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.
Sockeye Salmon
A Pacific salmon renowned for its brilliant crimson spawning coloration and strong dependence on lake habitat during its freshwater juvenile stage.
freshwater
Silver Bream
A silvery European freshwater fish with notably large, protruding eyes, often confused with young Common Bream but distinguished by its larger scales.
freshwater
Cuban Gar
A large, endemic Cuban gar with a broad alligator-like snout, now considered vulnerable due to its restricted freshwater range on the island.
freshwater
Chinese Algae Eater
An elongated Southeast Asian freshwater fish with a specialized sucker mouth used to graze algae from rocks, becoming increasingly territorial as it matures.
freshwater
Botia
A genus of South and Southeast Asian freshwater loaches known for social behavior and varied patterning; the queen loach (Botia dario) is a representative species.
freshwater
Ukrainian Brook Lamprey
The Ukrainian brook lamprey is a small, non-parasitic jawless fish that lives its entire life in freshwater streams of Eastern Europe, feeding only during a long larval stage.
freshwaterKorean Lamprey
The Korean lamprey is a small, non-parasitic jawless fish native to freshwater streams of the Korean Peninsula, feeding only during a long larval stage before a brief adult life.
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
Mahseer
A powerful, large-scaled carp of fast Himalayan rivers, the golden mahseer is prized as one of the hardest-fighting freshwater fish, with a thick, muscular body built for holding in strong current.
freshwater
Carp
A heavy-bodied freshwater fish with large, coarse scales, two pairs of barbels near its mouth, and a highly adaptable, bottom-foraging lifestyle found across much of the world.
freshwater
Silver Arowana
A large, elongated freshwater fish with metallic silver scales and an upturned mouth, famous for leaping from the water surface to snatch insects and small prey.
freshwater
Purple Spotted Gudgeon
A stocky, olive-brown Australian freshwater fish covered in scattered iridescent purple-blue spots, favoring weedy, slow-moving streams and lagoons.
freshwater
Mekong Giant Catfish
One of the largest freshwater fish on Earth, this critically endangered giant inhabits the deep main channel of the Mekong River and undertakes long spawning migrations.
freshwater
Mangrove Jack
A deep red Indo-Pacific snapper whose juveniles grow up in mangrove estuaries and rivers, tolerating salinities from freshwater to full seawater.
brackish
Dwarf Gourami
A small, colorful labyrinth fish from South Asia, with males displaying vivid diagonal red and blue stripes, popular in the freshwater aquarium trade.
freshwater
Dwarf Livebearer
One of the smallest fish species in the world, this tiny freshwater livebearer from the southeastern United States is prized for its miniature size and easy breeding.
freshwater
Chinese Paddlefish
The Chinese paddlefish was a giant, sword-snouted freshwater fish once found in the Yangtze River, declared extinct in the early 2020s after decades of decline.
freshwater
Silver Lamprey
The silver lamprey is a freshwater parasitic lamprey of central and eastern North America, recognized by its single-cusped teeth and silvery body, native to Great Lakes and Mississippi River basin drainages.
freshwater
Northern Brook Lamprey
The northern brook lamprey is a small, non-parasitic freshwater lamprey of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region, believed to have evolved from a parasitic ancestor but never feeding as an adult.
freshwater
Blueback Herring
A slender, silvery anadromous herring closely related to the Alewife, distinguished by its deep blue-green back, that migrates from Atlantic coastal waters into freshwater rivers each spring to spawn.
brackish
White Sturgeon
The white sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in North America, an armored, long-snouted giant found in Pacific coast rivers from California to British Columbia.
freshwater
Sterlet
The sterlet is the smallest widespread sturgeon species, a slender freshwater fish of Ponto-Caspian rivers known for its long, thin, upturned snout with fringed barbels.
freshwater
Madtom
A small North American freshwater catfish that hides under rocks by day and carries venomous pectoral and dorsal spines used defensively when handled or threatened.
freshwater
Boeseman's Rainbowfish
Boeseman's Rainbowfish is a vividly two-toned freshwater fish from New Guinea, with a blue-violet front half and a fiery orange-yellow rear half.
freshwater