Top 12 Most Colorful and Beautiful Aquarium Fishes
Here are the 12 most brightly colored and most attractive marine aquarium fishes in the world.
There are scores of colorful and attractive aquarium fishes for you to choose from if you are planning to have a tank or if you’re planning to put additional fish in your tank. Of the long list of most colorful aquarium fishes, here are the 12 most colorful and most beautiful marine aquarium fishes in the world for you to choose from.
Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus)
This brightly colored member of the dragonet family is definitely one of the most beautiful, attractive and popular aquarium fishes. Despite its popularity as aquarium pet, the Mandarin Dragonet is difficult to keep. It eats only copepods and will die in captivity without an adequate supply. It could grow up to 6 cm or 2.5inches in length. It is endemic to the Pacific Ocean. It is also called in various trade names such as “Mandarinfish”, “Mandarin Goby”, “Scribble Fish”, “Striped Mandarinfish” and Psychedelic Fish”.
Mandarinfish are reef dwellers, preferring sheltered lagoons and inshore reefs. The name of the “mandarinfish” comes from its extremely vivid coloration, evoking the robes of an Imperial Chinese mandarin.
Reef Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus rectangulus)
This uniquely colored and patterned fish is known with several common names like Reef Triggerfish, Rectangular Triggerfish and Wedge-tail Triggerfish. Its Hawaiian name is HumuhumunukunukuapuaŹ»a or just humuhumu for short means “triggerfish with a snout like a pig”. It is endemic to the coasts of central and south Pacific islands.
One interesting behavior of this fish is its ability to blow jets of water from its mouth. These jets help the fish find benthic invertebrates that may be buried under the substrate. Triggers also have the remarkable ability to rapidly alter their coloration. They can fade into a relatively drab appearance when sleeping or demonstrating submission while the coloration is often the most vivid when the fish is healthy and unthreatened by its surroundings. It’s is not reef safe but easy to keep and grows to a maximum of 30 cm or 12 inches long.
Picturesque Dragonet (Synchiropus picturatus)
The above-photo of a lovely-looking dragonet is taken at Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia by Murphy Lawrence. Picturesque Dragonet is also called Spotted Mandarin. It is found in Indian Ocean and in the West pacific region. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. This pretty aquarium fish grows to a size of 7cm in length.
Six-Bar Wrasse (Thalassoma hardwicke)
The colorful Six-Bar Wrasse is a pretty fish that is popular in the aquarium trade. It is reef safe and keeping this species is easy to moderate. It can be found in the Indo-Pacific region and red sea. It grows to a maximum of 8 inches long.
Powder Blue Tang (Acanthurus leucosternon)
The Powder Blue tang is arguably the handsomest of all aquarium fishes. It is reef safe and get along with most species. Level of keeping it is moderate although it is prone to Cryptocaryon irritans. It is also commonly called Powder Blue Surgeonfish. It is omnivorous, eating mostly benthic algae.
The tang is uncommonly harvested for anything other than the marine aquarium industry. It is a commonly sold fish that is moderately difficult to care for, although its popularity is easily exceeded by the Blue Tang and Yellow Tang.
Red Coris Wrasse (Coris gaimard)
The brightly colored Red Coris Wrasse is from the Pacific Ocean. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 40 cm or 14 inches in length. It is reef safe and keeping it as pet is easy. As a juvenile it is a bright red color with large black margined white spots. As an adult it has a pink face and fins, with the exception of the tail fin which is bright yellow. The body is green towards the anterior darkening and decorated with bright blue specs towards the posterior.
Cortez Rainbow Wrasse (Thalassoma lucasanum)
The beautiful Cortez Rainbow Wrasse is also called Lollipop Wrasse. As its name implies, it is one of the most colorful fishes in the world. It is endemic to eastern Pacific Ocean. It is not reef safe but the level of care for this lovely fish is moderate. It grows to a maximum of 15 cm or 5 inches long.
Freckled Hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri)
The adorable Freckled Hawkfish from the Indo-Pacific region that occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade is surely a beauty to adore though it should not be kept in a tank with shrimps because it will eat them. It grows to a size of 22 cm or 8.8 inches in length.
Clown Tang (Acanthurus lineatus)
The Clown Tang is another pretty and colorful fish from the Indo-Pacific region that occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 38cm in length. Like all tangs it is laterally compressed. It is light colored on the underside with blue and yellow stripes on the upper half of its body. It is reef safe but the level of care is difficult.
Red-head Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus solorensis)
This colorful fish called Redhead Fairy Wrasse that occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade is reef safe and keeping it as pet is difficult. It feeds on tiny organisms and grows to a maximum length of 13 cm or 5 inches. It is found in the Pacific Ocean.
Mandarinfish (Siniperca chuatsi)
The Mandarin Fish or Chinese Perch is a freshwater fish that lives in China. It is distantly related to the Picturesque Dragonet and should not be confused with the unrelated and more colorful saltwater Mandarinfish. The Mandarin Fish is very popular as food in China. Its name appears in many Chinese poems and books.
Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
The Picassofish, like many triggerfish is a fish with bright and unique coloration and one of the most sought species for aquarium. Other names for this beautiful and unique fish include Lagoon Triggerfish, Blackbar Triggerfish and Jamal Triggerfish. It grows to a maximum length of up to 30 cm or 12 inches in length. It is usually found on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.
