Random Fish Generator: Freshwater, Saltwater, Sharks and Rays

One press names a real fish and tells you whether it lives in fresh or salt water, where in the world it swims and one checked fact.

Random Fish Generator: Freshwater, Saltwater, Sharks and Rays

  1. Spiny dogfish
  2. Bowfin
  3. Wahoo
  4. Chinook salmon
  5. Tambaqui
Saved

Seen 5 of 229

Tip: the space bar makes new ones.

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Next step Drew a shark or a ray? Draw a dinosaur nextMeet the rest of the sea: draw a sea creature

Random Fish Generator: Freshwater, Saltwater, Sharks and Rays: how it works

A fish can live in fresh water, salt water or both, and every card here starts by saying which. The 229 species are all real. Some are as small as the 3 cm Cardinal tetra, and one is the Whale shark, the largest living fish. Press New fish for five. The Water row and the Only row narrow the draw together.

What each fish card tells you

Every line opens with the water. Fresh and salt water marks the 22 fish that move between the two, such as the Atlantic salmon, the European eel and the Bull shark, and those fish come up under all three Water chips. The range comes next, then a top length for 101 fish. A length appears only where the fish's Wikipedia article gives a figure within a tenth of the FishBase maximum, and the figure printed is Wikipedia's.

Planning a tank, or guessing the water

Planning a tank? Tap Aquarium fish: FishBase lists all 64 as sold in the aquarium trade, 38 from fresh water and 26 from the sea. The cards give no care advice, so ask a specialist shop before you buy. Tap Freshwater with Sharks and rays and four are left: the Bull shark, two sawfish and the Giant freshwater stingray. For a guessing round, press Hide all facts and call fresh or salt before you tap each card open.

Tips

  • Tap Sharks and rays for 43 animals: 30 sharks and 13 rays, skates, sawfish and guitarfish, from the Epaulette shark to the Giant oceanic manta ray.
  • Type Z in the starts-with box for three fish: Zebrafish, Zander and Zebra shark.
  • The Brownbanded bamboo shark, the one shark on the Aquarium fish chip, is listed once, under Sharks and rays.

Questions and answers

Where does the random fish generator get its facts?

Every fish was checked twice on 19 September 2026: against its species page on FishBase, the scientific database of fish, and against its English Wikipedia article. A fact is printed only where both support it.

Are sharks and rays really fish?

Yes. Sharks, rays and skates are cartilaginous fish: their skeletons are cartilage, not bone. The Spotted ratfish is a chimaera, another kind of cartilaginous fish, so it stays outside the Sharks and rays chip. The Bala shark is no shark at all, but a freshwater fish of the carp family.

Why is there no octopus, whale or jellyfish?

None of them is a fish. An octopus is a mollusc, a whale is a mammal and a jellyfish is a relative of corals. They are on the random sea creature generator, sorted by kind and ocean zone. Only 21 names appear on both pages, the Whale shark and the Ocean sunfish among them.

