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.
Flagtail Prochilodus
The Flagtail Prochilodus is a schooling South American river fish named for its bold red-and-black striped tail fin, which resembles a flag.
freshwater
European Eel
The European Eel is a catadromous fish found across European rivers and lakes, now critically endangered after a population collapse exceeding 90% since the 1980s.
freshwater
White Crappie
A silvery, deep-bodied panfish with faint vertical bars along its sides, common in reservoirs and turbid rivers of the central United States and prized for its schooling habits and delicate mouth.
freshwater
Silverstripe Halfbeak
A slender halfbeak marked by a bright silver lateral stripe, found skimming the surface of tropical Indo-Pacific reef lagoons.
reef
Pompano
A deep-bodied, silvery jack with a forked tail, found along sandy coastal shores of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
saltwater
Kokanee Salmon
Kokanee are a landlocked, non-migratory form of sockeye salmon that spend their entire life in freshwater lakes, turning bright red during their autumn spawning run into tributary streams.
freshwater
Arowana
The arowana is a large, ancient freshwater fish of the Amazon basin, genus Osteoglossum, known for its upturned mouth, long fins, and ability to leap for surface prey.
freshwater
Bala Shark
A torpedo-shaped, silver freshwater fish named for its shark-like body outline, though it is a true minnow relative, not a shark. Bold black margins on its fins make it a striking, fast-swimming schooler of Southeast Asian rivers.
freshwater
White Perch
A silvery, deep-bodied temperate bass rather than a true perch, common in brackish estuaries and coastal rivers of eastern North America.
brackish
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
Brook Silverside
A slender, nearly translucent freshwater fish of eastern North American lakes and rivers, known for its needle-like beak and habit of skipping across the water's surface.
freshwater
Inland Silverside
A small, slender silverside native to Gulf and Atlantic coastal waters, notable for tolerating a wide range of salinities from brackish estuaries to inland reservoirs.
brackishAtlantic Silverside
A slender, schooling coastal fish common along the western Atlantic shoreline, marked by a bright silver stripe running down each flank.
brackish
Hardyhead Silverside
A robust, silvery schooling fish common in shallow lagoons and reef flats across the Indo-Pacific, identified by its broad head and prominent silver midline stripe.
saltwater
Meagre
The Meagre is a large, golden-silver sciaenid of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, among the biggest members of the drum family.
saltwater
Flame Tetra
A Rio de Janeiro coastal stream characin with a graduated flame-like color pattern from silver at the head to red-orange at the tail.
freshwater
Banggai Cardinalfish
The Banggai Cardinalfish is a striking silver-and-black fish with long trailing fins and bold white spots, native to a tiny area of Indonesia and listed as Endangered in the wild.
reef
Scissortail Rasbora
A slender silver rasbora named for its striking black-and-white tail markings that open and close in a scissor-like motion while swimming.
freshwater
Bighead Carp
A large, big-headed East Asian carp that filter-feeds on zooplankton, closely related to the silver carp and similarly established as an invasive species in North American rivers.
freshwater
Parkinson's Rainbowfish
A large, robust rainbowfish from the eastern rivers of Papua New Guinea, with mature males displaying a striking golden-orange rear half contrasting with a bluish-silver front.
freshwater
Opaline Gourami
A marbled blue-and-silver color variety of the Three Spot Gourami, bred for its swirling opalescent pattern while retaining the same hardy biology and behavior as the wild form.
freshwater
Oarfish
An extraordinarily long, silver, ribbon-shaped deep-sea fish with a red crest and trailing fin rays, rarely seen alive at the surface and among the longest bony fish known.
deepsea
Australian Rainbowfish
A widespread, variably colored rainbowfish found across tropical Australian and southern New Guinea waterways, ranging from olive-silver to vivid blue and yellow forms.
freshwater
Fingerfish
Another common name for the disc-shaped Mono, called Fingerfish for its thin, laterally compressed body. It schools in Indo-Pacific estuaries and coastal waters, flashing bright silver as it moves.
brackish