Fish species lookup
Search 160+ commonly kept aquarium fish for the water they actually need — temperature, pH, hardness, and the tank size that suits them.
Full or partial names both work — “cardinal”, the scientific name, or a common alias like “GBR”. Results appear as you type.
Building a community? Add two or more species to see whether their temperature, pH and hardness ranges overlap — and the minimum tank size the group needs.
How to use the fish species lookup
Type a common name or scientific name into the search box. Results appear as you type — select a fish to load its full care profile. You can search by full name ("cardinal tetra"), partial name ("cardinal"), scientific name ("Paracheirodon axelrodi"), or common alias ("GBR" for German Blue Ram, "galaxy rasbora" for Celestial Pearl Danio).
The database covers 160+ commonly kept species. If a species you keep is not listed, use the feedback link in the data sources panel to request it.
What the water parameters mean
Temperature shows the preferred range for long-term health — not the absolute survival limits. Fish can tolerate brief excursions outside their range, but keeping them at the edges for extended periods causes chronic stress and suppresses immune function. This is the range to target for day-to-day husbandry.
pH is the acidity or alkalinity of the water on a scale of 0–14, with 7.0 being neutral. Most community fish do well between 6.5 and 7.5. Soft-water South American species like discus and cardinal tetras need lower pH (5.5–6.5); African rift lake cichlids from Malawi and Tanganyika need higher pH (7.6–9.0). Stability matters as much as the target value — large swings in pH are more harmful than a slightly off reading held steady.
Hardness (dH) is general hardness, measuring the concentration of dissolved calcium and magnesium. Soft water (under 6 dH) suits most South American and Southeast Asian species; hard water (12 dH+) suits African rift lake cichlids, most livebearers, and goldfish. Hardness and pH are closely linked — hard water buffers against pH swings, which is why Malawi tanks are kept hard.
Max length is the typical adult size in captivity. Wild specimens often grow larger. Some species (common pleco, clown knifefish, red-tailed catfish) reach sizes that make most home aquariums unsuitable — always check adult size before purchasing juveniles, which can look deceptively small in a shop tank.
Min tank is the minimum recommended tank length, not volume. Length matters more than volume for most fish because it determines available swimming space and territorial range. A long shallow tank is generally better than a tall narrow one of equal volume for most species.
What species are included
The database covers the most commonly kept aquarium fish across all major groups: tetras, cichlids (dwarf cichlids, Central American, South American, Malawi, and Tanganyika species), livebearers, corydoras, plecos, loaches, danios, rasboras, barbs, rainbowfish, goldfish and koi, bettas, gouramis, killifish, puffers, shrimp, snails, and a selection of specialist and oddball species.
Care parameters are cross-referenced with FishBase. Species detail cards link through directly to the relevant FishBase page for further reading, references, and additional biological data.
Once you know your planned stocking, use the filter capacity calculator to check whether your filter media can handle the total fish biomass. If you are planning a planted community tank, the plant species lookup shows which plants suit the same water parameters as your fish.