Fish that Start with L

We’re almost halfway through the entire alphabet! Our next instalment will mark the official halfway mark, but the letter L brings us plenty of great fish to keep us occupied until then. This list includes leopard, long-finned and even long-nosed fish, so you’re sure to find something to intrigue you as we make our way through the fish that start with L.

As with all of our A-Z posts so far, each common fish name is followed up by its scientific name in brackets. This will help you to find even more great information about any of the fish that catch your eye. The scientific names are made up of a genus which always has a capital letter at the beginning, then the species which is all in lowercase. So you may find many fish under the genus Cichlasoma but they will all have their own species name.

Our Top 3 Fish Names Beginning with Letter L

Let’s start by introducing 3 of our favorite fish that start with L. We’ve chosen these fishies to tell you a little bit more about as we think they’re fascinating and would love to have them in our aquarium. Which one is your favorite? Take a look at our longer lists below to discover more and comment below.

Lace Gourami (Trichogaster leeri)

Also known as Mosaic or Pearl Gourami, this beautifully patterned fish is easy to keep, so maybe a great choice as a first fish. They tend to breathe from the air at the top of the tank, so you may catch them gulping for air when you lift up your aquarium lid, which can be quite entertaining to watch. Adding another string to the entertainment bow of this Gourami is the “talking” you might hear coming from your tank… well, it will be more of a croak, but it’s still pretty cool!

If you want to have a community tank, then Lace Gourami will fit in pretty well, however, the males may become mildly territorial if placed with aggressive fish. Keeping several Gouramis is a great way to keep the peace in your aquarium.

Leaf Fish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus)

We wouldn’t blame you if you thought this fish was in fact a leaf, its serated edges and teardrop shaping are what makes the Leaf Fish look so… leafy! Unsurprisingly, this fish likes a tank with plenty of plants, including large leafy varieties that it can hide in amongst and camouflage itself. They also like to hide from time to time as they are quite nervous, so provide a driftwood cave or area this fish can take some time out under.

The Leaf Fish will only eat live food, starting from bloodworms when young, but progressing into feeder fish as they mature. If you don’t like the idea of this carnivorous fish, then perhaps opt for a fish with a herbivore diet.

Lemon Cichlid (Neolamprologus leleupi)

Lemon Cichlids are endemic to Lake Tanganyika where they live predominantly along the shorelines amongst rocks. To keep these little yellow guys content, provide them with plenty of rocks and cave-like structures so they can hide when they feel vulnerable or nervous. The only time Lemon Cichlids get aggressive is when they are breeding or guarding their territory, but mostly they are quite peaceful fish. Keep them with other Tanganyika cichlids of a similar size to keep the peace.

Large tanks are best for these cichlids and it is recommended that they are kept in same species pairs unless there is a lot of space in the tank for each to have their own territory.

List of fish names starting with L

Now to delve deeper into the world of fish beginning with L and discover fish from lakes, rivers and the seas – we’ve compiled a freshwater and saltwater list of fish. There truly are some weird and wonderful common names for fish, so we hope you enjoy reading them.

Freshwater fish beginning with L:

• Labyrinth Fish (Trichogaster lalius)
• Lace Catfish (Synodontis nigrita)
• Ladder Loach (Botia rostrata)
• Lake Chub (Couesius plumbeus)
• Lake Chubsucker (Erimyzon sucetta)
• Lake Kutubu Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia lacustris)
• Lake Tebera Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi)
• Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush)
• Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)
• Lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis)
• Lanceolate Whiptail Catfish (Rineloricaria lanceolata)
• Lapradei Nile Bichir (Polypterus bichir lapradei)
• Large-Scaled Barb (Acrossocheilus sumatranus)
• Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)
• Largemouth Buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus)
• Laticeps Stingray (Potamotrygon laticeps)
• Laulao Catfish (Brachyplatystoma vaillanti)
• Le Conte’s Loach (Botia lecontei)
• Leeri Gourami (Trichogaster leeri)
• Leleupi (Neolamprologus leleupi)
• Lemon Algae Eater (Gyrinocheilus aymonieri)
• Lemon Fin Barb (Barbus daruphani)
• Lemon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis)
• Lenok (Brachymystax lenok)
• Leopard Ctenopoma (Ctenopoma acutirostre)
• Leopard Danio (Brachydanio rerio “frankei”)
• Leopold’s Angelfish (Pterophyllum leopoldi)
• Leporinus (Leporinus fasciatus)
• Leptosoma Cichlid (Cyprichromis leptosoma)
• Lesser Bleeding Heart Tetra (Hyphessobrycon socolofi)
• Letourneaux’s Jewel Cichlid (Hemichromis letourneauxi)
• Licorice Gourami (Parosphromenus deissneri)
• Lifalili Jewel Cichlid (Hemichromis lifalili)
• Limia (Limia perugiae)
• Linam’s Pimelodella (Pimelodella linami)
• Linke’s Dwarf Cichlid (Apistogramma linkei)
• Lionhead Cichlid (Steatocranus casuarius)
• Liver Catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis)
• Livingstoni (Nimbochromis livingstonii)
• Loach (Pangio longimanus)
• Loach Catfish (Amphilius grandis)
• Loach Goby (Rhyacichthys aspro)
• Loach Minnow (Rhinichthys cobitis)
• Long-Band Rasbora (Rasbora einthovenii)
• Long-Finned African Tetra (Alestes longipinnis)
• Long-Finned Barb (Barbus arulius)
• Long-Finned Char (Salvethymus svetovidovi)
• Long-Finned Characin (Alestes chaperi)
• Long-Nosed Loach (Acantopsis dialuzona)
• Long-Whiskered Catfish (Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum)
• Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys)
• Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae)
• Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus)
• Longnose Sucker (Catostomus catostomus)
• Longnose Whiptail Catfish (Sturisoma barbatum)
• Lost River Sucker (Deltistes luxatus)
• Loweye Catfish (Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum)
• Lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri)
• Lyretail Killifish (Cape Lopez Lyretail Killifish)
• Lyretail Lamprologus (Neolamprologus brichardi)

Saltwater fish beginning with L:

• Ladyfish (Elops affinis)
• Lampfish (Dinoperca petersi)
• Lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox)
• Lanternfish (Myctophum punctatum)
• Leatherjacket (Oligoplites saurus)
• Lefteye Flounder (Arnoglossus laterna)
• Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris)
• Lemon Sole (Microstomus kitt)
• Lightfish (Ichthyococcus ovatus)
• Lined Sole (Achirus lineatus)
• Ling (Molva molva)
• Ling Cod (Ophiodon elongatus)
• Lionfish (Dendrochirus barberi)
• Lizardfish (Synodus intermedius)
• Long-Finned Pike (Dinolestes lewini)
• Longfin (Plesiops coeruleolineatus)
• Longfin Dragonfish (Tactostoma macropus)
• Longfin Escolar (Scombrolabrax heterolepis)
• Longjaw Mudsucker (Gillichthys mirabilis)
• Longneck Eel (Derichthys serpentinus)
• Longnose Chimaera (Harriotta raleighana)
• Longnose Lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox)
• Loosejaw (Astronesthes niger)
• Louvar (Luvaris imperialis)
• Luderick (Girella tricuspidata)
• Luminous Hake (Steindachneria argentea)
• Lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus)