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.
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
Bicolor Anthias
A small Indo-Pacific reef fish sharply divided in color, with a violet-purple front half and a golden-yellow rear half, forming loose groups above reef structure.
reef
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
Sailfin Snapper
The sailfin snapper is a striking Indo-Pacific reef fish with blue diagonal stripes, yellow fins, and a tall, flowing dorsal fin, often seen over sand patches near coral reefs.
reef
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
Red Grouper
The red grouper is a heavy-bodied, reddish-brown reef fish common on rocky and coral bottoms of the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic, known for excavating shallow depressions in sediment.
reef
Coral Grouper
The coral grouper is a vivid orange-red reef fish covered in small electric-blue spots, commonly seen darting among coral heads across the Indo-Pacific.
reef
Emperor Angelfish
The Emperor Angelfish is a large, boldly striped reef fish with alternating blue and yellow horizontal lines and a dark mask across the eyes, one of the most recognizable angelfish in the Indo-Pacific.
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
Royal Gramma
The Royal Gramma is a small Caribbean reef fish with a sharp two-tone body: violet-purple in front, golden yellow behind. It shelters upside down in caves and crevices along steep reef walls.
reef
Lawnmower Blenny
The Lawnmower Blenny is a mottled brown-and-cream reef fish with a stocky body and comb-like teeth, known for grazing algae off rock and rubble surfaces on shallow Indo-Pacific reefs.
reef
Pufferfish
A slow-swimming reef fish famous for inflating its body into a spiny ball when threatened, using a fused beak-like set of teeth to feed on hard-shelled invertebrates and algae.
reef
Kelp Bass
The kelp bass is a mottled olive-brown temperate reef fish closely tied to kelp forests along the eastern Pacific coast, often seen hovering near kelp fronds and rocky structure.
saltwater
Banded Pipefish
The banded pipefish is a slender reef fish patterned with bold reddish-brown and white rings along its entire body, ending in a fan-shaped yellow tail fin marked with a dark spot.
reef
Ghost Pipefish
Ghost pipefish are small, camouflaged reef fish related to true pipefish, named for their ability to nearly vanish against crinoids, algae, and seagrass. The family includes several species distinguished by body shape and coloration.
reef
Six Line Wrasse
The Six Line Wrasse is a small, brightly colored reef fish with six narrow orange stripes running along a purple-blue body and a black spot near the tail, often darting through coral rubble.
reef
Pyjama Cardinalfish
A small, boldly patterned reef fish with a yellow-spotted rear half, a dark bar through the eye, and large eyes suited to nocturnal feeding. It shelters among coral branches and sea urchin spines by day.
reef
Grouper
A heavy-bodied reef predator with a large mouth and mottled camouflage pattern, known for lying in wait near reef structure before ambushing fish and crustaceans.
reef
Moray Eel
A long, serpentine reef predator that hides in crevices by day, identified by its scaleless body, continuous fin along the back, and powerful jaws with a rarely seen second set of pharyngeal jaws.
reef
Porkfish
A bright yellow Caribbean grunt marked by two bold black diagonal stripes across the head, forming large schools that shelter near reef structure by day.
reef
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
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
Blue Green Chromis
A small schooling damselfish with iridescent blue-green coloring, commonly seen in large groups hovering above branching coral on Indo-Pacific reefs.
reef
Silverstripe Halfbeak
A slender halfbeak marked by a bright silver lateral stripe, found skimming the surface of tropical Indo-Pacific reef lagoons.
reef