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.
Tanganyika Goby
A small, goby-shaped cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika's rocky shallows, grazing algae from wave-washed rocks and instantly recognizable by its blunt head and bottom-hugging posture.
freshwater
Electric Blue Hap
One of the most vividly colored Lake Malawi haplochromine cichlids, males display an intense electric-blue body that makes this predatory species a standout among the lake's rock-dwelling cichlids.
freshwater
Emperor Cichlid
The largest cichlid species in the world, the emperor cichlid grows to nearly a meter long in the deep waters of Lake Tanganyika and is notable for spawning only once before dying shortly after.
freshwater
Auratus Cichlid
A small, strikingly striped mbuna from Lake Malawi, the auratus cichlid reverses its coloration between sexes as it matures, with golden juveniles giving way to dark, aggressive adult males.
freshwater
Zebra Mbuna
One of the most iconic Lake Malawi cichlids, the zebra mbuna is highly variable in color across populations but typically shows bold barring, and it forms the basis for one of the aquarium hobby's most popular mbuna groups.
freshwater
Common Roach
A widespread European freshwater fish with a silvery body and distinctive red-orange fins, forming large shoals in slow rivers, lakes, and canals.
freshwater
Tropical Gar
A large-bodied gar native to Central American rivers and lakes, with a broad snout and faint dark spotting on its rear body and fins.
freshwater
Sepik Rainbowfish
A deep-bodied rainbowfish from the floodplain lakes and swamps of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea, covered in unusually fine, numerous scales.
freshwater
Common Bream
A deep-bodied, bronze-flanked European fish that forms large shoals in slow rivers and lakes, feeding on the bottom with a distinctive protrusible, tube-like mouth.
freshwater
Burbot
The burbot is the only fully freshwater member of the cod family, an eel-shaped, mottled predator found in cold lakes and rivers across the Northern Hemisphere.
freshwater
Rock Bass
A robust, bronze-colored sunfish relative with striking red eyes, often found around rocky cover in clear streams and lakes of eastern and central North America.
freshwater
European Grayling
The European grayling is a slender salmonid famous for its tall, sail-like, iridescent dorsal fin, found in cold, clear rivers and lakes across much of Europe.
freshwater
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
Bluegill
A common North American sunfish recognized by its deep, rounded body and the dark blotch on its gill cover, widely found in lakes and ponds and popular with anglers.
freshwater
Bleak
A small, slender, silvery cyprinid, the bleak forms huge surface shoals in rivers and lakes, snapping at insects and once prized for its scales used in imitation pearls.
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
Prickly Sculpin
A large freshwater sculpin of Pacific coast rivers and lakes, named for the tiny prickle-like scales scattered along its sides, and among the largest members of its genus.
freshwater
Arctic Grayling
The Arctic grayling is a cold-water salmonid recognized by its tall, colorfully spotted dorsal fin, inhabiting clean rivers and lakes across northern North America and Siberia.
freshwater
Salvini Cichlid
A colorful, feisty Central American cichlid, the salvini displays a striking mix of gold, black, and turquoise, and is known for defending territory vigorously in the rivers and lakes it calls home.
freshwater
Chain Pickerel
A slender, elongated ambush predator with a distinctive dark chain-like pattern over green sides, common in weedy lakes and sluggish rivers of the eastern United States.
freshwater
Banded Killifish
A slender, silvery killifish common in vegetated lakes and slow streams of eastern North America, marked with numerous thin dark vertical bars along its flanks.
freshwater
Mottled Sculpin
A small, mottled brown freshwater sculpin found in clear, cold streams and lakes across North America, identified by its large head, wide pectoral fins, and lack of scales.
freshwater
Ide
A robust, silvery cyprinid of large European rivers and lakes, the ide (commonly bred as the golden 'orfe') forms active surface shoals and is a widely stocked ornamental pond fish worldwide.
freshwater
White Bass
A deep-bodied, silvery schooling bass with faint horizontal stripes, common in large freshwater lakes and rivers of the central United States, known for its spring spawning runs.
freshwater