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8 ASCII fish to copy: small designs and scenes

Choose a one-line fish or a small scene with bubbles and a bowl. Each design uses strict ASCII and includes calculated dimensions and a TXT download.

All eight designs

8 designs available

Small fish

ASCII
><>

3 columns × 1 lines

A one-line message.

TXT file

Facing left

ASCII
<><

3 columns × 1 lines

A left-facing design.

TXT file

Long fish

ASCII
><(((o>

7 columns × 1 lines

A horizontal silhouette.

TXT file

Facing pair

ASCII
><>  <><

8 columns × 1 lines

Two fish separated by spaces.

TXT file

Fish and bubbles

ASCII
     o
    o
><(((o>

7 columns × 3 lines

Bubbles extend the design upward.

TXT file

Fish bowl

ASCII
 .-------.
/         \
|   ><>   |
\_________/

11 columns × 4 lines

A fish in a rounded frame.

TXT file

Under a wave

ASCII
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
  ><>

9 columns × 2 lines

Two lines for a small scene.

TXT file

School of fish

ASCII
><>    ><>
   ><>

10 columns × 2 lines

Three staggered small fish.

TXT file

Choose the right size

DesignColumnsLinesUse
Small fish31A one-line message.
Facing left31A left-facing design.
Long fish71A horizontal silhouette.
Facing pair81Two fish separated by spaces.
Fish and bubbles73Bubbles extend the design upward.
Fish bowl114A fish in a rounded frame.
Under a wave92Two lines for a small scene.
School of fish102Three staggered small fish.

Two examples explained

Small fish

><>

The ><> design occupies three columns: the first angle suggests the tail and the other two the body. Reversing the angles gives <><, facing left. This change is deliberate; an application must not interpret them as HTML tags.

Fish bowl

 .-------.
/         \
|   ><>   |
\_________/

The bowl is eleven columns at its widest line. Spaces surround the fish; removing them from one side shifts the visual centre. To replace ><> with a longer fish, widen the bowl too or reduce the interior spacing.

Customise the composition

These silhouettes do not depict specific species. A three-character variant favours quick recognition; a larger scene favours composition. To assemble a school, repeat one design with regular spacing, then check line wrapping.

Copy and check

  1. Copy the complete design or download its TXT file.
  2. Paste into a code block or monospace editor.
  3. Check leading spaces and width on a phone.
  4. Keep a descriptive sentence when the drawing carries information.

Markdown blocks · Accessible description

Scope and sources

These designs are variants of simple shapes, without claims of historical authorship. RFC 20 defines the ASCII repertoire. A text file does not enforce the reader’s font: on the Web, HTML preformatted text preserves the structure. For a pasting problem, follow the alignment diagnostic.

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