More like this

Random tool Browse Animals and Nature

All 229 fish

Sharks and rays 43

  • Angelshark Saltwater shark, eastern Atlantic. A flat shark that lies buried in sand or mud, only its eyes showing.
  • Basking shark Saltwater shark, cool and temperate seas worldwide. The second-largest shark. It filters plankton.
  • Blacktip reef shark Saltwater shark, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Lives in shallow water on coral reefs, often close to shore.
  • Blue shark Saltwater shark, temperate and tropical oceans worldwide. Highly migratory: it travels long distances.
  • Blue skate Saltwater ray, Northeast Atlantic. Mates in spring and lays its egg cases on sandy or muddy flats in summer.
  • Bluespotted ribbontail ray Saltwater ray, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Up to 35 cm across. Feeds on sandy flats as the tide rises.
  • Bonnethead Saltwater shark, warm western Atlantic coasts. Up to 1.5 m. An omnivorous shark that can digest seagrass.
  • Bowmouth guitarfish Saltwater ray, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Spiky thorn ridges run over its eyes, back and shoulders.
  • Brownbanded bamboo shark Saltwater shark, Indo-West Pacific, Japan to northern Australia. Can survive out of water for up to 12 hours.
  • Bull shark Fresh and salt water shark, warm coasts worldwide. Up to 4 m. Travels far up rivers and into lakes.
  • Common thresher Saltwater shark, temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Up to 5.7 m. Stuns prey with its whip-like tail.
  • Cownose ray Saltwater ray, western Atlantic, New England to Brazil. Migrates along the coast in large schools.
  • Epaulette shark Saltwater shark, New Guinea, northern Australia. Up to 1.07 m. Shuts down parts of its brain in low oxygen.
  • Giant freshwater stingray Freshwater ray, Mekong to Borneo. Lives on the sandy beds of large rivers and estuaries.
  • Giant oceanic manta ray Saltwater ray, tropical and temperate seas worldwide. The largest ray in the world. It eats mainly plankton.
  • Goblin shark Saltwater shark, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Shoots its jaws forward to snap up prey.
  • Great hammerhead Saltwater shark, tropical and warm seas worldwide. Up to 6.1 m. Stingrays are a favourite prey.
  • Great white shark Saltwater shark, oceans worldwide. Up to 6 m. Hunts seals, dolphins and fish, and also scavenges.
  • Greenland shark Saltwater shark, North Atlantic and Arctic. Slow-growing, with a life span of at least 272 years.
  • Horn shark Saltwater shark, California to the Gulf of California. Feeds on sea urchins, crabs and other bottom animals.
  • Largetooth sawfish Fresh and salt water ray, tropical waters worldwide. Young live in rivers up to 400 km from the sea.
  • Lemon shark Saltwater shark, Atlantic and eastern Pacific coasts. A yellowish shark of mangroves, bays and river mouths.
  • Leopard shark Saltwater shark, Oregon to the Gulf of California. Up to 2.1 m. Schools in shallow bays and estuaries.
  • Marbled electric ray Saltwater ray, eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Up to 1 m. Uses electric shocks to capture prey.
  • Megamouth shark Saltwater shark, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Feeds on krill, other plankton and jellyfish.
  • Nurse shark Saltwater shark, warm coasts of the Atlantic. A sluggish bottom-dweller, often seen resting on the sea floor.
  • Oceanic whitetip shark Saltwater shark, tropical and warm seas worldwide. An open-ocean shark, often trailed by pilot fish.
  • Porbeagle Saltwater shark, North Atlantic and southern oceans. Moves between shallow and deep water with the seasons.
  • Port Jackson shark Saltwater shark, southern Australia. Up to 1.65 m. Migrates each year to its breeding sites.
  • Reef manta ray Saltwater ray, Indo-Pacific. Usually seen close to shore around coral and rocky reefs.
  • Sand tiger shark Saltwater shark, warm and temperate coasts worldwide. Up to 3.2 m. Gulps air into its stomach to float.
  • Scalloped hammerhead Saltwater shark, warm coastal seas worldwide. Adults swim alone or in schools; the young form large schools.
  • Shortfin mako Saltwater shark, temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Up to 4.45 m. Probably the fastest shark.
  • Smalltooth sawfish Fresh and salt water ray, warm Atlantic coasts. Stirs up the bottom and strikes fish with its toothed saw.
  • Southern stingray Saltwater ray, western Atlantic, New Jersey to southern Brazil. Buries itself in the sand and hunts at night.
  • Spiny dogfish Saltwater shark, temperate seas worldwide. Has a sharp spine in front of each of its two dorsal fins.
  • Spotted eagle ray Saltwater ray, warm Atlantic waters. Swims near the surface and sometimes leaps out of the water.
  • Tasselled wobbegong Saltwater shark, northern Australia and New Guinea. A reef shark that eats night fish such as squirrelfish.
  • Thornback ray Saltwater ray, eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Its back is prickly, with a row of thorns down the middle.
  • Tiger shark Saltwater shark, tropical and temperate seas worldwide. Eats almost anything, from sea turtles to rubbish.
  • Whale shark Saltwater shark, tropical and warm seas worldwide. The largest fish in the world, a harmless filter feeder.
  • Whitetip reef shark Saltwater shark, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Rests in caves by day and is more active at night.
  • Zebra shark Saltwater shark, tropical Indo-Pacific. Young are banded like a zebra; adults are spotted.

