You’d agree that the most common fishes that aquarists keep are guppy, betta fish, platy, tetra, catfish, oscar, goldfish, koi, etc. However, this makes a curious person wonder whether there are fish that starts with x or even stranger names.
Even with naming, they are not so common. But here’s a shocker; there are over eighty fish with names that starts with x. We bet you didn’t expect it.
But of the eighty, there are only about 12 that are common and known among aquarists. Let’s check them out!
1. X-ray Tetra
X-ray Tetra or pristella maxillaris is a charachin of the genus pristella. It got its x-ray name because it has a transparent body.
You can find them in the Amazonian coastal waters of Brazil, Venezuela, Guiana, and Guyana. Tetras are common, but this specific fish is different from them.
It will interest you to know that they’re hardy freshwater fish, and while they are not so popular, they are cool to keep in your tank.
Don’t mistake this Tetra with Neon Tetra, they are 2 different kinds of fish.
2. Xenaploactis Asperrima
This fish is a type of Xenaploactis fish species, a tropical marine fish. They have ray fins, and you’ll find them in the western central Pacific of the East Indies.
Additionally, the Xenaploactis Asperrima have modified scales on their bodies that form some kinds of spinous points. They usually grow up to about 4cm in length with strong bones, spines, and mouths.
3. Xenichthys Agassizii
Xenichtys agassizii belongs to the Xenichtys fish species. They’re marine fish, and their natural habitat is in the tropical southeast pacific oceans.
They don’t usually stay above the water, rather you’ll find them between 3 to 18 m depth in the ocean. Also, they can reach up to 20 cm in length when they grow, so if you plan to keep them, you should be ready to get a big tank because of their length.
4. Xenichthys Xanti
This is another fish that belongs to the Xenichthys specie, and they basically live beneath the sandy parts of the ocean. People also know them as bigeye grunt, and others know them as longfin Salema if that rings a bell.
This Xenichthys fish is a known native to the eastern Pacific ocean, and T.N Gills discovered them in 1863. Like the agassizii type, they grow to a very obvious length between 18 and 24 cm.
5. Xenisthmus Balius
Xenistymus Balius is a species of the xenisthmidea (wriggler) family, and they are also known as freckled wriggler. They’re tropical marine fish with the western Indian ocean as their natural habitat.
They usually stay between 2 to 17m depth of the ocean. However, they don’t grow as long as the other fishes mentioned above.
The females of this particular fish tend to grow shorter in length. For example, their maximum length is pretty much about 2.6 cm.
6. Xenisthmus Clarus
This fish is part of the wriggler family but what makes it different is that it’s also known as clear wriggler. Its natural habitats are the western and southern Pacific.
While those are their habitats, they prefer to stay at the intertidal and coral reef over sandy bottoms, with a depth of 0 to 40 m.
7. Xantic Sargo
Xantic sargo is totally different from sargo fish (from the sea bream family). Rather, it is from the grunt family because it makes some grunting sounds when its teeth and plate rub together.
In addition, their natural habitat is in the coastal waters of the eastern Pacific. They have silvery skin, elongated bodies, pouty lips, and compressed backs.
Due to their lips, some people call them sweetlips. Moreover, they can grow up to about 22 inches, but most of them only remain at 11 inches as grown adults.
Lastly, xantic sargo isn’t a commercial fish but more like a recreational gamefish.
8. Xenaploactis Anopta
Xenaploactis anopta belongs to the aploactinidae family, and they are bony ray-finned fish. They are tropical marine fish, and their main habitat is the western Pacific and eastern Indian oceans.
Moreover, this fish tends to have a similar structure to other xenaploactis fish and have the same genus. Modified scales cover their body compared to others, and they usually grow up to 3.7 cm in length.
9. Xanthogramma Sandperch
This fish has many other names, mostly based on its physical features. Some of its other names are grubfish, spotted weever, spotted grubfish, weever, weever fish, and parapercis hexophtalma.
We think all are easy to pronounce, well, apart from the last one…
Moving on, Georges Cuvier was the first to report their existence in 1829, and they’ve been known since.
Their native habitat is the western part of the Indo-Pacific ocean. However, they mainly live in shallow waters and are predatory fish.
Their colors are usually greenish with dark brown dots, but the females sometimes can be different. Finally, their average length is 28 cm.
10. Xanthichthys Lima
Xanthichthys Lima belongs to the family of triggerfish and is also an actinopetri species; they are ray-finned. Additionally, they have similar characters with puffers and filefishes if you’re familiar with them.
They are tropical marine fish, and their habitat is in reef environments in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans.
11. Xenaploactis Cautes
Xenaploactis cautes also belong to the xenaploactis species, and while that is so, they have different features from other species in the family. This is due to their body structure and habitat.
People also know them as rough velvetfish, which is easier to pronounce. Their habitats are western Australia, the indo-western Pacific, the Gulf of Thailand, Queensland, and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Lastly, their maximum length is about 2.8 cm.
12. Xenichthys Rupestris
Xenichthys rupestris is another grunt genus. They are ray-finned marine fish with their native habitat in the tropical eastern Pacific ocean.
Also, they can grow up to 30 cm and stay on sandy bottoms in the ocean. Their color is usually gray, with three broad stripes across their bodies.
Conclusion
More than the twelve common fish that starts with x have been discussed in this article, with over seventy others you probably have no idea about. For example, there are xenotoca eiseni, xenocypris fangi, xenochromis hecqui, xenocypris davidi, and many others.
Aside from fishes that start with x, there are many others that you probably don’t know are out there or, you know but have no idea about their names. That’s okay; just like you learned about these fishes today, you can always know more.
For example, do you know anything about fishes with legs?
