Fish Identifier

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.

Streaked Spinefoot

Streaked Spinefoot

A large silvery-gray rabbitfish marked with fine dark streaks and scattered pale spots, commonly found in estuaries, mangroves, and coastal reefs across the Indo-Pacific.

brackish
Cero Mackerel

Cero Mackerel

A slender, fast-swimming mackerel of Caribbean and western Atlantic waters, identified by a bronze-yellow stripe and rows of yellow-orange spots along its silvery sides.

pelagic
Comet Grouper

Comet Grouper

A pale grayish-brown Indo-Pacific grouper marked with elongated, comet-shaped pale streaks and spots, along with faint dark bands radiating from the eye.

reef
Clown Triggerfish

Clown Triggerfish

An unmistakable black-bodied Indo-Pacific triggerfish covered in bold white spots below, with yellow-orange lips; wedges into reef crevices using a locking dorsal spine.

reef
Neon Rainbowfish

Neon Rainbowfish

A small, brilliantly colored rainbowfish from New Guinea whose males flash iridescent blue-violet when displaying to rivals or mates.

freshwater
Chalk Bass

Chalk Bass

A tiny bicolored sea bass with a lavender-blue head and orange rear body, often seen darting over Caribbean rubble reefs.

reef
Tub Gurnard

Tub Gurnard

The largest common European gurnard, with a reddish armored body and enormous, brilliantly blue-green pectoral fins that it spreads when disturbed.

saltwater
Rainbow Wrasse

Rainbow Wrasse

A slender Mediterranean and eastern-Atlantic wrasse; terminal males have a vivid orange zigzag stripe along a blue-green body.

saltwater
Atlantic Bonito

Atlantic Bonito

A streamlined, fast-swimming relative of tuna and mackerel, marked by dark oblique stripes running across its steel-blue back.

pelagic
Graysby

Graysby

The graysby is a small, reddish-brown reef grouper of the tropical western Atlantic, densely covered in pale spots and marked with a few larger dark blotches along its back.

reef
Argentine Pearlfish

Argentine Pearlfish

A deep-bodied annual killifish from the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, marked with pearly white spots. It lives in seasonal ponds and survives dry months as diapausing eggs in the mud.

freshwater
Blonde Ray

Blonde Ray

A large European skate named for its pale, sandy coloration, recognized by prominent eye-like spots near the base of each pectoral fin and a preference for sandy coastal seabeds.

cartilaginous
Wahoo

Wahoo

One of the fastest fish in the ocean, the Wahoo is a slender, torpedo-shaped predator with iridescent blue-green tiger stripes, found in warm seas worldwide.

pelagic
Redtail Splitfin

Redtail Splitfin

A colorful Mexican goodeid livebearer, with males showing a vivid orange-red tail band contrasting a steel-blue body, popular in the aquarium trade.

freshwater
Rainbow Parrotfish

Rainbow Parrotfish

The largest parrotfish in the Caribbean, displaying a striking blend of blue-green and orange coloration and playing a key role in reef sand production and algae control.

reef
Mandarinfish

Mandarinfish

A tiny, vividly patterned reef fish covered in a maze-like network of blue, orange, and green, prized as one of the most colorful fish in the ocean.

reef
Jack Dempsey

Jack Dempsey

A robust Central American cichlid named after a boxing champion for its feisty temperament, known for iridescent blue-green speckling that develops as it matures.

freshwater
Bar Jack

Bar Jack

A sleek, blue-green jack with a dark stripe along its back and a black-and-white striped tail, common on Caribbean and western Atlantic reefs.

reef
American Flagfish

American Flagfish

A stocky, deep-bodied killifish native to Florida, named for the red-and-blue striped, star-marked flank pattern of breeding males reminiscent of a flag.

freshwater
Whitespotted Moray

Whitespotted Moray

A brown moray eel densely covered in small, evenly spaced white spots, commonly seen with its head poking from crevices on shallow Indo-Pacific coral reefs.

reef
Stars and Stripes Puffer

Stars and Stripes Puffer

A widespread Indo-Pacific puffer, also called the whitespotted puffer, marked with fine white spots on an olive-brown body and dark rings encircling the eyes and pectoral fin bases.

reef

Rock Gunnel

A slender, eel-like intertidal fish of the North Atlantic, the Rock Gunnel hides under rocks and seaweed and is marked by a row of pale-ringed spots along its dorsal fin.

saltwater
Malabar Grouper

Malabar Grouper

The Malabar grouper is a large, olive-grey Indo-Pacific grouper covered in dark blotches and small pale spots, found across coastal reefs, estuaries, and mangrove-lined coasts.

reef
Whitespotted Puffer

Whitespotted Puffer

A common Indo-Pacific reef puffer with a dark olive-brown body scattered with small white spots and distinctive dark rings around its eyes, gills, and pectoral fin bases.

reef