Aquarium fish 63

  • Asian arowana Freshwater, Myanmar to Indonesia. Up to 90 cm. A mouth brooder: the young grow inside a parent's mouth.
  • Bala shark Freshwater, Malay Peninsula to Borneo. Up to 35 cm. Not a shark: it belongs to the carp family.
  • Banded archerfish Freshwater, India to northern Australia. Up to 30 cm. Shoots down insects with a jet of water from its mouth.
  • Banggai cardinalfish Saltwater, Banggai Islands, Indonesia. Up to 8 cm. Shelters among the spines of long-spined sea urchins.
  • Black ghost knifefish Freshwater, Venezuela to Paraguay. A night hunter that senses prey with a weak electric field.
  • Blue tang Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Feeds mainly on zooplankton and sometimes on algae.
  • Bluestreak cleaner wrasse Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Runs cleaning stations where other fish come to have parasites removed.
  • Boeseman's rainbowfish Freshwater, Indonesia. Lives wild in only one small group of lakes.
  • Bronze corydoras Freshwater, Colombia to La Plata basin. Gulps air at the surface and takes in oxygen through its gut.
  • Cardinal tetra Freshwater, Orinoco and Negro rivers. Up to 3 cm. Most of those sold are caught in the wild.
  • Celestial pearl danio Freshwater, Myanmar. Lives in small, shallow ponds fed by springs and seeps.
  • Cherry barb Freshwater, Sri Lanka. Up to 5 cm. Scatters about 200 eggs among plants.
  • Clown loach Freshwater, Sumatra and Borneo. Orange with three black bars.
  • Clown triggerfish Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 50 cm. A solitary fish of clear outer reefs.
  • Common molly Freshwater, Central America. The black molly is a well-known aquarium variety.
  • Convict cichlid Freshwater, Central America. Up to 10 cm. Both parents guard the eggs and the young.
  • Copperband butterflyfish Saltwater, western Pacific. Up to 20 cm. Found alone or in pairs on reefs and rocky shores.
  • Dwarf gourami Freshwater, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh. Up to 8.8 cm. Lives in slow streams and lakes with plenty of plants.
  • Elephantnose fish Freshwater, West and Central Africa. Finds food at night with weak electric pulses.
  • Fire goby Saltwater, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Up to 9 cm. Flicks its long first dorsal fin back and forth.
  • Flame angelfish Saltwater, tropical Pacific. Lives in harems of three to seven fish.
  • Foxface rabbitfish Saltwater, Western Pacific. Up to 25 cm. Its fin spines are venomous. It feeds mostly on algae.
  • French angelfish Saltwater, Florida to Brazil. Up to 41.1 cm. Young fish run cleaning stations for larger fish.
  • Freshwater angelfish Freshwater, Amazon basin. Lives in swamps and flooded ground thick with plants.
  • Freshwater butterflyfish Freshwater, West and Central Africa. Up to 13 cm. Leaps clear of the water to catch insects or to escape.
  • Frontosa Freshwater, Africa. Up to 33 cm. A rock-dwelling cichlid found only in Lake Tanganyika.
  • Goldfish Freshwater, East Asia. Up to 48 cm. Released pet goldfish have become pests in the wild.
  • Green chromis Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 10 cm. Hovers in large groups above branching Acropora corals.
  • Green swordtail Freshwater, Mexico to Honduras. The lower tail fin of the male grows into a long sword.
  • Guppy Freshwater, northern South America. Released in many countries to eat mosquito larvae.
  • Harlequin rasbora Freshwater, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia. Up to 5 cm. Lays its eggs on the underside of broad leaves.
  • Jack Dempsey Freshwater, southern Mexico to Honduras. Up to 25 cm. A cichlid of warm, murky, slow-moving water.
  • Japanese rice fish Freshwater, Japan. Lives in rice paddies, ponds and marshes, and copes with brackish water.
  • Kissing gourami Freshwater, Thailand to Indonesia. Named for the way it presses its lips against other fish and objects.
  • Lined seahorse Saltwater, western Atlantic. Up to 19 cm. Anchors itself to a fixed object or swims freely in midwater.
  • Longhorn cowfish Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 50 cm. A boxfish whose adults live alone on sandy bottoms near reefs.
  • Longnose hawkfish Saltwater, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Lives among gorgonians and black corals on steep outer reef slopes.
  • Mandarinfish Saltwater, Ryukyu Islands to Australia. A small dragonet of sheltered lagoons and inshore reefs.
  • Maroon clownfish Saltwater, Indonesia to northern Australia. Lives in pairs, and the female is much larger than the male.
  • Moorish idol Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 23 cm. Feeds on small animals that coat the reef, such as sponges.
  • Neon tetra Freshwater, Amazon basin. One of the most widely kept aquarium fish in the world.
  • Ocellaris clownfish Saltwater, eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific. Lives among the stinging tentacles of sea anemones.
  • Oscar Freshwater, Amazon basin. An aquarium cichlid that is sold as a food fish in South America.
  • Pond loach Freshwater, East Asia. Up to 30 cm. Hides in the mud with only its head showing, and can gulp air.
  • Powder blue tang Saltwater, Indian Ocean. A plant eater that grazes algae off the reef.
  • Queen angelfish Saltwater, Florida to Brazil. Up to 45 cm. Feeds almost entirely on sponges.
  • Red lionfish Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 47 cm. A reef hunter with venomous spines along its back.
  • Red-bellied piranha Freshwater, Amazon and Paraná basins. Up to 50 cm. Feeds mainly at dusk and dawn on insects, worms and fish.
  • Red-tailed black shark Freshwater, Thailand. All the fish in the pet trade are bred in captivity.
  • Redtail catfish Freshwater, Amazon and Orinoco basins. Eats fish, crabs and fallen fruit.
  • Ribbon eel Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 1.3 m. Juveniles are jet black; adult females turn yellow.
  • Royal gramma Saltwater, Caribbean. Up to 8 cm. Swims belly-up beneath ledges and cave roofs.
  • Siamese fighting fish Freshwater, Mekong basin. Males build bubble nests and fight each other.
  • Silver arowana Freshwater, Amazon basin. Up to 90 cm. Jumps out of the water to catch large insects.
  • Snowflake moray Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 1 m. Feeds mainly on crustaceans.
  • Southern platyfish Freshwater, Mexico to Belize. A livebearer that breeds readily in home aquariums.
  • Suckermouth catfish Freshwater, the Guianas. An armoured catfish that feeds on algae.
  • Tiger barb Freshwater, Sumatra and Borneo. Known for nipping the fins of slow, long-finned tank mates.
  • Upside-down catfish Freshwater, Congo basin. Up to 9.6 cm. Swims belly-up and feeds mainly at night.
  • White Cloud Mountain minnow Freshwater, southern China. Up to 4 cm. Survives in water as cold as 5 °C.
  • Yellow boxfish Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 45 cm. Juveniles are bright yellow with black spots.
  • Yellow tang Saltwater, Hawaii and the western Pacific. Grazes on algae. One of the most popular saltwater aquarium fish.
  • Zebrafish Freshwater, South Asia. A standard laboratory animal for studying how embryos develop.

