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.
Yellowtail Blue Damselfish
A small, vividly electric-blue damselfish with a sharply contrasting bright yellow tail, common on shallow reef flats and lagoons of the western Pacific.
reef
Yellow Watchman Goby
A bright yellow burrowing goby that forms a cooperative partnership with pistol shrimp, sharing a burrow while acting as lookout for the nearly blind shrimp.
reef
Butterfly Splitfin
A striking Mexican livebearer known for its black body, yellow-orange tail band, and unusual reproductive biology shared with other goodeids.
freshwater
Red Snapper
A rosy-red snapper of the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S. coast, recognized by its sloped profile, sharp triangular teeth, and bright red eyes.
reefHardhead Catfish
A common western Atlantic sea catfish with a bony plate on its head, short barbels, and a mouthbrooding reproductive strategy shared with related sea catfish.
saltwater
Thornback Ray
A common European skate covered in distinctive rows of sharp thorny spines, found on sandy and muddy seabeds from shallow water to the continental shelf.
cartilaginous
Knife Livebearer
A slender Central American livebearer named for the sharp, blade-like keel along its belly, an adaptation believed to aid rapid escape jumps.
freshwater
Hedgehog Seahorse
One of the spiniest seahorses, the Hedgehog Seahorse is covered in numerous sharp, elongated body spines that give it a distinctly bristled silhouette against reef rubble.
reef
Yellow Tang
A brilliant all-yellow surgeonfish common on Pacific coral reefs, especially around Hawaii, easily recognized by its disc-shaped body and sharp tail spine.
reef
Piranha
A deep-bodied South American river fish famed for its sharp interlocking teeth and coordinated group feeding behavior, though most species are opportunistic scavengers.
freshwater
Thorny Seahorse
A spiky Indo-Pacific seahorse covered in long, sharp bony projections, giving it a thorny, almost alien silhouette that helps it disappear among sponges and gorgonian coral.
reef
Houndfish
A large, elongated needlefish with a crocodile-like beak of sharp teeth, found cruising just below the surface of warm coastal waters worldwide in search of small fish.
saltwaterDragonfish
Dragonfish are elongated, predatory deep-sea fish with needle-sharp teeth and a long luminous chin barbel used to lure prey in the permanently dark mesopelagic zone.
deepsea
Alligator Gar
A massive, armor-scaled freshwater fish with a broad alligator-like snout lined with two rows of sharp teeth, among the largest freshwater fish in North America.
freshwater
Needlefish
The common name for slender, surface-dwelling fish of the family Belonidae, recognized by long jaws lined with sharp teeth; the Needlefish (*Strongylura marina*) represents this widespread predatory group.
saltwater
Wolf Eel
The Wolf Eel is a large, spotted, eel-shaped fish of North Pacific rocky reefs that forms long-term pairs and cooperatively guards its eggs in a shared den.
saltwater
Gold Gourami
A selectively bred, solid golden-yellow color variety of the Three Spot Gourami, developed for the aquarium trade and sharing the same hardy, adaptable biology as its wild-type relative.
freshwater
Bicolor Damselfish
A small reef fish sharply split into a dark front half and a pale rear half, common on Caribbean and western Atlantic coral reefs where it defends algae-covered territories.
reef
Bicolor Anthias
A small Indo-Pacific reef fish sharply divided in color, with a violet-purple front half and a golden-yellow rear half, forming loose groups above reef structure.
reef
Telescopefish
A slender deep-sea fish named for its forward-directed, tubular telescoping eyes, which provide sharp binocular vision to detect faint prey silhouettes in near-total darkness.
deepsea
Silver Hake
The silver hake is a slim, bright-sided relative of true cod found along the northwestern Atlantic shelf, recognized by its sharp teeth, two dorsal fins, and lack of a chin barbel.
saltwater
Sea Lamprey
The sea lamprey is a primitive, jawless, eel-like fish famous for its parasitic sucker-disc mouth ringed with sharp teeth, which it uses to latch onto and feed on other fish.
saltwaterEuropean Hake
The European hake is a large, slender Gadiform predator of northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean shelf waters, identifiable by its sharp-toothed jaws, two dorsal fins, and complete absence of a chin barbel.
saltwater
Royal Gramma
The Royal Gramma is a small Caribbean reef fish with a sharp two-tone body: violet-purple in front, golden yellow behind. It shelters upside down in caves and crevices along steep reef walls.
reef