The level of care is easy to moderate and not reef safe, it eats just about anything it comes along. They are always restlessly swimming around and can vigorously protect their territory against intruders.
Hope you were able to decide which of these 12 colorful and beautiful aquarium fishes on the above list was your choice to keep as pet. Hope you enjoyed this. Thank you!
For more articles about aquatic pets see:
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Freakiest and Weirdest Aquarium Fish
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Unique Aquatic Creatures: Rare but Attractive Aquarium Pets
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Pretty Aquatic Pets: 10 Most Beautiful Shrimps
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Bizarre and Exotic Pets: Weird and Unique Turtles
-
Absolutely Freaky and Weird Frogs: Will You Have Them As Pets?
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42 Responses to “Top 12 Most Colorful and Beautiful Aquarium Fishes”
On April 23, 2009 at 7:19 am
What a lovely article, the fish are absolutely beautiful!
On April 23, 2009 at 7:26 am
Great pics! Nice article, question: are fish colorblind?
Thanks,
Clay
On April 23, 2009 at 8:12 am
Awesome pic’s and also another great article. Well done my friend.
On April 23, 2009 at 8:17 am
What a fabulous article. The fish are stunning. It would be lovely to own an aquarium.
Christine
On April 23, 2009 at 8:30 am
Those are some colorful fishes!
On April 23, 2009 at 8:38 am
Wow.. I would like to have them at home!
On April 23, 2009 at 8:47 am
Nice article and beautiful fish.
On April 23, 2009 at 8:54 am
Very beautiful!
On April 23, 2009 at 11:28 am
Great article!
These fishes are beautiful!
Yours, Gonzalo
On April 23, 2009 at 6:04 pm
These are definitely beautiful fishes Nobert. A well researched and nicely presented article.
Monica.
On April 23, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Nice collection,well researched article.
On April 23, 2009 at 8:47 pm
those are beautiful fishes! nice collection..
On April 23, 2009 at 9:14 pm
these are the most beautifully colored fish I have ever seen. Almost makes me want a fish tank.
On April 23, 2009 at 9:15 pm
It’s brilliant that you know the names of the above fishes. They are very colorful indeed and absolutely beautiful.
On April 23, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Amazing colors.
On April 24, 2009 at 12:29 am
I LOVE it – extraordinary & brilliant work!
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
On April 24, 2009 at 12:29 am
fantastic
On April 24, 2009 at 2:32 am
Truly wonderful!
On April 24, 2009 at 2:59 am
Great work! Nicely done..That was wonderful article n nice pics about aq. fishes..LOV it..well done and keep it up thnx a lot
On April 24, 2009 at 3:21 am
They are wonderful. If I had an aquarium, I would certainly want to have the fine specimen pictured here.
On April 24, 2009 at 5:29 am
Wow so beautiful!
On April 24, 2009 at 6:02 am
Wow these fish are so beautifully colored. Excellent article nobert
On April 24, 2009 at 1:07 pm
beautiful fishes wow! its great!
On April 24, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Outstanding article, my dear friend. The pictures of the fish were wonderfully bright and colorful. Made me smile, thank you.
On April 24, 2009 at 9:55 pm
I have a tiny aquarium, and have some pretty fish, but nothing at all like these! These are so bright. Very beautiful.
My best to you,
Momma Tells
On April 25, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I like Six-Bar Wrasse (Thalassoma hardwicke), the color combination is so funny. Thanks.
On April 25, 2009 at 6:47 pm
I liked them all. Beautiful.
On April 25, 2009 at 7:38 pm
What a wonderful tour Norbert.
On April 25, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Wow! My eyes hurt now! Keep up the good work!
On April 25, 2009 at 9:36 pm
how beautiful!
On April 26, 2009 at 9:39 am
Beautiful but I bet they are very expensive
On April 30, 2009 at 1:34 am
very nice…it will sure be good to have one of it..!
On May 31, 2009 at 7:50 am
very beautiful.. infact the Clown Tang set 8 as my desktop B’ground…may nbibili b nyan lagay ko sa aquarium ko hehe!!
On June 6, 2009 at 4:53 am
one word fantastic
On June 22, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Many beautiful colorful fish, I love the first one
On August 23, 2009 at 11:02 am
Such a stunning collection of beautiful fish! Great article, Nobert!
On August 24, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Another well written article. I think the Mandarin Dragonet looks like a combination of a frog and a fish.
On August 30, 2009 at 10:44 pm
awesome those fish are really pretty i think i’m gonna try and get some they would look so beautiful in my aquarium. their colours will shine brightly at nite and blend in with my colorful bedroom thats all i gotta say
On October 5, 2009 at 8:03 am
What a wonderful fishes, the shapes, the colour and the stripes. God made them all !!
On October 24, 2009 at 1:47 am
very finw i hope it is high price and very expensive to maintain them
On November 18, 2009 at 4:24 am
those are amazing fishes… i could actually recommend them to a friend… hope he would be interested in them. he’s maintaining an aquarium.
On January 13, 2010 at 2:21 am
I love Mandarin Dragonets but never considered buying one for our tank because they are so difficult to keep alive. Even now that our aquarium is mature enough (running for over eight years) I can\’t get over the nervousness to actually purchase one.
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