Aquarium fish
Kept in home and public aquariums. 286 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
Still to be written: Guppy, Neon tetra, Siamese fighting fish, Pterophyllum scalare, Ocellaris clownfish, Denison barb.
Further reading
WorldQueen triggerfish
Large, colourful reef fish of the tropical Atlantic.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1758
WorldBlue-spotted grouper
A widely distributed Indo-Pacific grouper known for its blue spots and invasive impact in Hawaii.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldBluehead wrasse
A small Atlantic reef fish known for changing sex and colour.Other · Coral reefs
WorldClown triggerfish
A striking black and white reef fish with a locking dorsal spine.Other · Coral reefs · 1801
WorldOriental sweetlips
Striped reef fish with swollen lips found in the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1758
WorldSeahorse
Small marine fish with horse-like heads and curled tails in the genus Hippocampus.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldLeaf scorpionfish
A small reef fish that mimics a drifting leaf to ambush prey.Other · Coral reefs · 1802
OceaniaMaroon clownfish
Large, aggressive anemonefish with a distinctive cheek spine.Other · Coral reefs
WorldMandarinfish
A small, brightly coloured Pacific fish kept in saltwater aquariums.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1927
WorldYellow prawn-goby
A small, colourful goby that shares burrows with shrimps.Other · Coasts and shelves
OceaniaPajama Cardinalfish
Small, spotted reef fish known for male mouthbrooding.Other · Coral reefs
WorldWrasse
A large family of colourful marine fish known for sex change and cleaning symbiosis.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves
WorldBoxfish
Armoured fish with a box-like body and toxic skin secretions.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1810
Southeast AsiaPygmy seahorse
Tiny seahorses with unique brooding and camouflage traits found in Southeast Asian reefs.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇦🇺 AustraliaCommon seadragon
Camouflaged marine fish with leaf-like appendages found in southern Australia.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldLongfin batfish
A silver marine fish with elongated juvenile fins found across the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves
WorldOrnate ghost pipefish
A camouflaged reef fish with variable colours and female brood pouches.Other · Coral reefs
WorldOrbicular batfish
A round, silvery marine fish native to the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreReef stonefish
A highly venomous marine fish known for its rock-like camouflage and potent toxins.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1801
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Queen triggerfish: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, source
- Blue-spotted grouper: Jan Ebr, CC BY 4.0, source
- Bluehead wrasse: (c) JamesLaFontaine, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0, source
- Clown triggerfish: Photo by and (C)2007 Derek Ramsey ( Ram-Man ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Oriental sweetlips: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Seahorse: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Leaf scorpionfish: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maroon clownfish: Nick Hobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mandarinfish: Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yellow prawn-goby: User:Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pajama Cardinalfish: Totti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wrasse: Leonard Low, CC BY 2.0, source
- Boxfish: Bernd, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pygmy seahorse: Jens Petersen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Common seadragon: Richard Ling <wikipedia@rling.com> --> Rling, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Longfin batfish: portioid, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ornate ghost pipefish: Nhobgood Nick Hobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Orbicular batfish: Alexander Vasenin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Reef stonefish: Karelj, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Discus: Patrick Farrelly, Public domain, source
- Goldfish: No machine-readable author provided. Heptagon assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source