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.
Barbour's Seahorse
A small, spiny-crowned seahorse native to the coral reefs and seagrass beds of the western Pacific, distinguished by fine dark banding along its snout.
reef
Yellow Stingray
A small, boldly patterned stingray of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, often seen resting on sand near coral reefs and seagrass beds in shallow, clear water.
reef
Pipefish
A slender, elongated relative of the seahorse with a rigid, ring-plated body and tubular snout, commonly found camouflaged among seagrass and algae in coastal waters worldwide.
saltwater
Greater Pipefish
One of Europe's largest pipefish, the Greater Pipefish is a long, tube-snouted relative of the seahorse found among seagrass and rocky shallows from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.
saltwater
Dwarf Seahorse
One of the smallest seahorse species in the world, standing barely a few centimeters tall and clinging to seagrass blades in shallow waters of the southeastern United States and Bahamas.
saltwater
Aiptasia-eating Filefish
A small, drab Indo-Pacific filefish prized in reef aquariums for its habit of eating Aiptasia glass anemones, blending into seagrass and algae with mottled camouflage.
reef
Cowfish
A horned relative of the boxfish, identified by paired forward-pointing spines above the eyes and a rigid box-shaped body; found in Indo-Pacific lagoons and seagrass beds.
reef
Bridled Burrfish
A small Caribbean burrfish with fixed, non-erectile spines and a pale body marked with fine dark reticulations and scattered blotches, often resting motionless among seagrass.
reef
Tarpon Snook Blenny
A slender, elongated pikeblenny with a pointed snout and torpedo-shaped body, sheltering in abandoned tube-worm holes on sandy reef flats and seagrass beds of the western Atlantic and Caribbean.
reef
Schoolmaster Snapper
The schoolmaster snapper is a yellow-tinged reef snapper of the western Atlantic, recognized by faint pale bars and a blue line beneath the eye, common around reefs, mangroves, and seagrass.
reef
Lane Snapper
A small, silvery-pink schooling snapper marked by faint yellow stripes and a black spot near the tail base, common across shallow Western Atlantic reefs and seagrass.
reef
Long-snouted Seahorse
The long-snouted seahorse, also known as the spiny seahorse, is a slender species of the Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic with a proportionally long snout and often ornate skin filaments used for camouflage in seagrass beds.
saltwater
Barracuda
A large, torpedo-shaped predatory fish found around tropical reefs, seagrass beds, and open coastal waters worldwide, easily identified by its underbite jaw and fang-like teeth.
reef
Cornetfish
An extremely elongated, needle-thin fish with a whip-like tail filament, the Cornetfish hovers near reefs and seagrass, using its long tubular snout to snap up small fish.
reef
Robust Ghost Pipefish
The robust ghost pipefish is the largest species in its family, with a plainer, leaf-like body that mimics drifting seagrass, algae, or sargassum rather than the frillier crinoid-mimicking patterns of its relatives.
reef
Alligator Pipefish
The alligator pipefish is a robust, seagrass-dwelling pipefish with a thick, ridged body and a short, somewhat prehensile tail tip, giving it a stouter, more alligator-like profile than typical slender pipefish.
saltwater
Peacock Wrasse
A colorful Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic wrasse whose males display vivid green-blue bodies with orange spots and blue facial stripes, commonly seen darting among rocky reefs and seagrass beds.
saltwater
Gulf Pipefish
The Gulf pipefish is a small, slender pipefish common in seagrass beds and estuaries around the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern United States, notable for tolerating salinities ranging from full seawater to nearly fresh water.
brackish
Ghost Pipefish
Ghost pipefish are small, camouflaged reef fish related to true pipefish, named for their ability to nearly vanish against crinoids, algae, and seagrass. The family includes several species distinguished by body shape and coloration.
reef
Cisco
Cisco, also known as lake herring, are slender silvery relatives of whitefish that form large open-water schools in the cold lakes of the northern United States and Canada, feeding mainly on plankton.
freshwater
West African Lungfish
An eel-shaped African lungfish able to survive months of drought by burrowing into mud and forming a protective cocoon while it aestivates.
freshwater
Spinner Shark
A slender, high-speed coastal shark famous for leaping and spinning out of the water while lunging through schools of baitfish.
saltwater
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
Pelagic Stingray
A uniquely oceanic stingray that never touches the seabed, drifting through warm and temperate seas worldwide while feeding on squid and small fish.
pelagic