Aquarium fish
Kept in home and public aquariums. 392 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
GuppyBred into hundreds of strains
GoldfishThe first domesticated aquarium fish
Neon tetraA small, bright fish of the Amazon
Siamese fighting fishThe betta, bred in Thailand
DiscusA prized Amazon cichlid
Freshwater angelfishThe freshwater angelfish
Ocellaris clownfishThe clownfish of home reef tanks
Denison barbAn aquarium fish from KeralaFurther reading
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreAtlantic sharpnose shark
Small requiem shark of the western Atlantic coastShark · Coasts and shelves
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreEstuarine stonefish
A venomous marine ray-finned fish found in the Indo-Pacific region.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1766
WorldGiant sunfish
The heaviest bony fish in the world, found in warm oceans.Shark · Open ocean · 1842
🇦🇺 Australia and 2 moreWobbegong
Camouflaged bottom-dwelling sharks found in the western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean.Shark · Coasts and shelves
WorldHammerhead shark
Sharks with T-shaped heads for better vision and sensing prey.Shark · Coasts and shelves
WorldBroadnose sevengill shark
A large coastal shark with seven gill slits and spotted skin.Shark · Coasts and shelves
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreSwell shark
A catshark that inflates its body for defenceShark · Coasts and shelves · 1880
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 4 moreWhitespotted bamboo shark
A small, bottom-dwelling carpet shark with purple and pink spots, common in Asian coral reefs.Shark · Coasts and shelves
WorldBrownbanded bamboo shark
Small, docile reef shark suited for captivityShark · Coral reefs
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreLeopard shark
A coastal Pacific houndshark with black saddle markings and spots.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1854
🇦🇺 Australia and 2 moreTasselled wobbegong
A camouflaged carpet shark with a fringed head.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1867
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorn shark
Small spotted bullhead shark from the eastern Pacific coast.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1855
🇦🇺 AustraliaEpaulette shark
A small carpet shark that walks on coral reefs and survives low oxygen.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1788
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreSand tiger shark
Large shark of subtropical and temperate coastal waters worldwideShark · Estuaries and mangroves
WorldSandbar shark
Large coastal requiem shark with a high dorsal finShark · Coasts and shelves
WorldSicklefin lemon shark
Large Indo-Pacific requiem shark with sickle-shaped fins.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1837
WorldTawny nurse shark
A large Indo-Pacific carpet shark known for octopus hunting and spitting water.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1831
WorldZebra shark
A carpet shark with changing patterns, found in Indo-Pacific reefs.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1781
WorldGrouper
Marine ray-finned fish in the family Epinephelidae, known for large size and commercial value.Shark · Coasts and shelves
EuropeNursehound
A large catshark of the northeastern Atlantic with rough skin and spotted patterns.Shark · Coasts and shelves · 1758
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Nursehound: Petra Karstedt (User admin at tiermotive.de), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Estuarine stonefish: Sir Francis Day, Public domain, source
- Neon tetra: Corpse89, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Siamese fighting fish: Henryk Niestrój, CC BY 4.0, source
- Giant sunfish: Henry Barnes Snr / Australian Museum, Public domain, source
- Cichlid: mendel, CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Discus: Patrick Farrelly, Public domain, source
- Goldfish: No machine-readable author provided. Heptagon assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
- Wobbegong: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hammerhead shark: suneko, CC BY 2.0, source
- Broadnose sevengill shark: José María Pérez Nuñez, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Swell shark: Cliff, CC BY 2.0, source
- Whitespotted bamboo shark: yvonne n, CC BY 2.0, source
- Brownbanded bamboo shark: Zul M Rosle, CC BY 2.0, source
- Leopard shark: Mfield , Matthew Field, www.photography.mattfield.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tasselled wobbegong: Lakshmi Sawitri, CC BY 2.0, source
- Horn shark: Ed Bierman, CC BY 2.0, source
- Epaulette shark: This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / C, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sand tiger shark: Amada44, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sandbar shark: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sicklefin lemon shark: Patrick Quinn-Graham, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tawny nurse shark: David Burdick, Public domain, source
- Denison barb: Mattia Nocciola, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Guppy: Wibowo Djatmiko ( Wie146 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ocellaris clownfish: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zebra shark: jon hanson, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Atlantic sharpnose shark: Chris_huh, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grouper: Photo2222, CC BY-SA 3.0, source