How to choose a Pet Fish Name
I’ve never really thought about naming the fish in my freshwater tank, but decided I would when I bought my first Betta. I mean they really are a different type of pet. Fish don’t come when you call them by name like dogs do. I’ve found it does give fish some personality though.
Near the end of the post I’ll show you how to pick a pet fish name for your new friend.
My first Betta, I named Sam because I wasn’t sure if the fish was a male or female Betta. The next fish I gave a name to was Pat (the Crowntail Betta to the right). I made it to the pet store recently and picked up another fish for the second hanging wall tank. He’s to the left above.
Now it’s decision time. The first two names I gave my pet fish are fairly common names for a boy or girl. This time I’d like something cool. Like Nemo. Now there’s a cool name for a boy fish. I could try naming him something funny too. I feel like I’m playing that game… name that fish! I’d like a name that’s more unique than popular for the fish though.
Ok. How do you pick a pet fish name? I want to point out that my pet is a fish, so the name should have something to do with water or fish. I pulled up the handy thesaurus and looked up… water. A few names popped out at me. Aqua and bubble. One of those could be the first part.
How about a boy fish name? Bill, Bob, Jake, Henry. Those are all good fish names for a boy fish, but I want something unique.
Lets combine Bubble and Bob to get Bubblebob. That’s funny. How about Aquabob? That’s a cool name. This Betta has an attitude. I chose the fish name Aquabob for my new pet. Let’s hope he likes it. Choosing a name for your fish can be fun. Just pull out the thesaurus and choose names that are similar to something about your pet. Do you like the name I chose?
February 28th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Thanks for popping by, it’s given me the chance to discover your site, which by the way is fantastic, i shall be popping over regularly.
Anyway Aquabob is a cool name for your betta, and of the fish i have only three have names my severum is called Seve Ballesteros, my flowerhorn is called Petal and my Sajica pair are called Mr+Mrs T.
February 28th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Hi Paul,
Hey. Thanks for checking out my site. Fun way too combine a couple of hobbies. Like your use of names. T for the T-Bar cichlids. I’ve never tried cichlids. Will have to give it a whirl one of these days.
Mike
May 15th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Haha! That’s awesome. I didn’t do anything like that, but I’d like to think that my betta has a semi-unique name. His name is Icabod!
May 25th, 2007 at 10:44 am
Like the name! That is unique.
August 31st, 2007 at 7:41 am
took some thinking and i decided on naming my Betta Atari;)
August 31st, 2007 at 7:52 am
Atari. Kewl name!
October 4th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
The way you make up names is really cool! I like the name BuubleBob. I have 2 female bettas. I called one Marina and Lilly. They r both really cool,like Lilly because she does a little happy dance when i come over and Marina cause she can jump 10cm into the air! I was thinking on what names u could think of for my fish.
Do u like the name Raplish or Rapalishus?
October 5th, 2007 at 10:24 am
Hey Liv-o!
You do a great job at pickin’ names. They mean something to you. I wudda never come up with Rapalishus… Like it!
October 9th, 2007 at 5:54 am
I just bought a new betta and wanted a unique name for it now that I found your site I am going to choose a cool name AquaBob is kind of funny
October 9th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Hi Jade,
Thanks for stopping by, and Good Luck with your betta!
December 19th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
I have a fish named Gillagin, after my friends fish who’s names is Finnagin. I’m going to get another but I’m out of ideas for a name. This site is helpful. I think I’ll go look in the thesaurus! =D
I’m thinking of calling her Algea. Not very unqique but that doesn’t matter right now… Aquabob’s a weird name but I like it. =P
December 19th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Jaclyn,
Aquabob says thanks for the compliment. He is kind of weird.
February 9th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
hey I am a 11 year old girl and I just my own fish at a Walmart supercenter .I named my fish Naturally Sadie becuase that is one of the shows that I love to watch and the girls name in the show is Sadie I am not sure how to tell if a fish is a boy or a girl if you have any tips for me can you please send them? cool name for your fish !
February 12th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Hi Cally,
Good luck with the new fish. I like the name Sadie.
As for figuring out if a fish is male or female.. it often depends on the type of fish. Usually one of the fins is shaped different.
Mike
February 14th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
i have a female i named her Penalope.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I had a 1 year old Betta named Patriot, who recently died. I currently have Blossom, my female Betta. She is a very young blue-purple Betta i recently purchased. So i think the name fits.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Penalope, Patriot, and Blossom. Cute names!
February 24th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Hey, i just got a male beta fish yesterday and im stummped for a name. at the moment we just call him beta. any name suggestions?
February 24th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Hi Whitney,
What’s your favorite actor or singers name? Use that.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I think ziggy
cookie monster
elmo
fish
junior
etc would be pretty cool names for fish
March 9th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Hey JibJib,
I like ‘em!
April 12th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
For our goldfish, I pretty much thought of names from the top of my head.
+ I named the silver goldfish Termite [because silverfish are super nasty-looking].
+ Spot is covered in spots
+ Raccoon has a black ‘mask’
+ Lefty is missing his right fin
+ Niki Jr. is my dog’s personal fish, so we named it after him
+ Nippy keeps nipping at our ghost shrimp
+ Anchor nearly always sits at the bottom of the tank, except at feeding time
I also named our 2 swordtails, Wiatt and Phoebe, after characters on the TV show “Charmed”
The shrimp we named after spring-related things [Breeze, Dewdrop, Rosebud, Flower Pedal, and Sky]
April 12th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Hi there Emikah…
I love your names! You really took some time thinking about them.
My fav has gotta be “Lefty”.
Mike
April 15th, 2008 at 7:13 am
hey
I’m getting a fish and i don’t know what to names her
please help me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 16th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Chelsea,
How can you name a fish you haven’t seen yet? Write down the first three you think of, and then choose your favorite.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Dear Cally
Im turning 11 this year.I love the name sadie. Many people ask the same question ? This is the answer for siamese fighting fish: Most Males Have long Fins and are much prettier then the females. Females are less prettier,they are also smaller than the males and they have short fins. It also depends on what sort of breed it is you can research that. I hope that helps a bit
Xox Alix