Ornamental Freshwater aquarium fish species

Freshwater aquarium fish species → Common types → Livebearers → Anabantoids → Carp family → Cichlids → Characins → Corydoras → Arowanas → Loaches → Catfish
Freshwater aquarium fish live in freshwater and are easy to raise.

There are a number of freshwater species available for keeping as pets at home.
Freshwater aquarium fish species are broadly divided into two types by the hobbyists namely livebearers (giving birth to live babies) and egg layers.
The most common freshwater fish species suitable for home aquarium are:

Type of freshwater aquarium fish species	common names of aquarium fish species	Scientific names of aquarium fish family/species
Livebearers	guppies mollies platies swordtails	Poeciliidae, Poecilia reticulata Poeciliidae, Poecilia sphenops Poeciliidae, Xiphophorus maculatus Poeciliidae, Xiphophorus hellerii
Anabantoids (Labyrinth Fishes)	siamese fighter gouramies	Osphronemidae, Betta splendens Osphronemidae, many genera
Carp family	goldfish danionins rasborines true barbs	Cyprinidae, Carassius auratus auratus Cyprinidae, many genera Cyprinidae, many genera Cyprinidae, many genera
Cichlids	angelfish oscar discus convict cichlid	Cichlidae, Pterophyllum spp. Cichlidae, Astronotus ocellatus Cichlidae, Symphysodon spp. Cichlidae, Amatitlania nigrofasciata
Characins	tetras hatchetfish pencilfish silver dollar	Characidae, many genera Gasteropelecidae, many genera Lebiasinidae, Nannostomus spp. Characidae, Metynnis argenteus
Corydoras	Adolfo's cory Bronze cory Spotted cory banded cory	Corydoras, Corydoras adolfoi Corydoras, Corydoras aeneus Corydoras, Corydoras ambiacus Corydoras, Scleromystax barbatus
Arowanas	Cross Back Golden Golden Red Tail Super Red Green Arowana	Osteoglossidae, Scleropages spp. Osteoglossidae, Scleropages spp. Osteoglossidae, Scleropages spp. Osteoglossidae, Scleropages spp. Osteoglossidae, Scleropages spp.
Loaches	zebra loaches yoyo loaches clown loaches dojo loaches	Cobitidae, Botia striata Cobitidae, Botia almorhae Cobitidae, Chromobotia macracanthus Cobitidae, Cobitis taenia
Catfish	glass catfish Pangasius catfish suckermouth catfish	Siluridae, Kryptopterus bicirrhis Pangasiidae, Pangasius spp. Loricariidae, Hypostomus spp.

The above list is a short-list of most common freshwater aquarium fish species. Navigate to individual types for more information.

• Home
• Index