For most freshwater keepers in 2026, the best app is Fishkeeper if you want something free with a fish library, or Fish Tank Tracker if you want an offline log that never asks for an account. Aquarimate is the pick if you want the same data on a phone, tablet and computer. Aqualy suits people who test with strips and want the camera to read them.
None of these replaces a test kit. An app is a notebook that draws charts and reminds you on water change day, so the right one is the one you’ll actually open every week.
What should a freshwater aquarium app track? #
A freshwater tank depends on the nitrogen cycle, so an app has to make logging ammonia, nitrite and nitrate quick. After that come pH, temperature and hardness (KH and GH). Hardness matters more if you keep soft-water fish like tetras and rasboras, or hard-water fish like livebearers and African cichlids.
Beyond the numbers, a useful app should give you:
- Water change reminders that arrive as push notifications, not emails you’ll skim past.
- A chart for each parameter, so nitrate creeping from 10 to 40 ppm over six weeks is obvious at a glance.
- A livestock list with dates, so you can match a death or a disease outbreak to a recent arrival.
- Notes on each test, for things like “switched to frozen bloodworms” or “new bag of substrate.”
If you aren’t sure which numbers to aim for, our freshwater aquarium water parameters chart lists targets by fish type.
The best freshwater aquarium apps compared #
Prices and features change often, so treat the price column as correct at the time of writing and check the store listing before you buy.
| App | Platforms | Price model | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fishkeeper | iOS, Android | Free | A free app with a livestock library |
| Fish Tank Tracker | iOS, Android | Free for one tank, one-time Pro upgrade | Offline, private logging with no account |
| Aquarimate | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | $9.99 upfront on the US App Store, optional $9.99/year cloud sync | Several devices and a species database |
| Aqualy | Android (Google Play) | Check the store listing | Reading test strips with the camera |
| App-aquatic | iOS, Android, web | Free trial, then subscription | Stocking checks for community tanks |
| A spreadsheet | Any computer or phone | Free | Custom columns and full control |
1. Fishkeeper: best free app with a fish library #
Fishkeeper is built by Superb Media with the staff of Maidenhead Aquatics, a large UK aquatics retailer, and it’s free on the App Store and Google Play. You can create unlimited aquariums and ponds, add fish, invertebrates and plants from its livestock library, graph water parameters against ranges you set yourself, and get maintenance notifications. In Maidenhead stores you can scan the labels on the sales tanks to add a fish.
Wrong for: anyone who’d rather not sign in. Fishkeeper is account-based, so your tank records live with the service. The label scanning is also only useful if you shop at Maidenhead, which makes it a better fit for UK keepers.
2. Fish Tank Tracker: best offline log with no account #
Fish Tank Tracker keeps everything in a local database on your phone. There’s no account, no login, no ads and no subscription, and it works in airplane mode. Each test can hold up to ten parameters. Freshwater keepers will mostly use temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and alkalinity, which is your KH in dKH. Every reading lands on a chart. Recurring tasks, such as a weekly 25% water change or a monthly filter rinse, send a local notification when they come due. It also keeps a water change log, an equipment list with install dates, and a livestock journal with photos, purchase dates, cost and health notes.
The free version covers one tank with a month of parameter history and five livestock entries. A one-time Pro purchase removes those limits and adds trend analysis and CSV export.
Wrong for: keepers who track GH (there’s no GH field, so it goes in the test notes), anyone who wants the same data on two devices, and anyone who wants a species database. Its shaded target bands also use reef numbers for every tank type. A healthy pH of 7.0 in a community tank will sit below the band and be flagged, so freshwater keepers should read the pH chart as a trend line, not a verdict. Ammonia and nitrite targets of zero apply to any tank, so those charts need no adjusting.
3. Aquarimate: best for several devices and a species database #
Aquarimate from WiseLogic has been around since 2012 and runs on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows. It logs parameters, schedules tasks and reminders, draws analytics graphs, tracks expenses and photos, and includes Aquaribase, a library of freshwater and saltwater species plus equipment and supplements. At the time of writing, the US App Store lists it as a $9.99 paid app. The optional Aquarimate Live service stores your data in the cloud so several devices can use it at once, for $9.99 a year.
Wrong for: people who want to try an app free before paying, and anyone who’d rather not add another yearly charge just to sync. For a single 20-gallon community tank it’s more app than you need.
4. Aqualy: best if you test with strips #
Aqualy’s selling point is the camera. You hold a standard test strip up to your phone and it reads pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, GH, KH and chlorine, with a confidence score. It also identifies fish from photos and includes an AI assistant. Its own listing says it doesn’t replace proper test kits, and a strip reading is only as good as the strip. We compare the two in test strips vs a liquid test kit. We couldn’t confirm current pricing, so check Google Play before you commit.
Wrong for: anyone who uses liquid kits, since there’s nothing to scan, and anyone who doesn’t want AI features in a logging app.
5. App-aquatic: best for stocking checks #
App-aquatic is built for tropical freshwater keepers. As well as parameter logging and care reminders, it checks whether the fish you plan to buy are compatible and whether your tank has room for them. It runs as a free trial followed by a subscription, with no ads.
Wrong for: anyone who objects to paying every month for what is mostly a log, or who already knows their stocking plan.
6. A spreadsheet: best for full control #
A Google Sheets or Excel file costs nothing, never gets discontinued, and takes any column you want, GH and TDS included. The downside is that it won’t remind you to test, and it’s awkward to fill in with wet hands at the tank. Our aquarium water parameter spreadsheet vs app guide has a column layout you can copy.
Which freshwater aquarium app should you choose? #
Pick based on the problem you want solved:
| If you want… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Free, with a fish library, and an account doesn’t bother you | Fishkeeper |
| Offline and private, with no account, and to pay once only if you outgrow the free tier | Fish Tank Tracker |
| The same log on your phone, tablet and PC | Aquarimate with Live |
| Your phone to read your test strips | Aqualy |
| Help planning a community tank’s stocking | App-aquatic |
| Custom columns and no app at all | A spreadsheet |
Two habits make any of them more useful. Write the kit you used in the notes, because switching from strips to a liquid kit can shift readings enough to look like a real change. And log every test, including the dull ones where everything reads zero. A long flat line of good readings is what makes the one bad reading stand out.
Do you still need a test kit if you use an app? #
Yes. Apart from strip-reading apps, every app here stores numbers you type in, and those numbers come from a kit. While a new tank is cycling, use a liquid kit that includes ammonia. The popular 5-in-1 strips don’t test ammonia at all, and ammonia is the reading that tells you whether a new tank is safe.
Once the tank is established, many keepers test weekly for the first few months and then ease off to every week or two, retesting whenever fish act oddly. The app’s job is to make those readings comparable over time.
What about planted tanks and shrimp tanks? #
Planted tank keepers often track things no mainstream logging app has fields for, such as CO2 levels, iron, potassium and fertilizer doses. A spreadsheet handles that best, or you can put them in the test notes of whichever app you use. Shrimp keepers care most about GH, KH and TDS. Check that an app has a GH field before you pick it, or plan to keep GH in notes.
If you keep a saltwater tank as well, the priorities change: alkalinity, calcium and magnesium matter, and controller imports start to count. See our guide to the best reef tank tracking apps.
Frequently asked questions #
Is there a free aquarium app with no ads? #
Yes. Fish Tank Tracker is free for one tank and shows no ads, and Fishkeeper is free as well. Free tiers change, so check each store listing for current terms before you set up years of records.
Can an app read aquarium test strips? #
Some can. Aqualy reads standard strips with the phone camera and gives a confidence score for each pad. Lighting, strip age and timing all affect the result, so confirm any reading you plan to act on with a liquid kit.
Do I need to track GH and KH in a freshwater tank? #
KH matters because it buffers pH, and a KH near zero lets pH swing or crash. GH matters most for shrimp and for fish from very soft or very hard water. If your tap water is stable, many keepers test both when setting up and then every few weeks.
Which aquarium app works offline? #
Fish Tank Tracker works fully offline with no account, since all data stays on the phone. Aquarimate’s standard version also stores data on the device, while its Live sync needs an account. Account-based apps such as Fishkeeper rely on their service for sign-in and syncing.
Can I use one app for both freshwater and saltwater tanks? #
Yes. Fishkeeper, Aquarimate and Fish Tank Tracker all handle both. Fish Tank Tracker needs the one-time Pro upgrade for more than one tank, and it applies reef target bands to every tank type, so judge freshwater pH against your own targets.