/r/whatisthisfish

Photograph via snooOG

A subreddit dedicated to identifying species of fish.

Have a fish you would like identified? Here's a place you can ask and hopefully get answers!


r/whatisthisfish is a forum for identifying different species of fish. Before posting, check that your content doesn't violate our rules below. If your submission does not appear, message the mods to check the spam filter.


Subreddit Rules

We have 6 rules here at r/whatisthisfish. Breaking any of these rules may force us to remove your comment, or post. Repeat or blatant rule breaking will result in a permanent ban. Do NOT private message or use reddit chat to contact moderators about moderator actions. Only message the team via modmail. Directly messaging individual moderators may result in a ban.

0: Mod discretion always applies. We may remove content that is technically allowed under the rules if the team has good reason to believe it is detrimental to the community. Conversely, if something technically breaks the rules but we deem it beneficial to the community, we may choose to leave it up.

0.1: You must communicate in English at r/whatisthisfish. We cannot moderate content in a language we do not speak. If you wish to communicate in your chosen language, you need to find a community that offers content in that language.


Please remember, you access this subreddit at the discretion of the mod team, and all rules are enforced at the mod team’s discretion. Moderators reserve the right to remove any content they deem harmful to the sub.


1: No off topic content, or joke posts. While we enjoy good humor, this is foremost an educational subreddit. Comments such as "Yup, definitely a fish." Or, "His name is Jerry." will be removed. Repeat or blatant offenders will incur a ban. This type of content is not original or funny, and makes it more difficult to get actual answers. We are not a forum for casual conversation. We are an educational ID forum, for identifying fish, and we expect all content to reflect that. AI and the use of AI are unwelcome in our subreddit.

2: Do not make blind/random guesses. Our goal is to provide positive leads; false leads are counter-productive, e.g. "similar looking" is rarely good enough at the species level. If one is unfamiliar with the taxon, practice diligence, e.g. check other members of the taxon, as well as those of higher taxa. If you aren't 100% sure, leave the ID to someone more knowledgeable.

3: Tag images involving death or gore as NSFW. Can I submit a dead fish for ID? Yes, but please bear in mind it’s always easier to ID living specimens. While we realize that extermination is sometimes necessary, comments promoting gratuitous violence against fish, or causing unnecessary suffering, (“kill it with fire” etc.) will be removed. Linking to subs that explicitly promote hatred is not allowed. Images containing death or gore (within reason; for example, stuffed specimens are exempt) must be tagged as NSFW.

4: Refrain from posting bites/injury related posts. We CANNOT and WILL NOT diagnose injuries or identify fish that allegedly caused bites/injuries. Seek medical advice, not our advice.

5: No monetary exchanges.

6: Don't Be a Jerk. Follow reddit's rules and "reddiquette".


Submission Guidelines

Got a photo of a fish you'd like identified? Submit it here and we'll try to figure it out together! Best view for ID is top-down, well-lit, low-contrast photos. Pictures are preferable to videos for ID requests but we'll work with what you have.

  • Indicate the geographic location.

  • Take the clearest and most detailed photo(s) possible.

  • Indicate the size. The more precise the better.

Provide any other information you feel could help!

FAQs & Wiki/Misc. Links


Related Subreddits

ID Subreddits


Sidebar last updated on September 17th, 2024. Rules are subject to change at the mod team's discretion.

/r/whatisthisfish

39,278 Subscribers

2

What is this fish?

These came next to our water villa in Maldives. We spotted 5-6 of them.

4 Comments
2024/12/01
06:07 UTC

2

What is this alien creature found in Goa shore in India

2 Comments
2024/12/01
03:28 UTC

16

What is this fish? (South Carolina Beach USA)

9 Comments
2024/12/01
00:13 UTC

4

Longear sunfish?

Caught yesterday in Virginia on a wiggle worm fly. Maybe 6 inches.

9 Comments
2024/12/01
00:13 UTC

25

What is this fish?

16 Comments
2024/11/30
20:42 UTC

0

(I DONT WANT TO HEAR THE COMMENTS ABOUT LIPPING THE TROUT! MY COUSIN DID NOT KNOW.) Does anyone know what species this trout is? Thank you!

29 Comments
2024/11/30
19:04 UTC

6

What kind of bumblebee is that?

2 Comments
2024/11/29
05:13 UTC

25

Caught today in Finger Lakes region of NY

14 Comments
2024/11/29
04:26 UTC

28

Found near Virginia coast

Found this dead on my boat, always wondered what it was

9 Comments
2024/11/29
01:04 UTC

10

Caught in Port Philip bay, 1km out from Blairgowrie.

10 Comments
2024/11/28
06:21 UTC

190

Found in a drainage ditch/seasonal creek in Saranac, MI, USA

Caught this fine fellow as bycatch while looking for tadpoles. No idea what it is, but is definitely not a tadpole!

20 Comments
2024/11/27
22:31 UTC

18

Caught in Las Vegas, Nv

Foul hooked this one on a swim bait. Never seen anything like this in Vegas before. Its some kind of sunfish/panfish but idk

6 Comments
2024/11/27
17:23 UTC

27

Some kind of puffer, Apalachee bay Fl

9 Comments
2024/11/27
00:21 UTC

34

Caught off the barrier island by Port Mansfield, TX.

This one stumped all of us on the boat

5 Comments
2024/11/26
12:32 UTC

15

Freshwtaer fish from borneo , maybe labeo genus

7 Comments
2024/11/26
04:34 UTC

173

Went fishing in Port Aransas, Tx this weekend and this ended up being a by catch. Can anyone help identify please?

In another community I posted in, the closest response I got was something similar to a cusk eel

38 Comments
2024/11/25
19:48 UTC

13

South Australia, South Coast

My youngest hooked his first fish and I forgot to look at the board to get an ID. We let it go. I couldn’t find it in the catch limit search on PIR.gov.au website either. My eldest got a decent sized Dusky Morwong in the same spot. Thanks!

4 Comments
2024/11/25
10:11 UTC

17

Caught this fish off Oman, bottom fishing. Can’t find anything online.

4 Comments
2024/11/25
04:42 UTC

7

White with orange tail

Good people of reddit! I bought this one to my aquarium but the seller did tell me a wrong name. Its about 3 cm in length, fresh water. Thanks

5 Comments
2024/11/24
10:14 UTC

31

Any idea on what this might be never seen anything like it (southwest Idaho)

25 Comments
2024/11/23
22:22 UTC

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