Other freshwater fish 39

  • Alligator gar Freshwater, Mississippi basin and Gulf of Mexico coast. The largest of the gars.
  • American paddlefish Freshwater, Mississippi basin. Up to 2.1 m. A plankton feeder with a long, paddle-shaped snout.
  • Arapaima Freshwater, Amazon basin. Must surface to gulp air, and guards its eggs and young.
  • Australian lungfish Freshwater, Queensland, Australia. Can breathe air at the surface when its pool turns stagnant.
  • Bluegill Freshwater, North America. Up to 41 cm. A sunfish that gathers around weed beds in lakes and ponds.
  • Bowfin Freshwater, eastern North America. Lives in swamps and backwaters, and can breathe both air and water.
  • Burbot Freshwater, Europe, Asia and North America. The only freshwater fish in the ling family, Lotidae.
  • Butterfly peacock bass Freshwater, the Guianas. Up to 74 cm. A big predatory cichlid and a prized game fish.
  • Channel catfish Freshwater, North America. Widely farmed for food in the United States.
  • Climbing perch Freshwater, India to China and Southeast Asia. Up to 25 cm. An air breather known for crawling over land.
  • Common carp Freshwater, Europe and Asia. Up to 1.2 m. A hardy fish that people have introduced around the world.
  • Electric eel Freshwater, Guiana Shield. Not an eel but a knifefish that stuns prey with electric shocks.
  • European perch Freshwater, Europe and northern Asia. Lays its eggs in long white ribbons over plants and sunken branches.
  • Four-eyed fish Freshwater, Trinidad to Brazil. Each eye is split in two, to see above and below the water at once.
  • Giant snakehead Freshwater, Southeast Asia. An air-breathing predator of lowland rivers and swamps.
  • Grass carp Freshwater, China and eastern Russia. Eats water plants and is stocked to control weeds.
  • Grayling Freshwater, Europe. Up to 60 cm. Prefers cold, clean, fast-running rivers.
  • Lake sturgeon Freshwater, Great Lakes and Mississippi basin. Finds food on the bottom with the barbels near its mouth.
  • Largemouth bass Freshwater, eastern North America. A popular game fish. Adults eat fish, crayfish and frogs.
  • Longnose gar Freshwater, North and Central America. Up to 1.8 m. A long-snouted predator whose eggs are poisonous.
  • Mekong giant catfish Freshwater, Mekong basin. Up to 3 m. Among the fastest-growing fish: 150 to 200 kg in six years.
  • Murray cod Freshwater, Murray-Darling river system, Australia. One of the largest freshwater fish in the world.
  • Muskellunge Freshwater, North America. Up to 1.8 m. The largest pike. It takes ducklings and muskrats as well as fish.
  • Nile perch Freshwater, Africa. Nearly 2 m. A big predator that has harmed native fish where people introduced it.
  • Nile tilapia Freshwater, Africa. Up to 60 cm. A mouthbrooder that is farmed for food across the world.
  • Northern pike Freshwater, North America and Eurasia. Up to 1.5 m. A lone ambush hunter that often eats smaller pike.
  • Northern snakehead Freshwater, China and the Amur basin. Breathes air and can live out of water for several days.
  • Pumpkinseed Freshwater, eastern North America. A sunfish that is now an invasive species in Europe.
  • Senegal bichir Freshwater, West and Central Africa. An armoured, snake-like fish that can breathe air.
  • Smallmouth bass Freshwater, eastern North America. Up to 69 cm. Keeps to clear water and the rocky parts of lakes and rivers.
  • Taimen Freshwater, Siberia and the Amur basin. Eats mainly fish but also takes land animals such as rodents.
  • Tambaqui Freshwater, Amazon and Orinoco basins. Up to 1.1 m. Eats fruits and seeds that fall into flooded forests.
  • Tench Freshwater, Europe and western Asia. Lives in weedy lakes and tolerates water with very little oxygen.
  • Walleye Freshwater, Canada and the northern United States. Up to 1.07 m. Does most of its feeding at night.
  • Wels catfish Freshwater, Europe and western Asia. Up to 2.9 m. Hunts at night near the river bed.
  • West African lungfish Freshwater, West and Central Africa. Up to 1 m. Survives the dry season inside a mucus cocoon in the mud.
  • Western mosquitofish Freshwater, Mississippi basin. Spread worldwide for mosquito control, it now competes with native fish.
  • Yellow perch Freshwater, North America. Up to 50 cm. Gathers in shoals in the shallows in spring.
  • Zander Freshwater, Europe and western Asia. A game fish that has been introduced well beyond its native range.

