What kind of fish is Flounder in ‘The Little Mermaid?’

Expect some massive appearance changes in the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Characters we know and love will more likely appear like their real-life counterparts rather than like their animated versions from the original 1989 film. And we’re not just talking about the mermaids.

Recently, the internet was shocked when early previews showed audiences live-action Sebastian and the fact he didn’t look exactly like his animated counterpart. The same was said of Flounder the fish since he no longer looked like the chubby-looking fish we all know and love. This reignited a question that was asked since the film was first released, what is Flounder’s species?

What kind of fish is Flounder in The Little Mermaid?

Let’s set the record straight, Flounder in The Little Mermaid isn’t a flounder fish. Not only do they look completely different but they’re categorized as a “flat fish.” Flounder is definitely not flat.

For a long time, fans on social media assumed Flounder’s species to be a “tropical fish.” Some have also agreed that this fictional sea creature has no defined species. Even the organization, Ocean Conservancy chimed in a year before Flounder’s live-action appearance was revealed. It claimed that Flounder may be some sort of angelfish or a colored reef fish.

With all this debate going on, it seems like people have forgotten that The Little Mermaid franchise was more than just films. According to The Little Mermaid animated TV series, Flounder was confirmed to be a guppy fish, and his original name was “Guppy Number 35.”

Unfortunately, if you search for what a guppy fish looks like, Flounder in the live-action film looks somewhat different from what real guppies look like. At the moment, it’s currently unknown if Disney changed Flounder’s species for the film or if it still considers the animated TV series canon. But one thing is certain, Flounder does look slightly bigger compared to his real-life fishy counterparts.