, named for its raccoon-like facial markings.
reef
Panda Corydoras
A small, pale armored catfish with bold black patches around the eyes and tail, resembling its namesake in miniature form.
freshwater
Moorish Idol
An unmistakable disc-shaped reef fish with bold black-white-yellow bands and a dramatically long trailing dorsal fin.
reef
Penguin Tetra
An Amazonian characin recognized by its bold black tail stripe and unusual head-up swimming posture resembling a penguin's stance.
freshwater
Tiger Shovelnose Catfish
A large South American river catfish with a distinctive flattened, shovel-shaped snout and bold black stripes across a pale body.
freshwater
Serpae Tetra
A vividly red-bodied tetra with a bold black shoulder patch, known for its assertive, nippy temperament within shoaling groups.
freshwater
High-hat
A striking black-and-white striped reef drum related to the jackknife-fish, easily recognized by its tall, elongated dorsal fin.
reef
Threespot Dascyllus
A robust black-bodied damselfish bearing three white spots in youth, one of the most widespread dascyllus species on Indo-Pacific reefs.
reef
Spotted Seatrout
A slender estuarine predator of the southeastern United States, recognized by the bold black spots scattered across its silvery back and dorsal fin.
brackish
Spotfin Croaker
A robust surf-zone drum from Southern California and Baja, easily identified by a bold black spot at the base of each pectoral fin.
saltwater