Enlighten Aquarium support

Enlighten Aquarium is a Power BI Custom Visual that brings your data to life — literally. It turns KPIs into a dynamic aquatic ecosystem where fish size, color, and speed reflect performance metrics. The result? Mundane reporting becomes a fun, visual conversation starter that keeps teams aligned and engaged.

Seamlessly. You can add it directly from the Microsoft Marketplace (formerly AppSource) to any Power BI report, just like any other custom visual. It automatically works with your existing data models with no extra configuration.

You can add it directly to Power BI from the Microsoft Marketplace (formerly AppSource). Go to marketplace.microsoft.com and search for Enlighten Aquarium. There you can try it out for free or buy licenses right away. Just like any other custom visual, Enlighten Aquarium automatically works with your existing data models with no extra configuration. Our Setup Guide has step-by-step instructions to get you swimming in no time.

Absolutely. Enlighten Aquarium is a Microsoft-certified Power BI custom visual, which means it meets the highest standards for security and privacy. It is a client-side visual, so your data is processed within your browser and your Power BI environment. All processing stays within Power BI. Enlighten Aquarium doesn't transmit or store your data anywhere outside Microsoft’s environment.

All Pro tiers unlock extensive customization including colors, themes, and fish types — whether you're on a per-user Marketplace license or a site license (Team, Business, or Enterprise).

The magic of Enlighten Aquarium is that it’s inherently engaging! The ludified experience — think gamification, but designed to make work itself fun rather than adding game mechanics on top — and clear visuals naturally encourage adoption. Visit our Ludification and Gamification pages to learn more about both approaches.

Everyone from Data Analysts to Sales Managers, Teachers to Health & Safety Directors! Typical users want to make dashboards fun, improve team performance, encourage compliance, or simply help people care about data again.

Show them the numbers. Teams using Engagement Visuals, like Enlighten Aquarium, often see increased participation, faster data entry, and measurable improvements in KPIs. People will lean into the data shown in the Enlighten Aquarium instead of tuning out. If that fails… just show them the fish.

While the Starter edition of Enlighten Aquarium is free, it doesn't provide the full experience that will really get people motivated and swimming in the same direction. To upgrade, choose the Pro option that fits your team. Per-user licensing is available through the Microsoft Marketplace — see our Purchase Guide for step-by-step instructions. For site licensing (unlimited users), compare the Team, Business, and Enterprise tiers on our homepage pricing section.

Inside Power BI: click the three dots (…) → Get more visuals → Search “Enlighten Aquarium” → Add → Place the visual → Try a Pro field → Follow the Upgrade link that appears → Choose Pro Plan.

Enlighten Aquarium Pro unlocks extra data controls for multi-metric storytelling (fish size, speed, school, colors, data labels) and access to more aquarium themes (classic, seafloor, dusk).

Marketplace (per user): USD $3/user/month or $30/user/year. Site License (unlimited users): Team — $499/year, Business — $1,499/year, Enterprise — $4,999/year. Contact our team to get started with a site license.

Yes, while the Enlighten Aquarium Starter edition is always free, you can also try the Enlighten Aquarium Pro edition free for 30 days to unlock additional features.

Yes — site licenses cover unlimited users across your organization. All three tiers (Team, Business, and Enterprise) are available. Contact our team to purchase a site license and we’ll get you set up quickly.

Yes! There are education (EDU) licenses available — perfect for classrooms, universities, and data-literacy projects.

Yes — site licenses cover unlimited users across your organization. All three tiers (Team, Business, and Enterprise) are available. Contact our team to discuss your requirements and get a site license set up.

For support, contact Enlighten Aquarium via our contact page. We’re always happy to dive in and help.

This depends on your license type. Marketplace license: Pro features require each viewer of a shared report to hold their own Enlighten Aquarium Pro license. Site license (Team, Business, or Enterprise): All users in your organization are covered — no per-user license is required. If your team is still seeing the free version, check that your unlock key has been activated correctly.

