Amazon & South America
The Amazon basin and its sister rivers (Orinoco, Xingu, Tapajós) — home to tetras, cichlids, catfish, and many of the hobby's most iconic freshwater species.
629 species · fish
Other regions in The Americas
Penguin Fish
FishThayeria obliqua
The original penguin tetra, now overshadowed by its more common cousin.
Peppered Cory
FishCorydoras paleatus
Hardy, armored, and social. A true workhorse of the community tank.
Perruno
FishPerrunichthys perruno
A little-known giant catfish from Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo basin.
Peru black cory
FishCorydoras semiaquilus
A long-lived Amazonian bottom-dweller with a surprisingly expressive face.
Peru Piraíba
FishBrachyplatystoma capapretum
A large Amazonian catfish that lurks in deep river channels far from shore.
Peruvian King Pleco
FishPterygoplichthys scrophus
A hefty Amazonian armored catfish that breathes air when conditions demand it.
Peruvian Longfin
FishAphyolebias peruensis
A rare Amazonian killifish with an extraordinarily long egg incubation period.
Peruvian Tetra
FishHyphessobrycon peruvianus
A slender Upper Amazon tetra often misidentified but worth tracking down properly.
Peruvian Whiptail Catfish
FishRineloricaria morrowi
A slender Peruvian whiptail catfish that rewards patient keepers with fascinating paternal care.
Petracini's cory
FishCorydoras petracinii
A tiny Argentine cory built for rocky currents, rarely if ever seen in the hobby.
Phantom Headstander
FishCharax condei
A secretive little predator that sneaks into shipments of other characins.
Phoenix Tetra
FishHemigrammus filamentosus
A slender Brazilian tetra with a filamentous tail fin twist.
Pictus Catfish
FishPimelodus pictus
A spotted, whiskered speedster that will eat anything small enough to swallow.
Pike Characin
FishAcestrorhynchus microlepis
A sleek, toothy predator that schools as a juvenile and hunts like a pike.
Pike Characin
FishAcestrorhynchus pantaneiro
A sleek river predator that plays surprisingly well with the right tankmates.
Pike Characin
FishBoulengerella cuvieri
A surface-hunting predator that outgrows almost every home aquarium.
Pike cichlid
FishCrenicichla albopunctata
A compact, manageable pike cichlid with serious predator personality.
Pike cichlid
FishCrenicichla johanna
A big-mouthed Amazon predator that means business in any large cichlid setup.
Pike Cichlid
FishCrenicichla lepidota
A torpedo-shaped predator that brings serious personality to a South American biotope.
Pike Cichlid
FishCrenicichla lugubris
A deceptively pretty juvenile that grows into a large, predatory tank-buster.
Pinch Piranha
FishSerrasalmus eigenmanni
A sleek Amazon predator that's surprisingly manageable for first-time piranha keepers.
Pink Corydoras
FishCorydoras axelrodi
A long-lived Colombian cory with variable striping and a surprisingly complex identity.
Pinktailed Characin
FishChalceus macrolepidotus
A fast-moving, surface-skimming predator with oversized scales and a vivid pink tail.
Pirambeba
FishSerrasalmus humeralis
A fin-eating piranha with a surprisingly low-key reputation for people
Piranha
FishSerrasalmus serrulatus
A solitary, fin-biting predator with a famously tangled identity.
Pirarucu
FishArapaima gigas
A living giant from the Amazon that breathes air like a lung fish.
Piraya
FishSerrasalmus piraya
The largest piranha on earth, and legally banned in several countries.
Platinum hatchetfish
FishThoracocharax stellatus
A silvery, deep-keeled jumper that needs a tight-fitting lid and plenty of company.
Polka Dot Cory
FishCorydoras polystictus
A tiny armored catfish that thrives in groups and breathes air when it needs to.
Porcupine Freshwater Stingray
FishPotamotrygon hystrix
A flat, venomous predator that vanishes into the sand right before your eyes.
Porthole Catfish
FishDianema longibarbis
A gentle Amazon catfish that schools in midwater like a tetra.
Pretty Peckoltia
FishDekeyseria brachyura
A colour-shifting pleco that adapts its pattern to match its surroundings.
Prionotos Cory
FishScleromystax prionotos
A bony-plated Brazilian catfish that breathes air and packs a painful sting.
Pulcher Cory
FishCorydoras pulcher
A long-lived armored catfish that breathes air and blinks its eyes.
Purple Oil Catfish
FishCentromochlus reticulatus
A tiny gregarious catfish from Guyana that sometimes goes by 'purple oil catfish'.
Purple Pencilfish
FishNannostomus rubrocaudatus
Tiny, territorial, and blazing with red-purple color. A pencilfish with real attitude.