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.
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
African Arowana
A large African bonytongue fish with a toothless, filter-feeding mouth adapted for straining plankton and detritus from floodplain waters.
freshwaterTiger Muskie
A hybrid of northern pike and muskellunge, this elongated apex predator sports bold dark tiger stripes and is prized as one of freshwater's most aggressive game fish.
freshwater
Freshwater Drum
The Freshwater Drum is the only entirely freshwater member of the drum family, recognized by its humpbacked silvery body and tail-extending lateral line.
freshwater
Electric Catfish
An African freshwater catfish capable of generating strong electric discharges from specialized body tissue used for hunting and defense.
freshwater
Mbu Pufferfish
The Mbu Pufferfish is the largest freshwater pufferfish species, native to Central Africa's Congo River system and known for its maze-like yellow body markings.
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
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
Fangtooth
The fangtooth is a small, deep-sea fish with the largest teeth relative to body size of any fish, identified by its oversized fangs, armored head, and compact dark body.
deepsea
Spot Croaker
Spot is a small, deep-bodied estuarine fish easily identified by a single dark shoulder spot and faint oblique bars along its upper body.
brackish
Cleaner Wrasse
The Cleaner Wrasse is a slender fish with a bold black horizontal stripe and blue body, famous for removing parasites and dead tissue from other reef fish at dedicated cleaning stations.
reef
Pajama Cardinalfish
A small, egg-shaped reef fish with a yellow-striped head and red-spotted rear body, resembling patterned sleepwear.
reef
Atlantic Cod
A large, heavy-bodied bottom fish with a distinctive chin barbel and three dorsal fins, the Atlantic Cod is one of the North Atlantic's most historically significant and heavily studied fish species.
saltwater
Common Archerfish
A deep-bodied, silvery fish famed for spitting jets of water to knock insects off overhanging vegetation into the water.
brackish
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
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
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
Clown Knifefish
A knife-shaped Southeast Asian fish with a distinctive row of large black eyespots along its rear body and a long, continuous ventral fin.
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
Reedfish
A snake-bodied African fish with a lung-like breathing organ, related to bichirs, prized for its unusual elongated form and air-breathing ability.
freshwater
Loach Goby
The Loach Goby is an elongated, flat-bodied fish that clings to rocks in fast-flowing Indo-Pacific streams, combining goby and loach-like features.
freshwater
Yellow Boxfish
The Yellow Boxfish is a cube-shaped reef fish, bright yellow with black spots as a juvenile, that swims with slow, hovering movements thanks to its rigid armored body.
reef
Rohu
A large South Asian river carp with a streamlined, silvery-grey body, widely farmed across the Indian subcontinent as a major aquaculture species and prized angling fish.
freshwater