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.
Bandwing Flyingfish
A small, slender flyingfish of the tropical Atlantic, identified by the dark crossbands on its otherwise translucent pectoral wing fins as it glides over the open sea.
pelagic
Rock Cod
Rock cod is a common name for numerous Sebastes rockfish species found on rocky Pacific reefs, identified by their deep, spiny-finned body and mottled camouflage coloration.
saltwaterNorway Pout
The Norway pout is a small, silvery schooling Gadidae abundant in the North Sea and nearby shelf waters, distinguished by its large eyes and slim body adapted to deeper offshore habitat.
saltwater
Redtail Notho
A small East African annual killifish from Zanzibar, prized for the male's vivid red, black-edged tail. It lives in temporary rain pools and survives the dry season as drought-resistant eggs buried in mud.
freshwater
Northern Pike
A long, torpedo-shaped ambush predator with a duck-bill-like snout and light bean-shaped markings, famous for lurking motionless in weeds before striking prey with explosive speed.
freshwater
Rummy-nose Tetra
A small schooling Amazonian tetra known for its bright red-orange snout and a bold black-and-white striped tail fin, prized in aquariums for its striking coloration and tight shoaling behavior.
freshwater
Northern Anchovy
A small, slender schooling fish with a pointed snout and large mouth, abundant along the Pacific coast of North America, where it forms a key part of the California Current forage base.
pelagic
Northern Sea Robin
A bottom-dwelling western Atlantic fish with an armored head and huge wing-like pectoral fins, using leg-like fin rays to walk across the seafloor.
saltwaterNorthern Kingfish
A slender surf-dwelling drum of the Atlantic coast, marked by bold dark diagonal bars and a distinctive elongated dorsal fin ray.
saltwater
Northern Studfish
A large, robust topminnow of clear, rocky streams in the Ozark and Appalachian interior highlands, with males showing rows of iridescent blue-green spots.
freshwater
Northern Wolffish
The largest wolffish species, the Northern Wolffish is a plain grey-brown, deep-water predator of the North Atlantic and Arctic with powerful crushing jaws.
deepsea
Northern Pipefish
A slender, bony-ringed relative of the seahorse that drifts vertically among eelgrass along the western Atlantic coast, camouflaged by its stick-like shape.
saltwater
Tripod Fish
An abyssal fish that props itself above the seafloor on three elongated fin rays, forming a tripod, and waits motionless facing into the current to ambush tiny drifting prey.
deepsea
Four-Eyed Fish
A surface-dwelling brackish-water fish famous for eyes split into upper and lower halves, allowing it to see simultaneously above and below the waterline.
brackish
Football Fish
A round, warty deep-sea anglerfish whose much larger females dangle a bioluminescent lure from a spine above the mouth to draw prey through the permanent darkness of the deep ocean.
deepsea
Paradise Fish
A hardy East Asian labyrinth fish with vivid blue-and-red banded flanks and flowing fins, historically one of the first ornamental fish kept in Western aquariums.
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
Jackknife-fish
A boldly black-and-white striped reef drum with a dramatic, curved dorsal fin that resembles the blade of an open jackknife.
reef
Bumblebee Fish
A tiny, boldly banded goby popular in brackish aquariums, named for its wasp-like black-and-yellow stripes.
brackish
Sabertooth Fish
A slender deep-sea predator with oversized fang-like teeth and unusual tubular, upward-angled eyes that help it spot the silhouettes of prey against faint downwelling light.
deepseaBigfin Squid Fish
Despite the common name, this is not a true fish but a rarely filmed deep-sea cephalopod, famous for extraordinarily long elbowed arms trailing beneath a small gelatinous body.
deepsea
Leopard Bush Fish
A round-bodied Congo basin ambush predator patterned with dark leopard-like spots, prized in aquariums for its striking camouflage and air-breathing labyrinth organ.
freshwater
African Tiger Fish
A ferocious, fast-swimming predator of southern and eastern African rivers, armed with prominent interlocking teeth and known for spectacular aerial strikes on prey.
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