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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
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Rivers and lakes

Fresh water: rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. 610 fish on EveryFish so far.

Rivers, lakes, streams and ponds hold less than one per cent of the Earth's water, yet about half of all known fish species live in them. Fresh water is broken into separate basins, and fish that cannot cross between them evolve apart, which is why each river system and lake has its own species. The Amazon, Congo, Mekong and Ganges basins and the great lakes of Africa are the richest.

Life in fresh water

A freshwater fish is saltier inside than the water around it, so it must pump salt in through its gills and pass a lot of dilute urine. Freshwater habitats range from torrential Himalayan streams, where loaches cling to rocks, to warm, still swamps where air-breathing snakeheads, catfish and gouramis thrive. Many river fish time their spawning to floods: the Indian major carps spawn in the monsoon floodwaters, and Mekong fish move into flooded forests.

The most threatened fish

Freshwater fish are declining faster than sea fish. A 2021 report by conservation groups found that about a third of freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction and that 80 had already been declared extinct. Dams block migrations, water is drawn off for farms and cities, pollution and sand mining degrade rivers, and introduced species such as tilapia and African catfish compete with native fish. In India, the rivers of the Western Ghats and the North-East hold many endemic fish at risk.

Famous rivers and lakes fish

RohuA river carp of the Indian subcontinentArapaimaAn air-breathing giant of the AmazonMekong giant catfishOne of the largest freshwater fishGolden mahseerThe golden mahseer of Himalayan riversNile perchA huge predator of African lakesRed-bellied piranhaA schooling fish of South American riversZebrafishA small fish of South Asian streams

Further reading

GroupSharkRayCarpCatfishSalmonidHerringCodTunaPerch-likeCichlidReef fishEelFlatfishLivebearerAncientOther
UseFood fishFarmedAquarium fishSport fishingCulture and faithVenomous or dangerousInvasiveScience and research
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
WorldFourfinger threadfin A large marine threadfin found in the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves WorldPike Freshwater predatory fish genus with sharp teeth and torpedo shape.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇺 AustraliaSilver Perch A threatened freshwater grunter endemic to the Murray-Darling basin in Australia.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇺 AustraliaSouthern saratoga A primitive freshwater fish native to Queensland rivers.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇳🇿 New ZealandGiant kōkopu New Zealand's largest freshwater fish, known for its amphidromous life cycle and traditional food value.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1789 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 3 moreCommon galaxias A small migratory fish of the Southern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇳🇿 New ZealandBanded kōkopu A striped New Zealand galaxiid that climbs waterfalls.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇳🇿 New ZealandNew Zealand grayling Extinct amphidromous fish endemic to New Zealand rivers and seas.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldNile perch Large freshwater predator native to Africa, now invasive in many lakes.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreAyu sweetfish Small amphidromous fish prized for its sweet flesh in East Asia.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1846 Indian threadfin 🇵🇰 Pakistan and 2 moreIndian threadfin A large coastal fish with distinctive long fin filaments.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1804 WorldSpotted scat A spotted, square-bodied fish from Indo-Pacific estuaries.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766 🇮🇳 IndiaZebra loach A small, striped freshwater fish from India's Western Ghats, kept in aquariums and eaten locally.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1920 WorldWeather loach Small freshwater fish active before stormsOther · Rivers and lakes Southeast AsiaKissing gourami A Southeast Asian freshwater fish known for its unique mouth-to-mouth sparring behaviour.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreGolden dorado A large predatory freshwater fish native to South America known for its golden colour.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLongnose gar A primitive ray-finned fish with a long snout and armored scales found in North America.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGar Ancient armored fish with lung-like swim bladders found in North American waters.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇧🇼 Botswana and 1 moreAfrican tigerfish Predatory freshwater fish known for sharp teeth and leaping hunting behaviour.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1861 🇺🇬 Uganda and 2 moreSilver cyprinid A small pelagic fish from Lake Victoria that supports regional food security.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇬 UgandaNangnang fish A small freshwater fish from the Nile basin, prized as a fried snack in Uganda.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreLargemouth bass A large freshwater predator native to North America, prized by anglers and invasive in many regions.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1802 🇺🇸 United StatesSpotted bass A North American freshwater fish known for dark spots below its lateral line.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesGuadalupe bass A rare Texas endemic black bass prized by anglers for its fighting spirit.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇸🇷 Suriname and 2 moreRedeye piranha A large freshwater fish from South America with a rhombus-shaped body and red eyes.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766 🇧🇷 Brazil and 3 moreTambaqui A large freshwater fish from South America known for its heavy body and seed-eating habits.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesWhite sucker A common North American freshwater cypriniform fish with fleshy lips used for bottom feeding.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1803 🇦🇺 AustraliaAustralian bass Native freshwater game fish of eastern AustraliaOther · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇴 Angola and 3 moreAtlantic mudskipper Semi-aquatic goby that walks on mudflats in West Africa.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast and 4 moreAfrican pike characin West African freshwater predator with a pike-like shapeOther · Rivers and lakes · 1794 🇳🇬 NigeriaHingemouth Small African fish with a unique proboscis-like mouthOther · Rivers and lakes 🇨🇺 CubaCuban gar Large tropical freshwater predator native to western Cuba.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 BrazilBanded leporinus A striped freshwater fish from the Amazon kept in home tanks and occasionally caught by anglers.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldSnakehead Elongated freshwater predators with air-breathing organs found in Asia and Africa.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldFeatherbacks and knifefishes Freshwater bony-tongued fishes with long anal finsOther · Rivers and lakes Southeast AsiaGiant snakehead A large freshwater predator from Southeast Asia known for air breathing and invasive potential.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreHoplias aimara A large freshwater predator from South America known for its size and mercury accumulation.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1846 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreGoldeye A silver freshwater fish known for its smoked culinary form.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreBurbot A coldwater freshwater fish with a chin whisker, native to the Northern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreArapaima Giant air-breathing freshwater fish of the AmazonOther · Rivers and lakes · 1822 🇺🇸 United StatesWhite bass A silver-striped freshwater fish native to North American rivers and lakes.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇷 Argentina and 4 moreArgentinian silverside A large, adaptable silverside native to South America.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreRed-bellied piranha A widespread South American freshwater fish known for its omnivorous diet and shoaling behavior.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreRed-bellied Pacu A large South American freshwater fish related to piranhas, farmed for food and kept in aquariums.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇰🇭 Cambodia and 4 moreGyrinocheilus aymonieri A Southeast Asian freshwater fish known for its suction-like mouth and role in the aquarium trade.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 BrazilBlack arowana A South American freshwater fish known for its dark colour and jumping hunting style.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreSilver arowana Large South American freshwater predator with bone tongue.Other · Rivers and lakes Fire eel 🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreFire eel Large spiny eel with red markings from Southeast AsiaOther · Rivers and lakes
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