In Power BI Desktop, place the Enlighten Aquarium visual on your report canvas and hook up some data. When you try to use a “Pro” field (like School, Fish Speed, or Y-Axis), a small “Upgrade” pop-up appears in the top-right of the visual. Click that to start the in-app purchase flow.

Absolutely! Depending on if you have the free Enlighten Aquarium Starter or Enlighten Aquarium Pro edition, you can adjust sizes, colors, backgrounds, and movement. You can even select fish species, such as a whale, shark, angelfish, or a butterflyfish.

It can display hundreds of fish comfortably but keep in mind performance depends on your dataset and browser. Fewer, more meaningful fish often tell clearer stories.

Yes. Power BI Embedded is supported on the Enterprise site license. Contact our team to discuss this use case and get set up.

After purchasing a site license, you’ll receive an unlock key by email. Visit our Activate Your License page at /activate for step-by-step instructions on entering your key in Power BI.

Enlighten Aquarium is a Power BI Custom Visual, so it runs natively inside Power BI Desktop, Power BI Service, and Power BI Embedded. It doesn't work directly in Tableau, Looker, Qlik, or other BI platforms. However, with our Business and Enterprise site license plans, you can use Publish to Web to embed Aquarium visuals on any webpage — including internal portals, intranets, and dashboards built in other tools. If your organization uses multiple BI platforms and you want to display Aquarium visuals alongside them, Publish to Web is the way to go.

You can call your fish whatever you’d like but here at Enlighten Designs, we have some aquatic ambassadors: Stella the Storyteller (a pink whale), Alvin the Alchemist (a purple shark), Ellie the Explorer (a blue fish), Milo the Muse (a yellow butterflyfish), and Rory the Rescuer (a navy angelfish). Together, they make up the Enlighten Aquarium crew!

Indeed. You earn it every time your metric outswims expectations. Just remember: friendly competition only. No eating the little fish, please.

Color-code KPIs by initiative, use movement sparingly, and give your Enlighten Aquarium tank or team a name, like: "Shark Tank Sales Swim-Off" or "Pod for the Planet." That extra narrative spark turns reporting into ritual.

Gamification adds game mechanics like points, badges, and rewards to motivate specific behaviors. It’s about external incentives to drive action. Ludification makes the work itself inherently fun and engaging. Instead of adding rewards on top of tasks, it transforms the experience into something playful and enjoyable from within. The key difference: Gamification motivates through prizes. Ludification creates joy through participation.

Technically, yes. But use responsibly! Some users prefer calmer species for delicate topics, like annual reviews.

Something to make you wave your fins in the air, like you just don’t care, of course! Here are some ideas: The Classic Waves — “Beyond the Sea” – Bobby Darin, “Under the Sea” – Samuel E. Wright (from The Little Mermaid), “Octopus’s Garden” – The Beatles, “Yellow Submarine” – The Beatles Modern Current — “Ocean Eyes” – Billie Eilish, “Seaside” – The Kooks, “Saltwater” – Geowulf, “Only the Ocean” – Jack Johnson Instrumental Flow (for dashboard calm) — “Weightless” – Marconi Union, “An Ocean In Between the Waves” – The War on Drugs, “Drift Dive” – Tycho Playful Splash Energy — “Cake by the Ocean” – DNCE, “Splish Splash” – Bobby Darin, “Walk on Water” – Thirty Seconds to Mars, “The Tide Is High” – Blondie, “Big Blue Sea” – Bob Schneider Hidden Gems for True Fish Fans — “Aqua Boogie (No Panic)” – Parliament, “Sea of Love” – Cat Power’s cover (hauntingly good), “Into the Blue” – Kylie Minogue, “Swimming Pools (Drank)” – Kendrick Lamar (for late‑night data diving)

Not yet, but we do have other Power BI custom visuals, like Enlighten Outerspace, that features sloths flying spaceships. So, penguins aren't out of the question. Stay tuned for future creatures.