Fish that Start with B

There are so many fish in the world and each has just one scientific name, but they may have multiple common names. Around the world, there are many names for fish that start with B, so let’s take a look at these! We’ve included all of the Latin scientific names in brackets next to common names, so you can discover more about your favourite fish, where they live and which tank mates they can have. Also, when shopping for fish for your aquarium, you’ll want to be sure you’re getting the right one, so scientific names can be really important.

Let’s get into it then – an extensive list of fish starting with B.

Our Top 5 Fish Names Beginning with Letter B

Here are some of our favourite fish starting with the letter B. We’ve chosen a top 5 to tell you a little more information about these brilliant fish.

Balloon Platy (Xiphophorus sp.)

The Balloon Platy is a variety of platy which has purposefully been bred with a mutation to make the fish shorter and more bulbous – i.e. balloon-like. It is recommended that you do not buy these for your aquarium to try and stop the breeding of deformed and stunted platys which can be prone to swim bladder problems. Normal platys which have not been bred for a specific shape, are a great little tank mate for many fish. Make sure to have 2 females for every male in your tank to relieve the stress on the female fish. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved.

Banded Cichlid (Heros severus)

These grand looking fish are native to South America and can be found in the wild in the Orinoco and Amazon rivers. Severums are actually a lot more gentle natured than some of their cichlid relatives and they can be kept with other less aggressive cichlids, such as Blood Parrot cichlids – another fish starting with B! Banded cichlids can grow to be quite big, so make sure they have plenty of space in their aquariums

Big-Mouth Hap (Tyrannochromis macrostoma)

Big-Mouth by name, BIG mouth by nature. These carnivorous haps love to eat and they actually enjoy a live feed from time to time. Shrimp and silversides are the ideal meal, but they do eat cichlid pellets too. It’s not just their mouths that are big, the Tyrannochromis needs a big tank too with plenty of rocks as décor.

Black Fin Cory (Corydoras leucomelas)

Corydoras really have to be one of our favourite fish, they’re great fun to watch and they love being in groups. They are the ideal tank mate for Bettas as they predominantly feed on the bottom of the tank, mostly leaving the Betta territory at the top of the tank alone. Black Fin Corydoras will eat any food that sinks to the bottom of the tank keeping it nice and clean – their sensitive sense of smell will sniff out any stray pieces of food. Make sure to buy sinking food if you want these guys to be happy.

Bumblebee Goby (Brachygobius xanthozonus)

The Bumblebee Goby is a relatively peaceful fish to have in a quiet community tank, however, due to their sometimes territorial nature, they can be a little mean towards others of their own breed. These striped sweeties prefer a slightly brackish water tank, but can live in freshwater, they just don’t like fast-moving currents. Choose short-finned tank mates to avoid your goby having a nibble on your other fishes fins.

Feed these picky gobys with fresh or frozen food – they really enjoy a good snail or brine shrimp. Flaked food can be an option, but it may take some time to ween them onto it.

List of fish beginning with B

If you’d like an even bigger dose of fish names beginning with B, then look no further. We’ve collected a list of freshwater fish and saltwater fish, all beginning with the letter B. The names in brackets are the scientific names (they’re in Latin) which don’t always begin with the same letter as the common names. Some fish also have multiple common names, which can change from place to place!

Freshwater fish beginning with B:

