Have you ever wandered into the local fish store and wanted to know more information about a fish that is on display? How big of a tank do I need to keep that Naso tang thriving? What does it eat? What is its temperament? What fish will it get along with it in a community tank? Will it eat any of my coral? These are all important questions that need answering before making a purchase.

Enter P.O.T.O.‘s free marine fish app, available for both Android-based and iOS smartphones.  The app is simple and straight forward: it allows you to look up information on marine fish simply and easily.

I took the app for a test drive this evening and found it simple and straight forward to use. Once the app loads, you are presented with a screen where you can Choose a Category of fish to look up. Clicking on a Category takes you to a screen where you can refine your search for the fish you are interested in learning more about.  The last screen is a listing about the specific fish: common name, scientific name, whether it’s reef safe, recommended tank size, diet, and general remarks.  At any time, you can also click on the magnifying glass icon in the upper-right corner of the screen and search the database for a specific fish.

One really nice thing about the app is that the information is referenced at the bottom of the listing so you can be sure that the information is accurate. This also allows you to read up further on that particular fish if you have the book handy at home or at the LFS.

I had two issues with the app during my initial test-drive. During my initial usage of the app, I found it to lag on my Droid X. I would click on a menu item and it may take a couple seconds for the choice to register. That said, my Droid X is rather old and it would not surprise me in the least if it ran fine on newer hardware.  The only other issue I had with the app was its limited fish index and the occasional misspelling. The author recognizes this shortcoming and is actively adding additional fish to the database so expect updates.

Give the app a spin and let us know your thoughts!