A complete alphabetical listing of all the fish species in the world would have at least 30,000 items, and those are just the official saltwater and tropical fish names. Many fish—especially popular varieties for aquariums—also have any number of nicknames. For example, the Corydoras metae, or bandit cory, is also known as a bandit catfish, masked cory, Meta River catfish, and Rio Meta cory. The following (partial) list of aquarium fish names includes many of the most popular ones, from A to Z.
A
Adolfo’s coryAdonis tetraAfrican peacock cichlidAngelfish
Archerfish
Atlantic mudskipper
Auratus cichlid
Australian rainbowfish
Azureus cichlid
B
Bandit cory
Barb - gold
Barb - rosy
Barb - tiger
Betta - female
Betta - male
Black-banded leporinus
Black neon tetra
Black phantom tetra
Black skirt tetra
Black widow tetra
Blind cavefish
Blood parrot cichlid
Blue gourami - albino morph
Blue gourami - cosby hybrid
Blue gourami - traditional color
Boeseman’s rainbowfish
Bronze cory
C
Cardinal tetra
Catfish - upside down
Cavefish - blind
Cichlid - five-bar
Cichlid - purple
Cichlid - Six-bar
Clown loach
Cory - Bandit
Cory - Bronze
D
- Danio - pearl
- Danio - zebra
- Debauwi catfish
- Deepwater haplochromis
- Denison’s flying fox
- Dojo loach
- Dovii loach
- Dragonfish
- Dusky piranha
- Dwarf croaking gourami
- Dwarf gourami
- Dwarf pencilfish
- Dwarf snakehead
E
Eartheater
Eastern mudminnow
Edible gourami
Eduard’s mbuna
Ell loach
Egyptian mouthbrooder
Eight-barb loach
Electric blue hap
Electric catfish
Electric yellow haplochromis
Elegant rasbora
Elephant-nose
Emperor tetra
F
Fairy cichlid
False bumblebee catfish
Fathead bichir
Fighting fish
Figure eight puffer
Five-bar cichlid
Five-stripe lamprologus
G
Gold barb
Gourami - blue
Gourami - dwarf
Gourami - gold
Gourami - kissing
Gourami - leeri
Gourami - marbeled
Gourami - moonlight
Gourami - opaline
Gourami - pearl
Gourami - three spot
H
Haitian cichlid
Half-lined pyrrhulina
Hampala barb
Harlequin rasbora
Harlequin shark
Harrison’s pencilfish
Hatchetfish
Heterotis bonytongue
Hi-fin banded shark
J
Jack Dempsey cichlid
Jae barb
Jaguar catfish
Jelly bean tetra
Jewel cichlid
Johanni mbuna cichlidJordan’s catfishJumping characin
K
- Kafirnigani gray loach
- Katangae Nile bichir
- Keyhole cichlid
- Kissing gourami
- Kribensis cichlid
L
Labidochromis sp “Yellow” cichlid
Lamprologus - five-stripe
Lamprologus - six-stripe
Leeri pearl gourami
Leporinus - black-banded
Loach - clown
Loach - dojo
Loach - weather
M
- Marbled gourami
- Marigold lyretail swordtail
- Marigold wag swordtail
- Melanotaenia splendida tatei
- Moonlight gourami
N
NandusNeedle fin eaterNeedlefish
Neon tetra - black
Nigerian red krib
Nile puffer
Nyerere’s Victoria cichlid
O
- Obese syndontis
- Obliquidens hap
- Obscure snakehead
- Ocellated freshwater stingray
- Ocellated shell-dweller
- Ocellated synodontis
- Opaline gourami
- Oxeye herring
- Ozola barb
P
Palembang puffer
Papuan rainbowfish
Parrot - blood
Pearl danio
Pearl gourami
Platy - red wagtail
Puffer - figure eight
Purple cichlid
R
- Rainbowfish - Papuan
- Rasbora - red
- Red eye tetra
- Red rasbora
- Red wagtail platy
- Rosy barb
S
Schwanefeld’s barb
Siamese fighting fish
Silver dollar - Metynnis argenteus
Six-bar cichlid
Six-stripe lamprologus cichlid
Swordtail - marigold lyertail
Swordtail - marigold wag
T
Tetra - black neon
Tetra - black phantom
Tetra - black skirt
Tetra - black widow
Tetra - cardinal
Tetra - emperor
Tetra - red eye
Tetra - white skirt
Three spot gourami
Tiger barb
U
- Uaru cichlid
- Unicorn fish
- Upside down catfish
V
- Vampire plecoVariegated platyVariegated sharkVenustusViolet goby
W
- Wallago catfish
- Warmouth
- Weather fish
- Weather loach
- West African bichir
- West Australian pygmy perch
- White skirt tetra
- Whiptailed banjo catfish
Y
- Yellow banded moenkhausia
- Yellow Julie cichlid
- Yellow king piranha
- Yellow kribensis
- Yellow lab
- Yellow regal peacock cichlid
- Yellow-finned xenotilapia
- Yellow-tailed conga tetra
- Yo-yo loach
Z
- Zebra danio
Reimar Gaertner / UIG / Getty Images
- What is the best fish for a beginner?
- If you are new to freshwater aquariums, there are plenty of choices that will make it easy to begin. Besides the common goldfish, consider these pretty fish with equally colorful personalities to get started:AngelfishBarbsBettaNeon tetraPlatiesRasborasZebra danio
- Which fish is most playful?
- Pufferfish are the most fun-loving fish to watch thanks to their inflating antics and facial expressions. They are also eager to meet new arrivals, and seem to want to play with you by darting around the tank.
- What is the best fish for a small tank?
- If you have a small or miniature tank, you will need small fish. You won’t be disappointed with the choices you have, which include the following tiny fish with big personalities:BettaBlack phantom tetraConga tetraDwarf gouramiGold barbHatchetfishNeon tetraPlatiesRasboraSwordtailTiger barbWhite cloud mountain minnowZebra danios
If you are new to freshwater aquariums, there are plenty of choices that will make it easy to begin. Besides the common goldfish, consider these pretty fish with equally colorful personalities to get started:
Pufferfish are the most fun-loving fish to watch thanks to their inflating antics and facial expressions. They are also eager to meet new arrivals, and seem to want to play with you by darting around the tank.
If you have a small or miniature tank, you will need small fish. You won’t be disappointed with the choices you have, which include the following tiny fish with big personalities:
