Aquabuddy
An app to educate people about fishkeeping at the palm of their hand
Tools Used
Project Overview
Design a mobile app that educates and assists users in the fishkeeping hobby.
Timeline: 2024- November 2025
Aquabuddy is a mobile app designed to make the aquarium hobby more accessible, responsible, and enjoyable for beginners. As a pet store employee, I often see how many new fish keepers are misled by disorganized or conflicting advice, which leads to confusion, poor care, and fish loss. This project recognizes that beginners need clearer, more reliable guidance than quick retail interactions or inconsistent online recommendations. Aquabuddy aims to transform the fishkeeping hobby into a simple, intuitive mobile experience that supports learning and promotes responsible fishkeeping.
The Problem
A lot of information surrounding fishkeeping can be overwhelming to a total beginner.
People are not properly educated on the many aspects of the fishkeeping hobby.
Social media can lead fishkeepers in the wrong direction, causing fish loss, poor maintenance habits, misinformation, and unnecessary expenses.
Misidentified fish species can lead to improper care and incompatibility.
Many existing aquarium apps lock essential features behind paywalls. This puts reliable fishkeeping information out of reach for those who need it most.
The Solution
Aquabuddy was created to help beginners learn about aquarium care, explain difficult concepts, offer reliable information, and provide tools to diagnose problems—helping users build confidence and avoid mistakes.
Research Insights
Research into beginner aquarium care revealed a couple of common issues. These insights influenced Aquabuddy's design direction and guided its primary features.
Beginner Anxiety
Beginner aquarium owners are worried about making mistakes that may hurt their fish, particularly during tank setup and the nitrogen cycle.
Because they don't fully understand what behaviors are safe, they delay or avoid making decisions altogether. This delay often results in poor tank conditions and adds to their lack of confidence.
Understanding Tank Problems
Beginners are introduced to water characteristics such as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate as separate pieces of information rather than parts of a connected system.
Because they cannot understand how these numbers interact, they struggle to determine the root cause of tank problems. This leads to inaccurate or delayed reactions, which may harm fish health.
Information Overload
Aquarium care information often comes in difficult, complicated, and disorganized ways.
When beginners come across heavy or too lengthy content, they get overwhelmed and lose interest before they understand the topic. As a result, they overlook vital information required to correctly manage their tank.
Design Opportunities
Lack of Context
When beginners see water test results, they usually lack a clear understanding of what the readings mean for their tank.
They are unsure about whether a value is safe, dangerous, or what action to take. Uncertainty causes confusion or speculation, greatly increasing the risk of damage to the aquarium.