Fish and Aquarium Wallpaper for iPhone, Still or Moving

For a fish wallpaper on iPhone, set an aquarium photo on the Lock Screen and Home Screen. Use a Live Photo of fish on the Lock Screen so they move when you wake the iPhone, and add an aquarium widget if you want fish swimming on the Home Screen. Here is how to choose the picture and put the three together.

Choose a fish photo that works as a wallpaper

• Deep blue water: a dark, even background keeps icons and the clock readable. Tanks with lots of plants or bright gravel look busy behind apps.
• Fish in the lower half: the clock covers the top of the Lock Screen, so a frame with fish near the bottom shows them better.
• Jellyfish or koi: jellyfish on a black background suit dark icons. A koi pond seen from above makes a calm, top-down pattern.
• Your own photos: pictures from an aquarium visit are free to use and can be Live Photos. If you download images, check that their license allows personal use.

Set it on both screens

1. Open Settings → Wallpaper and tap Add New Wallpaper.
2. Tap Photos and choose your fish picture.
3. Tap Add, then Set as Wallpaper Pair to use it on both screens, or Customize Home Screen to change only the Home Screen.
4. On the Home Screen, choose Blur if the photo makes icons hard to read.

These steps are from Apple’s iOS 27 wallpaper guide ↗. If the photo is a Live Photo, tap the Live Photo button in the Lock Screen editor so the fish move when the iPhone wakes, as described in Apple’s Lock Screen guide ↗. Our live wallpaper guide covers turning a video into a Live Photo and what to check if it doesn’t move.

Fish that swim on the Home Screen

The Home Screen wallpaper doesn’t move, so for fish that swim while you use your phone, you need an aquarium widget. Add it by touching and holding the Home Screen, then tapping Edit and Add Widget, as in Apple’s widget guide ↗.

Aquarium Widgets ↗ is our app. You create aquariums, choose backgrounds, add fish from themed packs and keep them healthy by feeding and cleaning. The widget shows the tank’s current state. On iOS 27, an extra-large tank holds up to 12 fish. The app is free to download, and putting an aquarium on the Home Screen requires the premium upgrade, sold as a subscription or a one-time purchase. Other fish tank apps are in our aquarium widget comparison.

Match the wallpaper and the tank

Pick a wallpaper in the same blue as the tank’s background, so the widget looks like a window into the water. Put the tank at the top of the first page and keep two rows of apps below it.

To tint the icons to match, touch and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit, then Customize, choose Tinted and use the eyedropper on your wallpaper, as in Apple’s customization guide ↗. Tinting also recolors widgets, and Apple’s WidgetKit guidance ↗ says it turns most images white. To keep the fish in color, stay on Default or Dark. For more ideas, see our cozy Home Screen setups.