Other saltwater fish 65

  • Alaska pollock Saltwater, North Pacific. Its meat is made into surimi, an imitation shellfish.
  • Albacore Saltwater, tropical and temperate seas worldwide. Up to 1.4 m. Known for its very long pectoral fins.
  • Angler Saltwater, eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. Attracts prey with a built-in fishing lure.
  • Atlantic blue marlin Saltwater, Atlantic Ocean. Up to 5 m. Females grow larger than males.
  • Atlantic bluefin tuna Saltwater, Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean. Swims in schools sorted by size.
  • Atlantic cod Saltwater, North Atlantic. A schooling fish that migrates between spawning and feeding grounds.
  • Atlantic goliath grouper Saltwater, Florida to Brazil, and West Africa. Up to 2.5 m. Juveniles grow up among mangroves.
  • Atlantic halibut Saltwater, North Atlantic. Up to 4.7 m. A slow-growing flatfish that lives on or near the bottom.
  • Atlantic herring Saltwater, both sides of the North Atlantic. Moves in large schools and feeds mainly on copepods.
  • Atlantic mackerel Saltwater, North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Up to 60 cm. Forms large schools near the surface.
  • Atlantic wolffish Saltwater, North Atlantic. Up to 1.5 m. Eats hard-shelled prey such as molluscs, crabs and sea urchins.
  • Bargibant's pygmy seahorse Saltwater, Indonesia to Japan and Australia. Lives only on Muricella sea fans and matches their colour.
  • Blackfin icefish Saltwater, Southern Ocean around the Antarctic Peninsula. Feeds mostly on fish and krill.
  • Bluefish Saltwater, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Up to 1.3 m. An aggressive predator that attacks shoals of small fish.
  • Capelin Saltwater, North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic. Up to 25.2 cm. Comes inshore in large schools to spawn.
  • Cobia Saltwater, Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. Up to 2 m. Feeds on crabs, squid and small fish.
  • Common remora Saltwater, warm seas worldwide. Attaches itself to sharks, sea turtles and other large animals.
  • Common sole Saltwater, eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. A flatfish that buries itself in sandy and muddy bottoms.
  • European anchovy Saltwater, eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. Enters lagoons, estuaries and even lakes.
  • European pilchard Saltwater, Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. Schools and feeds mainly on planktonic crustaceans.
  • European plaice Saltwater, seas of northern and western Europe. A flatfish with bright orange spots on its brown upper side.
  • Garibaldi Saltwater, California and Baja California. Males guard the nest after the female lays her eggs.
  • Giant grouper Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 2.7 m. The largest bony fish found on coral reefs.
  • Giant moray Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. About 3 m. The largest moray eel of the Indo-Pacific.
  • Giant oarfish Saltwater, oceans worldwide. Silver and ribbon-like, with crimson fins.
  • Giant trevally Saltwater, Indo-Pacific, Red Sea to Hawaii. Up to 1.7 m. The largest of the trevallies.
  • Gilthead seabream Saltwater, eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Widely farmed, and named for the gold on its head.
  • Great barracuda Saltwater, Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. A mostly solitary predator, found from mangroves to open sea.
  • Green humphead parrotfish Saltwater, Red Sea to Samoa. Up to 1.3 m. The largest parrotfish. It feeds on algae and live coral.
  • Haddock Saltwater, North Atlantic. A major food fish, sold fresh, frozen and smoked.
  • Humphead wrasse Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 2.29 m. One of the few fish that eat crown-of-thorns starfish.
  • Indo-Pacific sailfish Saltwater, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Its first dorsal fin is enlarged into a tall sail.
  • John Dory Saltwater, eastern Atlantic and western Pacific. Up to 90 cm. Has a large dark spot on each side of its body.
