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.
Western Mosquitofish
Native to the Mississippi River basin and Gulf Coast, the western mosquitofish is one of the most widely introduced fish on Earth, prized and criticized in equal measure for its mosquito-control abilities.
freshwater
Western Brook Lamprey
The western brook lamprey is a small, non-parasitic jawless fish that spends most of its life as a burrowing larva in Pacific Northwest streams before a brief, non-feeding adult stage.
freshwater
Paradise Fish
A hardy East Asian labyrinth fish with vivid blue-and-red banded flanks and flowing fins, historically one of the first ornamental fish kept in Western aquariums.
freshwater
Chili Rasbora
One of the smallest cyprinids in the aquarium hobby, the Chili Rasbora is an intensely red nano fish native to Borneo's acidic blackwater swamps.
freshwater
Eastern Mosquitofish
Native to the Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States, the eastern mosquitofish is nearly identical to its western relative and has likewise been widely introduced worldwide for mosquito control.
freshwater
Gambusia
A small, hardy North American livebearer famous for its voracious appetite for mosquito larvae, widely introduced worldwide for mosquito control with significant ecological consequences.
freshwater
Sheepshead
A deep-bodied coastal fish easily recognized by bold black vertical bars and prominent human-like teeth, common around docks, jetties, and oyster reefs along the western Atlantic.
saltwater
Atlantic Needlefish
A long, slender silvery fish with a needle-like toothy beak, common in coastal and estuarine waters of the western Atlantic where it hunts small fish near the surface.
brackish
Star Drum
One of the smallest drums in the western Atlantic, an elongated silvery fish often found in dense schools over soft coastal bottoms.
saltwater
King Mackerel
A large, streamlined mackerel of the warm western Atlantic, prized as a fast offshore game fish and recognizable by its silvery, unmarked body.
pelagic
Red Drum
The Red Drum is a coppery-bronze coastal fish of the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, best known for the dark eyespot near its tail.
brackish
Atlantic Croaker
The Atlantic Croaker is a silvery-bronze estuarine fish with a single chin barbel and faint wavy mottling, abundant along the western Atlantic coast.
brackishAtlantic Silverside
A slender, schooling coastal fish common along the western Atlantic shoreline, marked by a bright silver stripe running down each flank.
brackish
Permit
A deep-bodied, silvery flats and reef fish of the western Atlantic, famed among anglers for its wary nature and sickle-shaped fins.
reef
Florida Pompano
A deep-bodied, silvery fish with a forked tail and yellow-tinged fins, common in sandy surf zones along the western Atlantic coast.
saltwater
Blue Reef Chromis
A slender, brilliant blue schooling fish commonly seen hovering in large numbers above coral reef outcrops throughout the Caribbean and western Atlantic.
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
Scaled Sardine
A small, deep-bodied silvery fish that forms dense inshore schools along the Western Atlantic coast, easily confused with other small herring-like species.
saltwater
Northern Sea Robin
A bottom-dwelling western Atlantic fish with an armored head and huge wing-like pectoral fins, using leg-like fin rays to walk across the seafloor.
saltwater
Snapper
A robust, reef-dwelling fish with a reddish-pink body and striking red eyes, common over rocky bottoms, reefs, and wrecks throughout the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic.
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
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
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