14 Fish Coloring Pages (Free Printable PDFs)

Pet fish, reef fish and a pond

Four pages show the kind of fish you might keep or see close to home. The goldfish page has a double tail spreading out like a fan, under lily pads in a garden pond. The fish bowl page brings a goldfish indoors, with a toy castle and pebbles inside a round glass bowl on a table. The angelfish is tall and flat, shaped a bit like a kite, and the betta floats under a row of bubbles.

The sea pages are busier. Our tropical fish drawing has five very different fish over a reef, and each one needs its own colors. The pufferfish is as round as a ball, with spikes all the way around. In the school of fish, more than 40 small fish swirl around a calm sea turtle. Look near the top for one big spotted fish going the wrong way.

Older kids and adults should head to the fish mandala, where eight koi swim around a ring of lotus flowers. More sea life lives on our ocean animal coloring pages.

Going fishing

If you came for coloring pages of fishing, there are a few good ones. The fishing trip shows a child and a bearded grandpa on a dock, side by side, with a dog at the end. Below the waterline, fish swim right past the hooks. The fishing boat page has a full net, a crate of the day's catch and a lighthouse on a green hill.

For younger kids, the cat with a fish is hard to beat. A big tabby sits on a dock and hugs a huge fish, looking very pleased with itself. We also drew a snowman who goes ice fishing with a penguin on the snowman and penguin page.

Fish coloring pages by skill

• Ages 3 to 7: The kawaii fish has soft, large shapes and heart bubbles. The cat with a fish suits this group too.
• Ages 5 to 10: The pufferfish and the clownfish have bold shapes, but more parts to stay inside.
• Ages 6 to 12: Most of the set sits here, including the goldfish, the angelfish and both fishing pages.
• Ages 8 to 14: The betta and the tropical fish have lots of small fin lines.
• Ages 9 and up: The mandala takes the longest. Sharp colored pencils work best.

Making fish look wet and shiny

Scales are the first thing kids ask about. Coloring each one takes time, so try this instead. Color the whole body in one light shade, then add a darker shade to every second or third scale. It looks full and it does not take all day.

Fins and tails look best with long strokes. Start where the fin joins the body and pull your crayon out toward the tip, pressing less as you go. That gives you dark near the body and light at the edge. The betta is great for this, since its wide tail can fade from red into purple or blue.

Water does not need to be one flat blue. Use light blue near the surface and deeper blue or teal at the bottom. Sideways, wavy strokes make it feel like it is moving. Leave small round spots white for bubbles.

Real fish can help with color choice. A clownfish is orange with white bands edged in black, so leave those bands open at the start. Goldfish look great in orange with a touch of yellow on the belly. On the reef, anything goes. Hot pink, lime green and bright yellow all look at home next to each other, and a young artist may invent a fish nobody has seen.

Print, or color on a screen

To print, press PDF on the card you want. To get every fish at once, press Download all at the top of this page, and one file arrives with a single drawing on each sheet. Pages are sized for US Letter, and on A4 you can choose Fit to page. Press Color if you would rather fill one in on a phone, tablet or computer. Blue water takes a lot of ink from a marker, so use thick paper or crayons for the big ocean pages.

True stories behind the drawings

Real fish are just as odd as our cartoon ones, and a short fact can bring a page to life. Clownfish live among the stinging arms of sea anemones, and a slimy coat keeps them safe. That is why the clownfish page shows the two together. A pufferfish blows itself up by swallowing water when it feels scared, so the pufferfish here is having a nervous day.

The bubble nest on the betta fish page is true to life as well. Male bettas build these floating nests at the surface to hold their eggs. Goldfish are a kind of carp, which is a nice link to the koi on the fish mandala, since koi are carp too. Read a fact aloud while your child colors, then ask them to tell it back to you at dinner.

Sort by the water they swim in

Some fish need fresh water and some need the salty sea. Spread out your finished pages and make two piles. The goldfish and the angelfish go in the fresh water pile, along with the betta. The clownfish and the reef fish on the tropical fish page go in the salt water pile. Kids who have a home tank may already know a lot about this, so let them lead.

Plan your colors for the school of fish

The school of fish looks like a big job, but a plan makes it easy. Pick just three colors and work around the ring in order, one fish of each color at a time. The pattern comes out neat, and your child will always know which crayon comes next. Save one bright color for the spotted fish going the wrong way, and the eye will go straight to it.

Younger kids can take the kawaii fish instead. It has two baby fish and a smiling star, so a child can give the whole family matching stripes or spots.

Games and class ideas

Make a paper fishing game. Color a few small fish, cut them out and slide a paper clip onto each one. Tie a magnet to a string on a stick, then let kids catch them from a blue blanket. Write a number on each fish and add up the catch.

Build a fish tank on the wall. Tape a big sheet of blue paper up, and let every student add one cut out fish. The school of fish is a fun one for counting too. Ask kids to count fish by color, or to find the crab at the bottom.

Older students can label a drawing. Pick the angelfish or the goldfish, then write the words fin, tail, eye and scales on small tags with lines pointing to each part. Mount the page on colored paper and it makes a neat science display.

If your family has a pet fish, color a page to match it and stick it near the tank. A fishing trip page also makes a sweet card for a grandpa.

Use these at home, in class or in a library at no cost. Our free use license explains the rules in plain words.

Questions