The Ultimate Freshwater Fish List

Whether you're building a tank, planning a fishing trip, or just wondering what types of fish are there beyond the ones you already recognize, this freshwater fish list breaks the roughly 18,900 known freshwater species into the major groups that actually matter the ones you'll catch on a line, keep in an aquarium, or read about in a fishing report.

How Many Freshwater Fish Species Actually Exist?

The scale here is bigger than most people expect. The IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group currently recognizes 18,898 freshwater fish species 51 percent of every known fish species on Earth, despite freshwater making up roughly 1 percent of the planet's surface water. And the list isn't static: 2025 alone added 309 newly described freshwater species, the highest count since 2017, discovered everywhere from remote wetlands to limestone caves.

Bass, Sunfish & Perch: The Sport Fishing Backbone

If you fish freshwater in North America, you're almost certainly targeting something from this group. The sunfish family (Centrarchidae) includes largemouth bass, Florida bass officially split into its own species in 2024 bluegill, redear sunfish, and black crappie. The true perch family (Percidae) adds walleye and yellow perch to the mix. Together, these families make up the core of recreational freshwater fishing across most of the continent.

Catfish: Bottom Feeders With Serious Range

Catfish, the order Siluriformes, spans dozens of families and thousands of species worldwide. Channel catfish and blue catfish dominate North American rivers and lakes, prized for both sport and table quality, while the Mekong giant catfish in Southeast Asia ranks among the largest freshwater fish species alive. Walking catfish, native to South and Southeast Asia, can move across land using their fins and have become an established invasive species in parts of Florida's canal systems a good reminder that not every catfish you might encounter belongs where you find it.

Salmonids: The Trout & Salmon Family

Salmonidae covers trout, salmon, and char species built for cold, oxygen rich water and prized by anglers worldwide for both sport and food. Rainbow trout and brown trout are widely stocked and farmed globally, while Pacific salmon species undertake demanding migrations between ocean and freshwater river systems to spawn, one of the most studied life history patterns in all of fisheries science.

Carps & Minnows: The Biggest Family You Might Not Target

Cyprinidae, the carp and minnow family, is the largest freshwater fish family in the world, with more than 2,000 species. Common carp are targeted by a dedicated niche of anglers worldwide, particularly in Europe, while countless smaller minnow species serve as bait fish and forage species that support larger sport fish populations. Goldfish and koi, both cyprinids, are far better known as aquarium and pond fish than as angling targets.

Cichlids & Tilapia: One Family, Two Very Different Reputations

Cichlidae is a genuinely massive family more than 1,600 species best known on one hand for the colorful cichlids that dominate the freshwater aquarium hobby, and on the other for tilapia, a farmed food fish that has also become a problematic invasive species in warm water regions like South Florida's canals. Popular aquarium cichlids like oscars and discus belong to this same family, making Cichlidae one of the rare groups relevant to both anglers and aquarium keepers.

Killifish & Aquarium Staples

The order Cyprinodontiformes killifish, guppies, mollies, and swordtails makes up much of the small, colorful end of the freshwater aquarium trade. These species are rarely targeted by anglers but matter enormously to the hobbyist side of freshwater fishkeeping. Some killifish, like the mangrove rivulus, have genuinely wild survival adaptations, including the ability to survive out of water for weeks at a time.

Ancient Lineages: Gar, Bowfin, Sturgeon & Lungfish

Some freshwater groups are living relics. Gar and bowfin, both found in North American rivers and lakes, represent body plans that have persisted with little change for tens of millions of years, and both put up a surprisingly strong fight if you hook one. Sturgeon rank among the largest and longest lived freshwater fish species, with several species now under strict conservation protections due to historical overfishing. Lungfish, found in Africa, South America, and Australia, can breathe air directly and survive extended droughts not a group most anglers will ever target, but a genuinely remarkable one.

Comparing the Major Freshwater Fish Groups

FAQ

How many freshwater fish species are there in total?

The IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group recognizes 18,898 freshwater fish species, making up 51 percent of all known fish species worldwide.

What freshwater fish family do most anglers actually target?

Centrarchidae (the sunfish family, including bass, bluegill, and crappie) and Salmonidae (trout and salmon) account for the large majority of recreational freshwater fishing in North America.

What's the biggest freshwater fish family by species count?

Cyprinidae, the carp and minnow family, with more than 2,000 recognized species though relatively few are targeted by anglers compared to catfish or bass.

Are new freshwater fish species still being found?

Yes 309 new species were described in 2025 alone, the highest total since 2017, discovered across five continents.

Which freshwater fish family matters most to aquarium hobbyists?

Cyprinodontiformes (killifish, guppies, mollies, swordtails) and Cichlidae (cichlids) supply most of the freshwater aquarium trade.

What are some of the oldest surviving freshwater fish groups?

Gar, bowfin, sturgeon, and lungfish are all considered living examples of ancient fish lineages that have changed very little over tens of millions of years.

Can the same fish family include both a food fish and an invasive species?

Yes cichlids are a clear example, with tilapia farmed for food worldwide but also established as an invasive species in warm water canal systems in places like South Florida.

Conclusion

Nearly 19,000 freshwater fish species sound overwhelming until you realize most of the ones you'll ever catch or keep fall into a handful of major families sunfish and salmonids for anglers, cichlids and killifish for aquarium keepers, and catfish and carp spanning both worlds. Once you know which family you're dealing with, identifying, targeting, or caring for almost any freshwater fish gets a lot more straightforward. For more on species classification specifics, see our guide on what fisheries science actually studies, or browse our Fish Species library.