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.
Reef Stonefish
The reef stonefish is the classic, rock-mimicking stonefish of coral reef flats, considered one of the most venomous fish in the sea and virtually invisible against reef rubble.
reef
Reef Shark
A common, streamlined shark patrolling Indo-Pacific coral reefs, recognized by its broad black-edged tail fin and stout gray body.
reef
Reef Needlefish
A long, slender, silvery needlefish with elongated toothy jaws, commonly seen cruising just below the surface over Indo-Pacific coral reefs and reef flats.
reef
Reef Croaker
A coppery-golden drum associated with Caribbean coral reefs, unusual among croakers for its strong reef affinity rather than open sand or mud habitat.
reef
Blue Reef Chromis
A slender, brilliant blue schooling fish commonly seen hovering in large numbers above coral reef outcrops throughout the Caribbean and western Atlantic.
reef
Blacktip Reef Shark
A slender, small reef shark instantly recognized by the bold black tips on all its fins, commonly seen patrolling shallow lagoons and reef flats across the Indo-Pacific.
reef
Whitetip Reef Shark
A slender nocturnal reef shark marked by distinctive white-tipped fins, often seen resting motionless inside reef caves and under ledges by day across the Indo-Pacific.
reef
Caribbean Reef Shark
The most commonly encountered large shark on Caribbean reefs, a stocky gray requiem shark often seen resting motionless on the sea floor.
reef
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
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.
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
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
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
Bumblebee Fish
A tiny, boldly banded goby popular in brackish aquariums, named for its wasp-like black-and-yellow stripes.
brackish
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
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
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.
freshwaterBigfin 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
Neon Goby
A tiny reef fish with an electric blue stripe running nose to tail, best known for cleaning parasites off larger reef fish.
reef
Clownfish
A small, brilliantly orange reef fish with three white bars, famous for its symbiotic partnership with sea anemones on Indo-Pacific coral reefs.
reef
Mandarinfish
A tiny, vividly patterned reef fish covered in a maze-like network of blue, orange, and green, prized as one of the most colorful fish in the ocean.
reef
Napoleon Wrasse
A massive, thick-lipped coral reef wrasse with a distinctive bulging forehead hump and blue-green maze-like facial markings, among the largest reef fish in the Indo-Pacific.
reef
Flame Hawkfish
A brilliant red-orange reef fish that perches motionless atop branching coral, darting out to ambush small prey.
reef
Ballan Wrasse
The largest wrasse in northern European waters, a stout rocky-reef fish with highly variable green, brown, or reddish mottling.
saltwater