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List of Marine Aquarium Fish Species

It may take a significant amount of maintenance but a marine aquarium is worth the effort, particularly when you consider how many beautiful saltwater fish you can stock it with. From the comical, exquisitely marked clownfish to the graceful, almost otherworldly angelfish, few pets are as sensitive to their immediate environment or as pleasing to look at as marine fish, so it pays to do some homework about the various species available and what each one can offer your aquarium.

Angelfish
- The angelfish may appear graceful and gentle, but as a member of the feisty Cichlid family, its behavior can sometimes be positively demonic. Nonetheless, it remains one of the most popular marine species although its diet of sponge and tunicate makes it hard work to keep in captivity. If it's introduced to various foods in the aquarium, it will adapt and could live for several years. It ranges in size from 4 to 24 inches.
Batfish
- Keeping the timid batfish in a community aquarium is a challenge, but well worth the effort owing to its beauty. The biggest obstacle is getting the batfish to eat--because it's quite shy it can be bullied by other fish in the tank. In addition, its flowing fins are too much of a temptation for fish such as the angelfish, and their co-existence in a shared environment needs to be closely monitored. Shredded shrimp is a favorite food.
Blenny
- There are six true blenny families; most are prolific algae-eaters and are fairly easy to maintain. The blenny is a small- to medium-sized fish with large eyes and a large mouth and it enjoys flitting from rock to rock in a tank, searching for algae--appropriate since its natural habitat is a rocky area in shallow water. The blenny usually lives between five to six years in captivity.
Butterflyfish
- One of the easiest butterflyfish to maintain in an aquarium is the yellow pyramid butterflyfish. Gentle-natured and easy to look after, it needs places to hide such as caves and other crevices, and will eat almost anything offered. Another is the heniochus black and white butterflyfish, which tolerates members of its own kind in an aquarium if they're introduced at the same time.
Clownfish
- Clownfish are easy to look after in a marine aquariums and don't require an anemone.
  
  By far the most popular marine aquarium fish, the clownfish is known for its symbiotic relationship with the sea anemone, which has stinging tentacles to which the clownfish is immune. The Ocellaris Clownfish is the easiest type to maintain in an aquarium: it's relatively hardy, will accept most foods and, most importantly, doesn't need an anemone in order to flourish in a tank. This is just as well, as anemones are notoriously difficult to maintain.

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