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SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliamentSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament
EveryFish

Aquarium fish

Kept in home and public aquariums. 299 fish on EveryFish so far.

Fishkeeping is one of the most popular pet hobbies in the world. Home aquariums hold freshwater fish such as guppies, tetras, barbs, gouramis, cichlids and catfish, and marine tanks keep clownfish, tangs and other reef fish. Public aquariums display sharks, rays and schools of ocean fish. Hundreds of millions of ornamental fish are traded each year, from more than a thousand species.

Where aquarium fish come from

Most freshwater aquarium fish sold today are bred on farms, many in South-East Asia, Florida and in India around Kolkata and Kolathur in Chennai. Goldfish, koi, guppies, mollies, bettas, angelfish and discus have been bred for colour and fin shape for generations. Most marine aquarium fish, by contrast, are still caught from reefs in Indonesia, the Philippines and elsewhere, though clownfish and some others are now bred in captivity.

India's wild ornamentals

India's rivers, especially in the Western Ghats and the North-East, hold many fish valued by aquarists. The Denison barb of Kerala became one of India's best-known aquarium exports, and heavy collection from the wild contributed to its decline before farm breeding took over much of the supply. Releasing aquarium fish into the wild has spread invasive species, such as the Amazon sailfin catfish now found in many Indian waters.

Famous aquarium fish fish

GoldfishThe first domesticated aquarium fishDiscusA prized Amazon cichlid

Still to be written: Guppy, Neon tetra, Siamese fighting fish, Pterophyllum scalare, Ocellaris clownfish, Denison barb.

Further reading

GroupSharkRayCarpCatfishSalmonidHerringCodTunaPerch-likeCichlidReef fishEelFlatfishLivebearerAncientOther
WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
WorldSeahorse Small marine fish with horse-like heads and curled tails in the genus Hippocampus.Other · Coasts and shelves Southeast AsiaBumblebee goby Small striped freshwater and brackish gobies from AsiaOther · Rivers and lakes WorldFeatherbacks and knifefishes Freshwater bony-tongued fishes with long anal finsOther · Rivers and lakes 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese rice fish Small freshwater fish native to Japan and a key model organism.Other · Rivers and lakes South AsiaGreen spotted puffer Small brackish water pufferfish with a tiny genomeOther · Rivers and lakes 🇰🇭 Cambodia and 1 moreFigure 8 puffer A small brackish water pufferfish with distinctive eye-like markings.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇮🇩 IndonesiaCelebes rainbowfish A small, transparent silverside from Sulawesi streams.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldOrbicular batfish A round, silvery marine fish native to the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.