My Aquarium: Your Catch Collection
My Aquarium turns your catch log into a collection: each species you record appears in a virtual aquarium you can open and watch, with the ones you have not caught yet shown as gaps to fill. It is built on the catches you log yourself, so it doubles as a personal fishing record rather than only a game.
What it reads
- The catches you log, including species, date and location
- Photos you attach to a catch, if you add them
Why a collection works
Filling gaps is a better motivator than counting fish, which is the idea the aquarium is built on. A tally of how many you caught rewards the same easy species over and over; a collection with visible empty slots quietly pushes you toward the ones you have never targeted.
That is a useful nudge, because variety is how most anglers actually improve. Chasing a species you have not caught means new water, new tackle and new technique, and those are the trips you learn from.
The aquarium itself is simply the pleasant way to look at it. Species you have caught swim; the rest sit as outlines waiting to be filled.
The part that is genuinely useful
Underneath the collection is a catch log, and that is the feature with lasting value. Each entry keeps its species, date and location, and after a season or two those entries answer questions you cannot otherwise answer: when the crappie turned up last spring, whether you have ever caught anything at that reservoir in August, which water gave you your first of each species.
Patterns emerge from your own data faster than most people expect. A log going back two years will tell you more about your local water than any general article can, including ours.
It also settles arguments with yourself. Memory inflates good days and deletes blank ones, and a log does neither.
Logging accurately
Log the species you are confident about, and check the ones you are not. The aquarium reflects your entries exactly, so an incorrect identification becomes a permanent, confident-looking mistake in your own record.
The photo identification feature is a fast first opinion, and the species glossary is where to confirm it. Both take less time than the mistake costs.
Add a photo where you can. Beyond the obvious, a photo lets you re-check an identification months later, when the entry has become a line in a log and you can no longer remember the fish.
What it is not
This is your own record, not a verified one. Nothing in the log is validated by anyone, so it carries no weight for competitions, record claims or official submissions — those have their own processes, involving witnesses, certified scales and the relevant record-keeping body.
That is not a limitation worth minding for what the feature is for. A personal fishing diary is valuable precisely because it is low-friction: you log a fish in ten seconds on the bank, and the value accumulates over seasons.
Keep it honest for your own sake. The only person a padded catch log misleads is you.
What it does not do
- It only knows what you tell it. Catches you do not log do not appear, and the collection is a record of your logging habit as much as your fishing.
- It is not a verified record. Nothing here is validated for competitions, claims or record submissions — it is your own log, kept for your own use.
- Species come from your entry. If a catch is logged under the wrong species, the aquarium will faithfully show the wrong fish.
Full terms, including the safety and navigation disclaimer, are in our terms of use.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add fish to my aquarium?
Log a catch and the species joins your collection automatically. Each new species fills one of the empty slots, so the aquarium grows as your logging does rather than needing separate upkeep.
Does it work if I release everything I catch?
Yes, and that is the normal case. Logging a catch has nothing to do with keeping the fish — photograph it if you want, record the species, and release it. The collection is a record of what you have caught, not what you have taken home.
Can I see where and when I caught each species?
Yes. Each logged catch keeps its date and location, so the collection works as a personal fishing diary — which species you find where, and at what time of year. Over a couple of seasons that becomes genuinely useful for planning.
Is my catch log private?
Your log is yours. Sharing a catch to the community feed is a separate, deliberate action, and our privacy policy sets out exactly what is stored and what you can delete.
