General:
* Aquatic animal
* Marine life
* Sea creature
* Ocean dweller
* Subaquatic inhabitant
Specific:
* Fish (for creatures with gills and fins)
* Mollusk (for creatures with a soft body and a shell, like snails and clams)
* Crustacean (for creatures with a hard exoskeleton, like crabs and lobsters)
* Cnidarian (for creatures with stinging tentacles, like jellyfish and corals)
* Echinoderm (for creatures with a spiny skin, like starfish and sea urchins)
More poetic:
* Sea dweller
* Deep-sea denizen
* Water sprite
* Ocean wanderer
The best word to use will depend on the specific context of your writing or conversation.