  • Leafy seadragon Saltwater, southern Australia. Superbly camouflaged. The male carries the eggs under his tail.
  • Lingcod Saltwater, Gulf of Alaska to Baja California. Belongs to the greenling family and is not a true cod.
  • Lumpsucker Saltwater, North Atlantic. Up to 61 cm. Its pelvic fins form a sucking disc. Its eggs are sold as caviar.
  • Mahi-mahi Saltwater, tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. Matures fast: it can breed at four to five months old.
  • Nassau grouper Saltwater, Bermuda, Florida and the Caribbean. Gathers in large numbers at set sites to spawn.
  • Northern red snapper Saltwater, Gulf of Mexico and the US Atlantic coast. Up to 1 m. Adults live over rocky bottoms and reefs.
  • Ocean sunfish Saltwater, tropical and temperate seas worldwide. Often drifts at the surface lying on its side.
  • Opah Saltwater, North Atlantic and Mediterranean. An open-ocean fish that feeds largely on squid.
  • Orange roughy Saltwater, Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. Up to 75 cm. Grows very slowly and can live for more than a century.
  • Pacific halibut Saltwater, North Pacific. Over 2.4 m. A flatfish that lives on or near the sea bottom.
  • Patagonian toothfish Saltwater, Chile, Argentina and sub-Antarctic islands. Up to 2.15 m. Moves into deeper water as it grows.
  • Pilot fish Saltwater, warm seas worldwide. Up to 70 cm. Swims alongside sharks, rays and turtles and eats their scraps.
  • Red drum Saltwater, Massachusetts to northern Mexico. Feeds on crustaceans and fish in coastal waters and estuaries.
  • Red-lipped batfish Saltwater, Galapagos Islands. Lives on the sea floor and feeds on small invertebrates.
  • Reef stonefish Saltwater, Red Sea and Indo-Pacific. The most widespread stonefish. Its dorsal spines carry venom.
  • Sarcastic fringehead Saltwater, California and Baja California. Up to 30 cm. Backs into empty shells and burrows for shelter.
  • Sargassum fish Saltwater, Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. Up to 20 cm. A voracious predator hidden in floating Sargassum weed.
  • Sergeant major Saltwater, Atlantic Ocean. Up to 22.9 cm. Yellow above and white below, with five dark vertical bars.
  • Skipjack tuna Saltwater, tropical and warm-temperate seas worldwide. Gathers in large schools in surface waters.
  • Spot-fin porcupinefish Saltwater, tropical seas worldwide. Up to 91 cm. Feeds at night on sea urchins, snails and hermit crabs.
  • Spotted garden eel Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Lives in colonies on sandy slopes, each eel in its own burrow.
  • Spotted ratfish Saltwater, Alaska to Baja California. Up to 97 cm. A chimaera. Its back spine can give a painful wound.
  • Stoplight parrotfish Saltwater, Florida to Brazil. Up to 64 cm. Scrapes algae off the reef and can change sex.
  • Swordfish Saltwater, tropical and temperate seas worldwide. Up to 4.55 m. Strikes at prey with its long, flat sword.
  • Titan triggerfish Saltwater, Indo-Pacific. Up to 75 cm. Guards its nest fiercely and may charge at divers.
  • Tropical two-wing flyingfish Saltwater, warm seas worldwide. Up to 30 cm. Leaps out of the water and glides for long distances.
  • Tub gurnard Saltwater, eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. Three free rays on each pectoral fin act like legs.
  • Turbot Saltwater, Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean and Baltic. Up to 1 m. A flatfish highly valued as food.
  • Wahoo Saltwater, tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. An open-ocean fish prized by sport anglers.
  • Weedy seadragon Saltwater, southern Australia. Up to 45 cm. The male carries the eggs in a brood patch under his tail.
  • West Indian Ocean coelacanth Saltwater, Comoros and East Africa. Up to 2 m. Known as a living fossil. It shelters in caves by day.
  • Yellowfin tuna Saltwater, tropical and subtropical seas worldwide. Larger fish often school alongside porpoises.

