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.
European Conger
A large, powerfully built grey eel that shelters in rocky crevices and shipwrecks across the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, among the largest eel species in the region.
saltwater
Copper Rockfish
A coppery-brown rockfish with a pale pink-white band along the back half of its body, commonly found near rocky structure and eelgrass beds close to shore.
saltwater
Conger Eel
The Conger Eel is the largest eel in European waters, a strictly marine species inhabiting rocky reefs and wrecks across the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
saltwater
Comet Grouper
A pale grayish-brown Indo-Pacific grouper marked with elongated, comet-shaped pale streaks and spots, along with faint dark bands radiating from the eye.
reef
Longfin African Conger
A slender, sand-dwelling conger with a distinctly long dorsal fin and a two-tone body, found burrowing along reef flats and lagoons across the Indo-Pacific and East African coast.
reef
Fangtooth Moray
A slender reef-dwelling moray with strongly curved jaws lined with long, protruding fangs that prevent the mouth from ever fully closing, giving it a permanently menacing gape.
reef
Bluegill
A common North American sunfish recognized by its deep, rounded body and the dark blotch on its gill cover, widely found in lakes and ponds and popular with anglers.
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
Combtail Gourami
A robust Sri Lankan gourami named for the comb-like fringe along its dorsal, anal, and tail fins, more aggressive and predatory than most smaller gourami relatives.
freshwater
Tiger Tail Seahorse
A Southeast Asian reef seahorse easily recognized by the bold alternating light and dark stripes banding its prehensile tail, resembling a tiger's pattern.
reef
Bloodfin Tetra
A slim silvery tetra with bright red fins, prized as a hardy, active schooling fish that tolerates cooler water than most tropicals.
freshwater
Gudgeon
A small, bottom-dwelling cyprinid with a pair of sensory barbels at the mouth corners, the gudgeon forages over gravel and sand in loose shoals, well camouflaged among stones.
freshwater
Staghorn Sculpin
A common bottom-dwelling sculpin of Pacific coast bays and estuaries, named for the large branching (antler-like) spine on its gill cover.
brackish
Sepik Rainbowfish
A deep-bodied rainbowfish from the floodplain lakes and swamps of the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea, covered in unusually fine, numerous scales.
freshwater
Leafy Seadragon
An extraordinary seahorse relative covered in ornate leaf-shaped appendages, camouflaging almost perfectly among the kelp and seaweed beds of southern Australia.
reef
Chevron Tang
A dark surgeonfish covered in fine orange chevron-shaped striping that fades to plain brown with age, prized for its dramatic juvenile pattern.
reef
Blue-spotted Shark
A small, slender nocturnal reef shark covered in vivid blue spots and dark saddle bands, popular in home aquariums.
reef
Zebra Turkeyfish
A dwarf lionfish species boldly striped in reddish-brown and white, with broad, fan-like pectoral fins used to corner small prey against reef rubble.
reef
Whale Shark
The largest fish in the world, a gentle filter-feeding shark covered in a distinctive checkerboard pattern of pale spots and stripes, found in warm seas worldwide.
cartilaginous
Purple Spotted Gudgeon
A stocky, olive-brown Australian freshwater fish covered in scattered iridescent purple-blue spots, favoring weedy, slow-moving streams and lagoons.
freshwater
Panther Grouper
An unmistakable Indo-Pacific grouper with a pale gray body covered in round black spots, a small head, and a distinctive humped, sloping forehead profile.
reef
Merry Widow
A small, peaceful Central American livebearer with a translucent grayish body and a distinctive dark spot near the gill cover, popular among hobbyists for decades.
freshwater
Leopard Coral Grouper
A striking Indo-Pacific reef predator with a reddish-orange body densely covered in small electric-blue spots, giving it a leopard-like pattern.
reef
Wobbegong
A superbly camouflaged, flattened bottom-dwelling shark covered in ornate skin markings and fringed barbels that resemble seaweed or coral rubble.
saltwater