A Complete Guide to Ornamental Fish Species and Common Varieties

Ornamental fish are fish with bright colors or unusual shapes that give them ornamental value. They are distributed all over the world, with no fewer than several thousand varieties. Some live in freshwater, some live in seawater, some come from temperate regions, and some come from tropical regions. Some are famous for their brilliant colors, some for their bizarre shapes, and some for being rare and precious. In the world ornamental fish market, they are usually made up of three major groups: temperate freshwater ornamental fish, tropical freshwater ornamental fish, and tropical marine ornamental fish.

Types of Ornamental Fish

There are 30,000-50,000 species of fish in the world, among which those suitable for viewing include marine fish, and 2,000-3,000 species of freshwater fish, while only about 500 species are actually commonly kept and seen. The main categories are as follows:

1. Goldfish

The domestication of the goldfish went through two stages, pond rearing and basin rearing. Through careful selection by folk craftsmen over many generations, it gradually developed from the original single-tailed golden crucian carp into double-tailed, triple-tailed, and four-tailed goldfish; the color also gradually developed from a single red into red-and-white, calico, black, blue, purple, and so on; the body shape also developed from a long, narrow spindle shape into oval, pearl-scale, and so on; and the varieties also developed from the single golden crucian carp into today's rich and varied dozens of varieties, such as dragon-eye, celestial-eye, bubble-eye, lion-head, tiger-head, pompon, pearl-scale, and red-cap oranda. According to historical records, Chinese goldfish were first introduced to Japan in the Ming Dynasty, and were introduced to Japan again in 1615-1623.

The original variety of Japanese koi is the red carp, which was also introduced to Japan from China in early times. Through careful rearing by the Japanese people, it gradually became one of the world-famous ornamental fish of today. The main varieties of Japanese koi include Kohaku, Showa Sanshoku, Taisho Sanshoku, and Chūshū.

2. Marine Fish

Marine ornamental fish mainly come from the coral reef waters of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. There are many varieties with bizarre body shapes and richly colored, highly varied body surfaces; they are good at hiding and possess a primitive, simple, and mysterious natural beauty. Common producing areas include the Philippines, Taiwan, China and the South China Sea, Japan, Australia, the Hawaiian Islands, India, the Red Sea, and the east coast of Africa. Tropical marine ornamental fish are extremely widely distributed; they live in the vast and boundless ocean, and many sea areas are seldom visited by people, and there are also many varieties not yet discovered by humans. Tropical marine ornamental fish are the ornamental fish with the greatest development potential and prospects in the world, and they represent the future development direction of ornamental fish.

3. Characidae

The adult neon tetra has a body length of 4 cm. Its whole body is covered with a blue-green luster, and there is a bright blue-green band from the head to the tail; on the rear half of the body, below the blue-green band, there is also a red band. The belly is blue-white, and the red band and blue band run through the whole body, dazzling to the eye. Under different light or in different environments, the color of its bands becomes darker or lighter from time to time.

4. Poeciliidae

Also called guppy, it gets its name because there are several small blue round spots or patterns on its belly, flowing elegantly like a peacock, and it is the first choice variety for beginners. Guppies are gentle and lively in temperament, like to swim and search for food in the middle and upper layers of the water, and have low requirements for water quality and water temperature. The shapes of the caudal fin vary; male fish are brightly colored and extremely varied, with a brown-green body color interspersed with red, blue, purple, and yellow, just like a rainbow.

5. Osphronemidae

The body is oval and laterally compressed. The body color is silvery white with a slight pink tint, and the snout is pale red. It is gentle in temperament and can be kept mixed with other varieties of fish. The kissing gourami has a very strange behavior: it often uses its serrated mouth to kiss its companions. This is not love, but may be a kind of contest. It often uses its mouth to eat the algae on the tank walls.

6. Cichlidae

Also known as angelfish. The body is diamond-shaped and extremely laterally compressed; the rear edge of the caudal fin is straight, and the dorsal fin and anal fin rays extend backward, symmetrical from top to bottom, like an opened sail. The pelvic fins are very long and filamentous. Seen from the side, it looks like a swallow flying in the air, so it is also called the angelfish.

