Top-dwelling fish: hatchetfish, killifish and more

Scroll sideways to see them all. All drawn at one scale, adult size: = 1 inch. Tap one to open its care page.

Betta

Semi-aggressive · Top · easy care

3 in adult
5+ gal
76–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
one male per tank

Guppy

Peaceful · Top · easy care

2.8 in adult
10+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 7 to 8
groups of 3+

Zebra danio

Peaceful · Top · easy care

2 in adult
10+ gal
64–77 °F
pH 6.5 to 8
groups of 6+

Honey gourami

Peaceful · Top · easy care

2 in adult
10+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

Dwarf gourami

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

3.5 in adult
10+ gal
77–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
one male per tank

Endler's livebearer

Peaceful · Top · easy care

1.8 in adult
10+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 7 to 8
groups of 3+

Pearl gourami

Peaceful · Top · easy care

4.5 in adult
29+ gal
77–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

African butterflyfish

Semi-aggressive · Top · moderate care

5 in adult
30+ gal
73–86 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.5
alone or pair

Banded gourami

Peaceful · Top · easy care

4 in adult
30+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6 to 8
alone or pair

Bloodfin tetra

Peaceful · Top · easy care

2.2 in adult
20+ gal
65–82 °F
pH 6 to 8
groups of 6+

Celebes rainbowfish

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

3 in adult
29+ gal
68–82 °F
pH 7 to 8
groups of 6+

Clown killifish

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

1.4 in adult
5+ gal
72–80 °F
pH 5.5 to 7
groups of 4+

Croaking gourami

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

2.8 in adult
15+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
groups of 3+

Forktail blue-eye rainbowfish

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

2 in adult
10+ gal
72–80 °F
pH 7 to 8
groups of 6+

Gardneri killifish

Semi-aggressive · Top · easy care

2.6 in adult
10+ gal
72–79 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
groups of 3+

Giant danio

Semi-aggressive · Top · easy care

6 in adult
55+ gal
72–79 °F
pH 6 to 8
groups of 6+

GloFish danio

Peaceful · Top · easy care

2 in adult
10+ gal
64–77 °F
pH 6.5 to 8
groups of 6+

Golden pencilfish

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

2.6 in adult
15+ gal
75–82 °F
pH 5.5 to 7.5
groups of 6+

Golden wonder killifish

Semi-aggressive · Top · easy care

4 in adult
20+ gal
72–79 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

Lyretail killifish

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

2.4 in adult
10+ gal
70–79 °F
pH 5.5 to 7
groups of 3+

Marbled hatchetfish

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

1.5 in adult
20+ gal
75–82 °F
pH 5.5 to 7
groups of 6+

Medaka

Peaceful · Top · easy care

1.5 in adult
10+ gal
65–82 °F
pH 6.5 to 8
groups of 6+

Moonlight gourami

Peaceful · Top · easy care

5 in adult
30+ gal
77–84 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
one male per tank

Paradise fish

Semi-aggressive · Top · easy care

3.5 in adult
20+ gal
61–79 °F
pH 6 to 8
one male per tank

Pearl danio

Peaceful · Top · easy care

2.6 in adult
20+ gal
68–77 °F
pH 6 to 8
groups of 6+

Red neon blue-eye

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

1.2 in adult
10+ gal
74–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
groups of 6+

Silver arowana

Semi-aggressive · Top · demanding care

36 in adult
250+ gal
75–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
one per tank

Sparkling gourami

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

1.6 in adult
10+ gal
76–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

Spotted blue-eye

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

1 in adult
10+ gal
75–82 °F
pH 5.5 to 7.5
groups of 6+

Thick-lipped gourami

Peaceful · Top · easy care

3.5 in adult
20+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

Three-spot (blue) gourami

Semi-aggressive · Top · easy care

6 in adult
29+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6 to 8
one male per tank

Wrestling halfbeak

Peaceful · Top · moderate care

2.8 in adult
20+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6.5 to 8
groups of 3+

More fish lists

Names, and adult sizes where the article gives one, are checked against Wikipedia; care ranges are common hobby guidance, and each species page says which is which. 32 of these 32 are fish. Photos are real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, credited below; the lineup is our own drawing at one scale.

Photo credits

Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and cropped to fit; each is used under the license named.

Betta ivabalk (Pixabay), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Guppy Marrabbio2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zebra danio Roundish, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Honey gourami Antoon Dommerholt (Dutch Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dwarf gourami Quatermass (English Wikipedia), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Endler's livebearer Dgrummon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pearl gourami h080, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
African butterflyfish Toniher, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Banded gourami Sandipan Das, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bloodfin tetra VGW2006, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Celebes rainbowfish Brent Tibbatts, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Clown killifish Dornenwolf, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Croaking gourami Howard Jelks, U.S. Geological Survey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Forktail blue-eye rainbowfish Dirk Godlinski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gardneri killifish Tommy Kronkvist, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Giant danio Faucon, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
GloFish danio Karol Głąb (Karol007), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Golden wonder killifish Marrabbio2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lyretail killifish Alexander Prokoshev, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Marbled hatchetfish Sven Kullander, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Medaka Seotaro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Moonlight gourami H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Paradise fish André Karwath; edited by Muhammad, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Pearl danio Павлик Лисицын, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Silver arowana Qwertzy2, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sparkling gourami BEDO (Thailand), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Spotted blue-eye Der Regenbogenfisch, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
Thick-lipped gourami Oliver Gorski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Three-spot (blue) gourami Peter Jung, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Wrestling halfbeak Ahsan_al_hidayat, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons