Fish That Can’t Swim

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

Months ago, I read that there are fish who can’t swim.  I found this very interesting since most people assume swimming is required to be a fish.  Then again, not all birds fly and not all mammals give birth to live young.  Now, these fish with walk or hop along the seafloor or drift with the tides.  There are some that can swim, but either aren’t very good at it (seahorses) or prefer to walk instead of glide (sea robins).  Added them even though I’m not sure if they count.  Without further ado:

Batfish

Cockatoo Waspfish

Coffinfish

Frogfish

Mudskipper

Sea Robin

Seahorse

Stonefish

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About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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13 Responses to Fish That Can’t Swim

  1. noelleg44's avatar noelleg44 says:
    July 12, 2026 at 9:44 am

    Fascinating, Charles! I had to look closely to see the eyes on the stone fish. Great camouflage.

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  2. John W. Howell's avatar John W. Howell says:
    July 12, 2026 at 9:07 pm

    Terrific , Charles. The videos are very interesting as are the fish themselves. The mud fish digging a tunnel was fascinating.

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  4. DebyFredericks's avatar DebyFredericks says:
    July 13, 2026 at 10:31 am

    I like the cockatoo waspfish, and of course the seahorse!

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  5. Jennie's avatar Jennie says:
    July 13, 2026 at 3:13 pm

    The names are as cool as the fish… but coffinfish?

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