40 palettes

Aquarium Color Palette

One aquarium palette at a time: five colors of a lit fish tank, each named for its part.

Show all 40

Neon tetra: azure and redAzure side stripe, red rear stripe, pale blue back, silver belly, dark teal water.#2A9AEA · #E0241A · #C7E5F4 · #BEC6CB · #12454E

Next step Find a fish to paint Find an underwater scene to paint

All 40 palettes

Tank glass and water 10

Air stone: white on blue White bubbles, pale aqua bubble trail, sky blue lit water, blue backing sheet, gray air tube.
Big tank window: azure on navy Navy dark hall, azure water behind the glass, aqua light shafts, pale aqua surface far above, silver shoal.
Black backing: aqua on black Black backing sheet, teal open water, aqua lit edge, white lamp line, leaf green plant tips.
Blue backing: azure on cobalt Cobalt backing sheet, azure lit water, pale aqua surface shimmer, white lamp glare, black frame.
Filter flow: aqua on dark teal Silver outflow pipe, white froth, aqua moving water, teal still water, dark teal shade behind the filter.
Glass corner: pale aqua and pale gray Pale gray glass edge, pale aqua water near the lamp, turquoise water behind, silver corner seam, white reflection.
Goldfish tank: orange on aqua Orange goldfish, white second fish, aqua lit water, teal shaded water, pale blue surface line.
Night lamp: azure on navy Navy dark water, cobalt lamp glow, azure lit ripples, pale blue surface line, black room.
Surface ripple: pale blue on azure White lamp reflection, pale blue ripple crests, sky blue ripple backs, azure water below, cobalt far corner.
Tank light: pale aqua and turquoise White lamp, pale aqua lit water, aqua mid water, turquoise deep corner, charcoal hood.

Show all 40 palettes (30 more)

Tropical fish 10

Cardinal tetra: scarlet and azure Scarlet lower body, azure side line, leaf green plants behind, black backing sheet, teal water.
Clown loach: orange and black Orange body, black bands, red-orange pelvic fins, sand floor, aqua water.
Dwarf gourami: blue and red Blue stripes, red stripes between, silver female, leaf green plants behind, aqua water.
Harlequin rasbora: black on orange-pink Orange-pink body, black triangle patch, leaf green plants behind, tan gravel, teal water.
Neon tetra: azure and red Azure side stripe, red rear stripe, pale blue back, silver belly, dark teal water.
Powder blue tang: blue and yellow Blue sides, yellow dorsal fin, black head, white throat and lower fins, turquoise water.
Rummy-nose tetra: red and silver Red head, silver body, black tail stripes, white tail between the stripes, teal water.
Tiger barb: gold and black Gold body, black vertical stripes, red fins and snout, silver paler fish, turquoise water.
Yellow tang: yellow on azure Yellow body, white tail barb, pink reef behind, gray rock, azure water.
Zebra danio: blue and gold Blue stripes, gold stripes between, silver stripes of the female, white belly, aqua water.

Coral and plants 10

Branch coral: salmon on cobalt Salmon branches, peach branch tips, magenta sponge, ivory floor, cobalt water.
Floating leaves: lime on aqua Lime floating leaves, mint hanging roots, white lamp, aqua water, dark teal water below.
Moss ball: green on sand Green moss ball, dark green its shaded side, sand floor, pale aqua water, white bubbles.
Plant carpet: lime on walnut brown Lime carpet, leaf green taller stems, walnut brown soil, slate gray stone, pale aqua water.
Planted corner: leaf green and lime Leaf green broad leaves, lime new shoots, dark green shade, tan driftwood, aqua water.
Plastic reef: hot pink and lime Hot pink coral ornament, orange second ornament, lime plastic plant, beige gravel, azure water.
Red stems: deep red and leaf green Deep red stem plants, leaf green leaves behind, lime front shoots, black backing sheet, teal water.
Ribbon plants: green on turquoise Green ribbon leaves, olive old leaves, mint lit leaf edges, sand floor, turquoise water.
Sea fan: coral on blue Coral fan, pink cup corals, purple rock crust, golden yellow small fish, blue water.
Soft coral: pink on azure Pink coral arms, hot pink arm tips, lavender rock crust, sand floor, azure water.

