Fish Identifier

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.

Zebra Mbuna

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
Golden Trevally

Golden Trevally

A bright golden-yellow jack, often banded as a juvenile, found around coral reefs and lagoons throughout the Indo-Pacific.

reef
Golden Topminnow

Golden Topminnow

A small southeastern U.S. killifish whose males show golden-yellow coloring with iridescent blue-green spotting. It favors quiet, well-vegetated ponds, swamps, and slow backwaters.

freshwater
Auratus Cichlid

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
Electric Yellow Cichlid

Electric Yellow Cichlid

A vividly yellow mbuna cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi's rocky shorelines, popular in aquariums for its bright, almost uniform coloration and relatively peaceful temperament.

freshwater
Demasoni Cichlid

Demasoni Cichlid

One of the smallest mbuna cichlids, the demasoni is instantly recognizable by its bold blue-and-black barring and is known for surprisingly intense territorial aggression despite its diminutive size.

freshwater
Yellow Perch

Yellow Perch

A golden-yellow freshwater fish marked by dark vertical bars and orange-tinged fins, native to lakes and slow-moving rivers across North America. It is one of the most abundant and widely recognized panfish species.

freshwater
Golden Trout

Golden Trout

One of the most brilliantly colored freshwater fish in North America, native to a small area of high-elevation streams in California's Sierra Nevada, marked with vivid golden-orange flanks and crimson stripes.

freshwater
Coney

Coney

The coney is a small, color-variable reef grouper of the tropical western Atlantic, occurring in reddish-brown, bicolor, or bright golden-yellow forms, always marked with fine blue spotting.

reef
Gold Gourami

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
Midas Blenny

Midas Blenny

An elongated, brightly colored blenny that ranges from golden-yellow to blue-violet and often mimics the appearance and swimming style of similarly colored basslets. It hovers near reef crevices along drop-offs.

reef
Golden Wonder Killifish

Golden Wonder Killifish

A golden-orange color form of the striped panchax, this hardy topminnow patrols the water's surface hunting insects and small fish in South Asian wetlands.

freshwater
Pristella Tetra

Pristella Tetra

A translucent, pale-golden tetra whose semi-transparent body reveals internal structures, marked by distinctive black-and-yellow fin patches.

freshwater
Bumblebee Fish

Bumblebee Fish

A tiny, boldly banded goby popular in brackish aquariums, named for its wasp-like black-and-yellow stripes.

brackish
Kole Tang

Kole Tang

A compact, striped surgeonfish with a golden eye-ring, using bristle-like teeth to sweep detritus from reef rock.

reef
Peacock Cichlid

Peacock Cichlid

A brilliantly colored Lake Malawi cichlid whose males flash iridescent blues, oranges, and yellows to attract mates and rivals alike.

freshwater
Walleye

Walleye

A slender, golden-olive freshwater predator named for its large, glassy, light-reflective eyes that give it excellent low-light vision for hunting at dusk and in murky water.

freshwater
Peacock Bass

Peacock Bass

A powerful, brilliantly colored cichlid from South America, prized for its golden-green flanks, dark vertical bars, and the distinctive eyespot at the base of its tail.

freshwater
Orange Chromide

Orange Chromide

A small, bright orange-yellow cichlid from South Asian estuaries, marked by a single dark spot near the tail. It is the smallest member of its genus and a popular, peaceful aquarium fish.

brackish
Yellowtail Snapper

Yellowtail Snapper

A slender Caribbean reef fish with a bold golden stripe running from snout to its deeply forked yellow tail. Often seen swimming in open water above reefs rather than hugging the bottom.

reef
Gold Dust Molly

Gold Dust Molly

A selectively bred molly variety combining a golden-yellow base color with fine black speckling, developed in the aquarium trade from wild Poecilia stock.

freshwater
Eastern Rainbowfish

Eastern Rainbowfish

A widespread eastern Australian subspecies of the splendid rainbowfish complex, showing blue-green to golden flanks and yellow-orange fins along coastal Queensland rivers.

freshwater
Bicolor Anthias

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
Apache Trout

Apache Trout

The Apache trout is a golden-yellow native trout found only in the high-elevation streams of Arizona's White Mountains, and it is the state fish of Arizona following decades of conservation recovery efforts.

freshwater