Varieties of Ornamental Fish

In the world ornamental fish market, ornamental fish are usually composed of three major categories: temperate freshwater ornamental fish, tropical freshwater ornamental fish, and tropical marine ornamental fish.

1. Temperate Freshwater Fish

Temperate freshwater ornamental fish mainly include red crucian carp, Chinese goldfish, Japanese koi, and so on, and they mainly come from China and Japan. The body shape of the red crucian carp closely resembles that of the edible crucian carp. According to differences in body color, they are divided into red crucian carp, red-and-white crucian carp, and calico crucian carp, and so on. They are mainly stocked in lakes or fountain pools at tourist attractions, such as the “Nine-Turn Bridge” at the Old City God Temple in Shanghai and the “Viewing Fish at Flower Harbor” in Hangzhou. The earliest ancestor of the Chinese goldfish is the wild red crucian carp from several hundred years ago, which was first seen in a release pond in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, in the early Northern Song Dynasty. In 1163 AD, Emperor Zhao Gou of the Southern Song Dynasty raised large numbers of golden crucian carp in the imperial palace. The domestic rearing of goldfish spread from the imperial palace to the common people and gradually became widespread.

2. Tropical Freshwater Fish

Tropical freshwater ornamental fish mainly come from rivers and lakes in tropical and subtropical regions. They are distributed over an extremely wide area, with many varieties, varying in size, different in body shape and characteristics, and with brilliantly colorful and very beautiful colors. According to differences in their original habitats, they mainly come from three regions: first, many countries and regions in the Amazon River basin of South America, such as Colombia, Paraguay, Guyana, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico; second, many countries and regions in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Sri Lanka; and third, the three major lake regions of Africa, namely Lake Malawi, Lake Victoria, and Lake Tanganyika.

Among tropical freshwater ornamental fish, there are three relatively famous series of varieties. The first is the lamp series, such as the neon tetra, head-and-tail light tetra, blue tetra, cardinal tetra, and black neon tetra; they are small and exquisite, wonderful and pretty, appearing and disappearing faintly, and are very popular. The second is the angelfish series, such as red discus, blue discus, striped blue-green discus, black angelfish, sesame angelfish, mandarin angelfish, and red-eyed diamond angelfish; they are elegant and free, gentle and refined, with much of the demeanor of celestial beings on land, and are very beautiful. The third is the arowana series, such as silver arowana, red arowana, golden arowana, and black arowana; they have long been praised as “living fossils,” are precious and beautiful, and are widely popular.

3. Tropical Marine Fish

Tropical marine ornamental fish are composed of more than thirty families. The more common varieties include Pomacentridae, Chaetodontidae, Pomacanthidae, and Acanthuridae. Their famous varieties include queen angelfish, emperor angelfish, emperor snapper, moon butterflyfish, raccoon butterflyfish, copperband butterflyfish, seahorse, red clownfish, and blue devil. Tropical marine ornamental fish are especially brightly colored and have rich patterns on their body surfaces. Many varieties have a self-protective nature: some have false eyes on their body surfaces, some have sharp blades on the caudal peduncle, some have hard and poisonous spines, some can secrete venom within their bodies, some can change their body color at will, and some are good at imitating shapes. There is a vast array of them, in all kinds of strange forms, fully displaying the wondrous charm of nature.

Appreciating and keeping ornamental fish is a highly enjoyable leisure activity for people today. It allows us to enjoy all kinds of wonders of the underwater aquatic world: some resemble lakes and mountains, some resemble peaks and forests, with rare flowers and strange plants and tangled leaves and vines, while various fish, in all their colors, play among them; with the help of light and shadow, they are crystal clear and gorgeously brilliant, leaving people dazzled and lost in endless reverie. In many tourist attractions, commercial buildings, hotels, entertainment and exhibition venues, their beautiful figures can be seen. In many families, various different types of goldfish, angelfish, and other tropical fish and marine ornamental fish are also kept, becoming a scene in the courtyard or hall, elegant and distinctive, pleasing to the eye and the heart. However, keeping ornamental fish is a relatively technical task and requires the guidance of scientific methods in order to handle it with ease, raise the fish well, and satisfy one's own needs for viewing and enjoyment.