Gravel and stone 10

Black sand: black and pale aqua Black sand floor, charcoal ripples, silver pale stone, leaf green plant, pale aqua water.
Bubbling chest: gold on walnut brown Tan gravel, walnut brown chest, gold coins, white bubbles, aqua water.
Clay pot cave: terracotta on tan Tan gravel, terracotta pot on its side, brown pot mouth, olive plant, aqua water.
Driftwood arch: walnut brown on sand Sand floor, walnut brown driftwood, brown lit side of the wood, leaf green moss on it, pale aqua water.
Kuhli loach: dark brown and salmon Sand floor, dark brown bars, salmon gaps between the bars, beige underside, aqua water.
Pebble slope: beige and turquoise Beige pebbles, tan pebble shadows, taupe larger stones, brown root, turquoise water.
River gravel: tan and aqua Tan gravel, taupe darker stones, beige pale stones, slate gray flat stone, aqua water.
Slate cave: slate gray on beige Beige sand floor, slate gray slab, charcoal cave mouth, gray lit slab edge, teal water.
Sunken ship: brown on tan Tan gravel, brown hull, rust anchor, gray mast, teal water.
White sand: ivory and aqua Ivory sand floor, beige sand shadows, pale gray shell bits, coral shell, aqua water.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-13: palettes of five colors for a picture of a lit fish tank, in four kinds (tank glass and water, tropical fish, coral and plants, gravel and stone). Every palette, name, color word and hex code is our own choice; nothing is sampled from a photograph, and no aquarium, shop, maker, product, film or character is named. How a strip is ordered: each color is named for its part and the name carries two of the colors; a Tropical fish strip gives the fish first and ends on its water; a Gravel and stone strip starts with the floor of the tank. Our own tests, not a standard: every strip names its water, in a color with an HSL hue from 160 to 230 degrees; a Tank glass and water strip holds three or more colors in that range and one light (a lightness of 84 percent or more); a Coral and plants strip holds two or more greens (a hue from 65 to 170 degrees) or two or more reef colors (pinks, reds and oranges at a saturation of 55 percent or more); a Gravel and stone strip holds three or more quiet colors (a saturation of 45 percent or less). The colors of each named fish, checked on 2026-10-13 against its article on English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ and the title; text under CC BY-SA 4.0); the part of a strip named plants, gravel, rock, reef, floor, backing sheet or water is a setting of our own: Neon tetra (a light-blue back, a silver-white belly, a bright, shimmering blue stripe the length of each side and an iridescent red stripe from the middle of the body to the base of the tail fin); Cardinal tetra (an iridescent blue line along the body, the body below this line vivid red); Zebrafish, sold as the zebra danio (five horizontal blue stripes; the male has gold between his blue stripes, the female silver ones and a whitish belly); Tiger barb (silver to brownish yellow, four upright black bars, red snout and fins); Harlequin rasbora (a basal colour of orange-pink and a large, roughly triangular black marking); Acanthurus leucosternon, the powder blue tang (the sides are blue, the dorsal fin and the base of the tail fin yellow, the head black, the mouth, the throat area and the anal and pelvic fins white); Yellow tang (bright yellow, with a white barb just before the tail fin); Dwarf gourami (males in the wild are striped diagonally in blue and red by turns; females are a silvery color); Clown loach (a whitish-orange to reddish-orange body with three thick, black, triangular, vertical bands; reddish-orange pelvic fins on fish from Sumatra); Rummy-nose tetra (a translucent silvery body, a deep red head, a tail fin with black and white horizontal stripes); Goldfish (known in many mixes of red, orange, yellow, white, brown and black); Kuhli loach (10 to 15 upright bars, dark brown to black, the gaps between them yellow to salmon pink, and a pale underside). Which code stands for each of those colors is our choice. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand or color-matching system, and one word is one code everywhere on this list. Checked on 2026-10-13: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no palette, name or line repeats, no two palettes share four codes, no two colors of a palette are closer than 8 in CIE Lab, and no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint, pencils or markers, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

An aquarium color palette here is one corner of a lit fish tank in five colors: the water under the lamp, a tropical fish, coral or plants, the gravel on the floor. Every strip names its water.

Read the full guide

Four parts of the tank

Tank glass and water holds three or more blues of the water and a near-white, most often the lamp. Tropical fish gives one fish its colors and ends on the water. Coral and plants is two or more greens, or two or more pinks and oranges of a reef. Gravel and stone starts with the floor and stays quiet.

Fish colors come from the species

Each fish wears the colors its Wikipedia article gives it. A tiger barb is gold #D9AB20 with black vertical stripes and red fins and snout; a harlequin rasbora is orange-pink with a black triangle. Where an article gives fewer than four colors, plants, rock or gravel fill the strip.

Questions and answers

What colors are in an aquarium color palette?

The water first: aqua #82D9DE, turquoise #26C9C7 and azure #2A9AEA, with white #F5F9FA for the lamp. Then a black backing, leaf green #399433 plants and tan #BA9569 gravel. Fish and coral bring the reds, oranges and pinks.

What color is a neon tetra?

A light-blue back, a silver-white belly, a bright, shimmering blue stripe the length of each side and an iridescent red stripe from the middle of the body to the tail. Here the two stripes are azure #2A9AEA and red #E0241A.

What colors are tropical fish?

It depends on the species. A cardinal tetra is vivid red below an iridescent blue line. A yellow tang is bright yellow. A powder blue tang has blue sides, a yellow dorsal fin, a black head and a white throat.

What color is aquarium gravel?

On this list the floor is tan #BA9569 river gravel, beige #D8CEBB pebbles, or ivory #F6F4EA or black #111418 sand. Those strips keep three or more quiet colors, so the water and one plant or ornament stand out.

Is an aquarium palette the same as an ocean palette?

No. These are tanks: glass, a lamp, plants, gravel, ornaments. For open water, see the wave color palette; for sand and shallows, beach color combinations.