• Baby Whale (Petrocephalus bovei bovei)
• Badis (Badis badis)
• Baenschi’s Peacock (Aulonocara baenschi)
• Baikal Oilfish (Comephorus)
• Bala Shark (Balantiocheilus melanopterus)
• Balzani’s Earth Eater (Gymnogeophagus balzanii)
• Banded Barb (Barbus fasciatus)
• Banded Climbing Perch (Microctenopoma fasciolatum)
• Banded Dwarf Cichlid (Apistogramma bitaeniata)
• Banded Gourami (Colisa fasciata)
• Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus)
• Banded Loach (Botia hymenophysa)
• Banded Pimelodid (Pimelodus clarias clarias)
• Banded Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia trifasciata)
• Banded Shovelnose Catfish (Brachyplatystoma juruense)
• Bandeira Catfish (Goslinia platynema)
• Bandfish (Cepola haastii)
• Bandit Cichlid (Aequidens geayi)
• Bandit Cory (Corydoras metae)
• Bangus (Chanos chanos)
• Banjo (Bunocephalus verrucosus)
• Banjo Catfish (Bunocephalus coracoideus)
• Barb (Barbus barbus)
• Barbatus Corydorus (Corydoras barbatus)
• Barbel-less Catfish (Trachelyopterus lucenai)
• Barfish (Morone mississippiensis)
• Barred Danio (Devario pathirana)
• Barred Loach (Nemacheilus fasciatus)
• Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
• Batfish, Freshwater (Myxocyprinus asiaticus)
• Beauforti’s Loach (Botia beauforti)
• Bengal Danio (Danio devario)
• Bengal Loach (Botia dario)
• Benny Tetra (Creagrutus beni)
• Berdmore’s Loach (Botia berdmorei)
• Berney’s Shark Catfish (Arius graeffei)
• Betta (Betta splendens)
• Bichir (Polypterus bichir)
• Big Scale Tetra (Brycinus macrolepidotus)
• Big-Eyed Synodontis (Synodontis pleurops)
• Big-Eyed Xenotilapia (Xenotilapia sima)
• Big-Toothed Piranha (Serrasalmus denticulatus)
• Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)
• Bigmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus)
• Bill Tetra (Phago boulengeri)
• Bitterling (Rhodeus suigensis)
• Black Acara (“Cichlasoma” portalegrense)
• Black Adonis Pleco – Acanthicus hystrix
• Black and White Julie (Julidochromis transcriptus)
• Black Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus niger)
• Black Arowana (Osteoglossum ferrerai)
• Black Banded Pyrrhulina (Copella nigrofasciata)
• Black Barred Myleus (Myleus schomburgkii)
• Black Bass (Micropterus dolomieu)
• Black Belt Cichlid (Vieja maculicauda)
• Black Buffalo (Ictiobus niger)
• Black Bullhead (Ictalurus melas)
• Black Darter Tetra (Poecilocharax weitzmani)
• Black Devil Stingray (Potamotrygon leopoldi)
• Black Diamond Gold Piranha (Serrasalmus spilopleura)
• Black Fin Cichlid (Paracyprichromis nigripinnis)
• Black Finned Doradid (Hassar notospilus)
• Black Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons)
• Black Lancer (Bagrichthys hypselopterus)
• Black Lined Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia maccullochi)
• Black Neon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi)
• Black Pacu (Colossoma macropomum)
• Black Piranha (Serrasalmus niger)
• Black Ruby Barb (Puntius nigrofasciatus)
• Black Shark (Labeo chrysophekadion)
• Black Spot Barb (Barbus filamentosus)
• Black Stripe Dwarf Cichlid (Taeniacara candidi)
• Black Tetra (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi)
• Black Wedge Tetra (Hemigrammus pulcher)
• Black Widow Tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi)
• Black-Chinned Xenotilapia (Enantiopus melanogenys)
• Black-Winged Hatchetfish (Carnegiella marthae)
• Blackfish (Dallia pectoralis)
• Bleak (Alburnus alburnus)
• Blood Parrot Cichlid (Amphilophus citrinellus x Paraneetroplus synspilus [hybrid])
• Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)
• Blue Danio (Danio kerri)
• Blue Gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus)
• Blue-Redstripe Danio (Danio albolineatus)
• Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)
• Bluntnose Knifefish (Steatogenys elegans)
• Bluntnose Minnow (Pimephales notatus)
• Bonefish (Albula vulpes)
• Bonytail (Gila elegans)
• Bowfin (Amia calva)
• Bream (Abramis brama)
• Bristlenose Catfish (Ancistrus)
• Bronze Corydoras (Corydoras aeneus)
• Brook Lamprey (Lampetra planeri)
• Brook Stickleback (Culaea inconstans)
• Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
• Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)
• Buffalo Fish (Ictiobus cyprinellus)
• Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus)
• Burma Danio (Danio tinwini)
• Burrowing Goby (Croilia mossambica)

Saltwater fish beginning with B:

• Ballan Wrasse (Labris bergylta)
• Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium griseum)
• Bangus (Chanos chanos)
• Barbeled dragonfish (Astronesthes niger)
• Barbeled houndshark (Leptocharias smithii)
• Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)
• Barracudina (Lestidium atlanticum)
• Barramundi (Lates calcarifer)
• Barreleye (Opisthoproctus soleatus)
• Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus)
• Bat ray (Myliobatis californica)
• Beachsalmon (Leptobrama muelleri)
• Beaked salmon (Gonorynchus greyi)
• Beardfish (Polymixia nobilis)
• Beluga Sturgeon – Huso huso
• Bicolor goat fish (Parupeneus barberinoides)
• Bigeye (Heteropriacanthus cruentatus)
• Bigeye squaretail (Tetragonurus atlanticus)
• Bigscale (Scopelogadus mizolepis mizolepis)
• Bigscale Pomfret (Taractichthys longipinnis)
• Billfish (Makaira nigricans)
• Black Fin Shark – Arius seemanni
• Black Mackerel (Scombrolabrax heterolepis)
• Black Scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo)
• Black Scalyfin (Parma alboscapularis)
• Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata)
• Black Swallower (Chiasmodon niger)
• Black Triggerfish (Melichthys niger)
• Blackchin (Neoscopelus macrolepidotus)
• Blackfin Tuna (Thunnus atlanticus)
• Blacktip Reef Shark (Dallia pectoralis)
• Blenny (Ophioblennius steindachneri)
• Blind Goby (Typhlogobius californiensis)
• Blind Shark (Brachaelurus waddi) 
• Blobfish (Cottunculus microps)
• Blowfish (Torquigener albomaculosus)
• Blue Eye Trevalla (Hyperoglyphe antarctica)
• Blue Shark (Prionace glauca)
• Blue Triggerfish (Pseudobalistes fuscus)
• Blue Whiting (Micromesistius poutassou)
• Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus maccoyii)
• Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix)
• Boafish (Stomias boa boa)
• Boarfish (Capros aper)
• Bobtail Snipe Eel (Cyema atrum)
• Bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis)
• Boga (Haemulon vittatum)
• Bombay Duck (Harpadon nehereus)
• Bonito (Sarda sarda)
• Bonnethead Shark (Sphyrna tiburo)
• Bonnetmouth (Emmelichthyops atlanticus)
• Boxfish (Lactophrys bicaudalis)
• Bramble Shark (Echinorhinus brucus)
• Brill (Scophthalmus rhombus)
• Bristlemouth (Bonapartia pedaliota)
• Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas)
• Bullhead Shark (Heterodontus francisci)
• Buri (Seriola quinqueradiata)
• Butterfish (Selenotoca multifasciata)
• Butterfly Ray (Gymnura micrura)
• Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus)