A Helpful List of Aquarium Fish Species by Common Name

Written by
Shirlie Sharpe
Shirlie is a fish and aquarium lover with 16 years of experience writing on the topic of raising and keeping fish at home.
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Shirlie Sharpe
Updated 01/16/19
Tropical fish swimming in aquarium outside kitchen
Hoxton/Tom Merton / Getty Images

A complete alphabet of all the fish species in the world would have at least 27,300 items, and those are just the official names. Many fish—especially popular varieties for aquariums—also have any number of nicknames. For example, the Corydorus matae, or Bandit Cory, is also known as a Bandit Catfish, Masked Cory, Meta River Catfish, and Rio Meta Cory. The following—obviously partial— list includes many popular aquarium fish, from A to Z.

A

  • Adolfo's Cory
  • Adonis Tetra
  • African Peacock Cichlid
  • Angel Fish
Angel fish
Jakraphan Inchukul / Getty Images
  • Archerfish
  • Atlantic Mudskipper
  • Auratus
  • Australian Rainbowfish
  • Azureus Chiclid

B

Blood parrot fishes
Pornpimon Lekudom / Getty Images

C

Cardinal tetra fish
DEA / C. DANI / Getty Images

D

Dwarf pencilfish
Bruno Cavignaux / Getty Images
  • Dwarf Snakehead

E

  • Earth Eater
  • Eastern Mudminnow
  • Edible Gourami
  • Eduard's Mbuna
  • Ell Loach
  • Egyptian Mouthbrooder
  • Eight-Barb Loach
  • Electric Blue Hap
Electric Blue Hap
Reimar Gaertner/UIG/Getty Images
  • Electric Catfish
  • Electric Yellow Hap
  • Elegant Rasbora
  • Elephant-Nose Cichlid
  • Emperor Tetra

F

Siamese fighting fish in a tank
DEA / C. DANI / Getty Images

G

Kissing Gourami fish
Bruno Cavignaux / Getty Images

H

  • Harlequin
  • Haitian Cichlid
  • Half-Lined Pyrrhulina
  • Hampala Barb
  • Harlequin Rasbora
Harlequin rasbora
Bruno Cavignaux / Getty Images
  • Harlequin Shark
  • Harrison's Pencilfish
  • Hatchetfish
  • Heterotis
  • Hi-Fin Banded Shark

J

  • Jack Dempsey
  • Jae Barb
  • Jaguar Catfish
  • Jelly Bean Tetra
  • Jewel Cichlid
Jewel Cichlid
Bruno Cavignaux / Getty Images
  • Johanni Mbuna
  • Jordan's Catfish
  • Jumping Charcin

K

Kribensis
Jerry Young / Getty Images

L

Labidochromis yellow fish
Christian Hutter / Getty Images

M

N

  • Nandus
  • Needle Fin Eater
  • Needlefish
Needlefish
Daniela Dirscherl / Getty Images

O

  • Obese Syndontis
  • Obliquidens Hap
  • Obscure Snakehead
  • Ocellated Freshwater Stingray
  • Ocellated Shell-Dweller
  • Ocellated Synodontis
  • Opaline Gourami
  • Oxeye Herring
  • Ozola Barb

P

Pearl Gourami
Bruno Cavignaux​ / Getty Images

R

  • Rainbowfish - Boeseman's
Boesemani rainbowfish
Ko Hungyu / Eyeem / Getty Images

S

Siamese fighting fish
Quang Nguyen Duc / EyeEm / Getty Images

T

Emperor Tetra
Quentin Martinez / Getty Images

U

  • Uaru
  • Unicorn Fish
Unicorn fish
Dave Fleetham / Design Pics / Getty Images 

V

  • Vampire Pleco
  • Variegated Platy
  • Variegated Shark
  • Venustus
  • Violet Goby

W

Y

  • Yellow Banded Moenkhausia
  • Yellow Julie
  • Yellow King Piranha
  • Yellow Kribensis
  • Yellow Lab
  • Yellow Regal Peacock Cichlid
  • Yellow-Finned Xenotilapia
  • Yellow-Tailed Conga Tetra
  • Yo-Yo Loach

Z

Zebra Danio
 isoft / Getty Images