Other fish of fresh and salt water 19

  • American eel Fresh and salt water, eastern North America. Grows up in rivers, then returns to the Sargasso Sea to spawn.
  • Arctic char Fresh and salt water, around the Arctic. Some migrate to sea. Others spend their whole lives in lakes.
  • Atlantic mudskipper Fresh and salt water, West Africa. An air-breathing fish that skips and walks over mudflats.
  • Atlantic salmon Fresh and salt water, North Atlantic. Young salmon are called parr, then smolts when they head for the sea.
  • Atlantic tarpon Fresh and salt water, Atlantic Ocean. Up to 2.5 m. Gulps air into its swim bladder in oxygen-poor water.
  • Barramundi Fresh and salt water, Indo-West Pacific. Up to 1.8 m. Most start life as males and turn female as they grow.
  • Beluga sturgeon Fresh and salt water, Caspian and Black Sea basins. Its roe is sold as beluga caviar.
  • Brook trout Fresh and salt water, eastern North America. Up to 86 cm. Coastal fish that run to sea are called salters.
  • Brown trout Fresh and salt water, Europe and western Asia. Brown trout that migrate to salt water are known as sea trout.
  • Chinook salmon Fresh and salt water, North Pacific. Adults return from the sea to spawn in the stream where they hatched.
  • European eel Fresh and salt water, Europe and the Mediterranean. Crosses the Atlantic to spawn in the Sargasso Sea.
  • European seabass Fresh and salt water, eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. Summers in estuaries and rivers.
  • Milkfish Fresh and salt water, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Up to 1.8 m. Widely farmed: young fish are raised in ponds.
  • Rainbow trout Fresh and salt water, Pacific slope of North America. Fish that migrate to sea are known as steelhead.
  • Sea lamprey Fresh and salt water, North Atlantic. A jawless parasite that clamps onto larger fish with its teeth.
  • Sockeye salmon Fresh and salt water, North Pacific. The landlocked form, which is much smaller, is called the kokanee.
  • Striped bass Fresh and salt water, Atlantic coast of North America. Swims up rivers in spring to spawn.
  • Three-spined stickleback Fresh and salt water, Europe, Asia and North America. The male builds a nest of plants and guards the eggs.
  • White sturgeon Fresh and salt water, Pacific coast of North America. Up to 6.1 m. Swims far up large rivers to spawn.

How this list was compiled: We chose the 229 fish and wrote every line ourselves. Checked 2026-09-19. Each scientific name, each water type (fresh, salt or both), each range, each aquarium-trade flag and each fact line was checked against the species summary page on FishBase, https://www.fishbase.se/, saved with each item as src, and then checked a second time against the English Wikipedia article for the species, saved as wiki. A fact is printed only where both sources support it. A fish is marked fresh and salt water only where both sources put it in both. FishBase also lists the Capelin and the Reef manta ray from fresh water, but their Wikipedia articles describe sea fish only, so both stay under Saltwater. Scientific names follow FishBase; where the Wikipedia article uses a different name, that name is saved as sciAlt. The Aquarium fish chip is given only where FishBase lists the species as commercial in the aquarium trade, and the Sharks and rays chip only where FishBase places it among the sharks and rays (Elasmobranchii). A length is printed only where the Wikipedia article gives a figure within 10% of the FishBase maximum and neither source calls the record doubtful. The figure printed is the one in the Wikipedia article, converted to metric where the article gives feet or inches. FishBase served as the cross-check only: no FishBase length is printed or stored. In the full list each fish is printed once, under the first heading that fits: Sharks and rays, then Aquarium fish, then the rest by water. Conservation status is left out. Licence: own work; the lengths are the figures given in each fish's English Wikipedia article (text under CC BY-SA 4.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License), linked per fish as wiki