Verdict
A spreadsheet is the best tool for analysis and the worst tool for capture. If your log is already a spreadsheet you love, export to CSV and keep both — but capture at the tank, on the phone.
| Spreadsheet | FishTank Diary | |
|---|---|---|
| Capture at the tank | Open laptop, find file | Phone, one screen, two taps |
| Reminders | Manual or scripted | Built in, per tank |
| Charts | You build them | Ready-made 7/30/90 daysPro |
| Structure | Whatever you make | Fixed schema that stays consistent |
| Multi-tank | More sheets, more merge errors | Separate logs, one overviewPro |
| Sharing with a vet or forum | Screenshot | CSV exportPro |
| Cost | Free | $3.99 once |
The failure mode is capture, not analysis
Spreadsheets fail because the data entry happens away from the event. You test the water in the fish room, then you intend to type it in later, and later is when it becomes “I will remember”. A log that takes twenty seconds at the tank gets filled in; a log that takes a laptop does not.
Where the spreadsheet still wins
- Custom analysis — dosing calculations, cost tracking, breeding records.
- Sharing with a club or a researcher who wants the raw numbers.
- Nothing to install, and no app store involved.
That is why export exists: record in the app, analyse in the spreadsheet. The two are not in conflict if the data moves.
