Drawquarium Tier List: Fish Ranked by Usefulness

Drawquarium has no combat, no damage numbers, and no published fish stats, so a conventional tier list would be fiction. What the game does have is jobs: keeping the tank clean, producing babies, filling a wallpaper frame, and teaching the editor. This tier list ranks fish templates by how well they do those jobs. A fish in S tier is not stronger than a fish in C tier; it is more useful more often.

If you want individual picks instead of tiers, the best fish guide→ breaks them down.

The criteria

Each template is judged on four things:

1. Readability at wallpaper distance. Can you tell what it is when the tank fills a monitor?
2. Maintenance cost. How much feeding and cleaning does it add?
3. System value. Does it unlock or support breeding, cleaning, or goals?
4. Drawing forgiveness. Can a beginner make a good version in ten minutes?

A template that scores well on all four is S tier. A template that is beautiful but expensive to keep is A or B. A template that only works as a one-off joke is C.

S tier: the templates that carry a tank

Standard fish. The default body is the best all-rounder in the game. It animates cleanly, reads at any distance, breeds, and takes color well. Every tank should have at least one. If you only ever draw one template, draw this one well.

Bottom feeder. The only confirmed support role in the game. It eats leftover food on the substrate, which directly reduces cleaning time. A bottom feeder pays for its maintenance in the first week. Give it a flat mouth and a wide body so it reads as a grazer.

Small schooling fish. Cheap to draw, cheap to feed individually, and the fastest way to make a tank look populated. The caveat is numbers: five is atmosphere, twenty is a second job. Keep the school small and recolor a few members.

A tier: strong picks with a cost

Jellyfish. Excellent for wallpaper mode: slow drifting motion, strong silhouette, and a body that looks good with glow. It is less useful for breeding because the shape is unusual, and its tentacles need to be drawn thick or they vanish at distance.

Bioluminescent fish. A modifier rather than a template, but it belongs in A because it changes the mood of an entire tank. Glow is strongest in a dark scene with glowing plants. It does not help with cleaning or breeding, so it is a presentation pick.

Sailfish. A great centerpiece for an open-water tank. The long bill and tall fin read instantly. The cost is space: a sailfish in a crowded tank clips through plants and looks wrong. Build an open lane first.

B tier: situational

Shark. The best "wow" fish for a large tank and a poor choice for a small one. It dominates the frame, needs open water, and adds a large hunger ring. If you want a predator centerpiece, commit the whole tank to it.

Golden fish. A prestige outcome rather than a template you choose. It is B because you cannot plan a tank around one; you earn it by keeping a fish healthy for a long time. When it appears, it becomes the centerpiece by default.

Baby fish. Necessary for a breeding project, but not a permanent display fish. They are small, hard to see, and need a grow-out tank. Rank them by their role, not by their looks.

C tier: one-off fun

Joke shapes and meme fish. A fish shaped like a shoe or a sandwich is funny for a screenshot and tiring in a wallpaper. That is fine. Draw one, laugh, and move it to the workshop tank.

Ultra-detailed show fish. A fish with scales, gradients, and five fin layers can look great in the editor and muddy in the tank. Detail is not a defect, but it is a cost: more drawing time, more risk of visual noise.

How to use this list

Do not copy the tiers into a shopping list. The game gives you templates, not classes, and any template can be drawn to do any job. Use the list to answer a specific question:

• First fish? Standard fish.
• Tank always dirty? Bottom feeder.
• Wallpaper looks empty? Small school plus one jellyfish.
• Want babies? Two standard fish, not a shark and a jellyfish.
• Want a show tank? Shark or sailfish, open water, dark background.

Official source: Drawquarium on Steam ↗ and the demo feature list ↗, rokaplay ↗ and the Drawquarium Discord ↗

RECOMMENDED GUIDE

STRATEGY GUIDE5 min read · In-Depth

Best Fish in Drawquarium: Picks by Goal

The best-fish page turns these tiers into specific picks for a first tank, a breeding tank, and a wallpaper tank.

Read Full Strategy Guide →

FAQ

Is there a best fish in Drawquarium?

There is no best fish in an absolute sense. The best fish is the one that solves your current problem: a bottom feeder for a dirty tank, a standard fish for breeding, a jellyfish for a calm wallpaper.

Do tier lists matter in a cozy game?

Only as a planning tool. The game has no fail state, so a C-tier fish is not a mistake. It is a choice with a maintenance cost.

Will this tier list change after release?

Yes. The release build may add species-specific behavior, new templates, or balance changes. The page will be updated when the developer publishes details.

Where do golden fish rank?

They are a result, not a template. Rank them by what they do for a tank: they become an instant centerpiece, so they are A-tier presentation and B-tier planning.