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The Living Encyclopedia
Explore our comprehensive database of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. Discover detailed care guides, morph varieties, and community setups.
invertebrate
Isopod
Armadillidium vulgare
Armadillidium vulgare, the common pill-bug, common pill woodlouse, roly-poly, potato bug, slater, doodle bug, or carpenter, is a widespread European species of woodlouse. It is the most extensively investigated terrestrial isopod species. It is native to Mediterranean Europe, but as an introduced species they have become naturalized in almost all suitable ecosystems. They are kept as pets by hobbyists for their wide range of possible color variations.
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invertebrate
Barnacle
Balanus balanoides
Acorn barnacle and acorn shell are vernacular names for certain types of stalkless barnacles, generally excluding stalked or gooseneck barnacles. As adults they are typically cone-shaped, symmetrical, and attached to rocks or other fixed objects in the ocean. Members of the barnacle order Balanomorpha are often called acorn barnacles.
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invertebrate
Clam
Mercenaria mercenaria
The hard clam, also known as the round clam, hard-shell clam, or the quahog, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk that is native to the eastern shores of North America and Central America from Prince Edward Island to the Yucatán Peninsula. It is one of many unrelated edible bivalves that in the United States are frequently referred to simply as clams. Older literature sources may use the systematic name Venus mercenaria; this species is in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.
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invertebrate
Mussel
Mytilus edulis
The blue mussel, also known as the common mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the only extant family in the order Mytilida, known as "true mussels". Blue mussels are subject to commercial use and intensive aquaculture. A species with a large range, the blue mussel leaves empty shells that are commonly found on beaches around the world.
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invertebrate
Oyster
Crassostrea virginica
The eastern oyster —also called the Atlantic oyster, American oyster, or East Coast oyster—is a species of true oyster native to eastern North and South America. Other names in local or culinary use include the Wellfleet oyster, Virginia oyster, Malpeque oyster, Blue Point oyster, Chesapeake Bay oyster, and Apalachicola oyster. C. virginica ranges from northern New Brunswick south through parts of the West Indies to Venezuela. It is farmed in all of the Maritime provinces of Canada and all Eastern Seaboard and Gulf states of the United States, as well as Puget Sound, Washington, where it is known as the Totten Inlet Virginica. It was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the 19th century and is common in Pearl Harbor.
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invertebrate
Scallop
Pecten maximus
Pecten maximus, common names the great scallop, king scallop, St James shell or escallop, is a northeast Atlantic species of scallop, an edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae. This is the type species of the genus. This species may be conspecific with Pecten jacobaeus, the pilgrim's scallop, which has a much more restricted distribution.
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invertebrate
Abalone
Haliotis rufescens
Haliotis rufescens is a species of very large edible sea snail in the family Haliotidae, the abalone, ormers (British) or pāua. It is distributed from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California, Mexico. It is most common in the southern half of its range.
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invertebrate
Conch
Strombus gigas
Aliger gigas, originally known as Strombus gigas or more recently as Lobatus gigas, commonly known as the queen conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family of true conches, the Strombidae. This species is one of the largest molluscs native to the Caribbean Sea, and tropical northwestern Atlantic, reaching up to 35.2 centimetres (13.9 in) in shell length. A. gigas is closely related to the goliath conch, Titanostrombus goliath, a species endemic to Brazil, as well as the rooster conch, Aliger gallus.
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invertebrate
Sea Slug
Chromodoris quadricolor
Chromodoris quadricolor is a species of very colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc. The specific epithet quadricolor means four-coloured, so-named because this nudibranch is yellow, white, blue and black in color.
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fish
Endler's Livebearer
Poecilia wingei
Poecilia wingei, known to aquarists as Endlers or Endler's livebearer, in the genus Poecilia, is a small fish native to the Paria Peninsula in Venezuela. They are prolific breeders and often hybridize with guppies. These very colorful hybrids are the easiest to find being offered in pet-shops, typically under the name Endler's guppy.
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fish
Wild Betta Imbellis
Betta imbellis
The peaceful betta or crescent betta is a species of gourami native to Southeast Asia.
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fish
Betta Smaragdina
Betta smaragdina
Betta smaragdina, commonly known as the emerald green betta, blue betta or Mekong fighting fish is a species of gourami native to Southeast Asia. The species gets its green and blue colors due to refraction and interference of light that results from hexagonal crystals that are less than 0.5 micrometres. It is found in the aquarium trade.
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fish
Cardinal Tetra
Paracheirodon axelrodi
The cardinal tetra is a species of freshwater fish of the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins, of order Characiformes. It is native to the upper Orinoco and Negro Rivers in South America. Growing to about 3 cm (1.2 in) in total length, the cardinal tetra has the striking iridescent blue line characteristic of the genus Paracheirodon laterally bisecting the fish, with the body below this line being vivid red in color, hence the name "cardinal tetra". The cardinal tetra's appearance is similar to that of the closely related neon tetra, with which it is often confused; the neon's red coloration extends only about halfway to the nose, and the neon's blue stripe is a less vibrant blue.
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fish
Glowlight Tetra
Hemigrammus erythrozonus
Hemigrammus erythrozonus, the glowlight tetra, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This fish is found in the Essequibo River and the Courantyne River in Guyana and Suriname. It is silver in colour and a bright iridescent orange to red stripe extends from the snout to the base of its tail, the front of the dorsal fin being the same color as the stripe. Other fins are silver to transparent. The glowlight tetra is a peaceful, shoaling fish. It is larger than the neon tetra, and its peaceful disposition makes it an ideal, and popular, community tank fish. It should be kept with similar sized, non-aggressive species. Hemigrammus gracilis is a senior synonym. The red-line rasbora of Malaysia and Indonesia has markings and coloring very similar to H. erythrozonus, but is a member of order Cypriniformes, not a close relative.
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fish
Black Neon Tetra
Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi
The black neon tetra is a freshwater fish of the characin family (Characidae) of the order Characiformes. It is native to the Paraguay basin of southern Brazil. They are often found in the aquarium trade, and a feral population has been established in the rio Paraíba do Sul basin due to the trade.
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fish
Rummy Nose Tetra
Hemigrammus rhodostomus
The rummy-nose tetra, also known as the rednose tetra, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This species occurs in South America, where it is restricted to the lower basin of the Amazon in Brazil. This is a popular species in the aquarium hobby.
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fish
Ember Tetra
Hyphessobrycon amandae
The ember tetra is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This fish is found in the Araguaia River basin of Brazil. It was discovered in 1987 and named in honor of the fish explorer Heiko Bleher's mother, Amanda Bleher.
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fish
Serpae Tetra
Hyphessobrycon eques
The serpae tetra, also known as the Callistus tetra, red tetra, jewel tetra or blood characin, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American tetras. This species is found in South America.
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fish
Congo Tetra
Phenacogrammus interruptus
The Congo tetra is a species of fish in the African tetra family, found in the central Congo River Basin in Africa. It is commonly kept in aquaria.
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fish
Diamond Tetra
Moenkhausia pittieri
The diamond tetra is a species freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acestrorhamphidae, the American tetras. This species is found in and around Lake Valencia in Venezuela.
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