Aquarium Desktop 2006: Fish Pack #1

Add even more fish to your desktop!

https://www.stardock.com/products/aquarium/
from WinCustomize Forums

Fish Pack #1 is now available for Stardock's Aquarium Desktop!  Aquarium Desktop is a program that enables very realistic looking fish to live on your Windows desktop. It is NOT a screen saver and is the only program of its kind available. 

With Aquarium Desktop, you can add multiple fish to swim around as well as plants and other background items. It even has optional sound. The fish and all the other elements can be easily minimized with a single click if the user wants to turn them off and the entire thing has been designed to be very intelligent in CPU usage so that it doesn't interfere with doing "real work". 

We're pretty biased obviously but this is one of the coolest programs we've ever worked with.  Fish Pack #1 adds 8 new fish to the mix. Check out the screenshots below for more information.

29,171 views 26 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Great work, Brad. Love the fish pack. Personally, I don't want to run the Aquarium Desktop. However, it would be great if you could alternatively offer the same packs as widgets or gadgets. I would gladly pay for them.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Aquarium Desktop IS a gadget.
WindowBlinds - Free yourself of the default settings, customize your desktop.
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Can I then use the fish pack without using the Aquarium Desktop? That's what I really meant.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
No. But that's kind of the idea.  The fish were quite expensive to make.  So there'd be no way we could just sell them for $5 without first purchasing the $10 Aquarium Desktop.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I Like them a lot. Good work hope there will follow more packs. Oops a fish swims by....
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I do wish you'd offer some better and more realistic aquarium backgrounds to go with this. I tried out the last AD and the entire appeal was ruined by the grainy (by the time it got stretched to fit my monitor) and unrealistic fish tank background; it looks like it can't decide between being semi-vector art and semi-photo.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
We include some wallpapers as a nicety.  There are plenty of nice wallpapers out there.  We can look at putting in more but the main thing are the fish.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I looked around online, but there really aren't any that have the exact look for being inside an aquarium tank. I remember you posted here awhile back looking for submissions... I guess that never worked out?
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Looks good, any chance of getting something a little more vicious, like sharks?
Maybe they could eat the goldfish if they get in their way???

Oops... sorry I'll take my medication now nurse.
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Why must it be fishes? What about mice, chinchillas, ferrets or cats?
Don't get me wrong, the fishes are really outstanding I just prefer something on paws. hehe
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
What about mice, chinchillas, ferrets or cats?

They don't usually make out very well in an aquarium. I know this for a fact. When my son was 5 or 6 he decided to find out if one of the cats could swim in my 55 gallon tank. He couldn't.
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
naaaaa ROFL not in a tank. But, if you take the water out then tanks are fantastic homes for mice (give a fab TV for cats) hehe
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Nice, but I like UselessCreations.com's aquarium screen saver a little more. Granted it's only a screen saver and not a desktop object, but if you guys could figure out a way to use lighting and water effects the way they do I might be interested in getting this.
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top

the entire appeal was ruined by the grainy (by the time it got stretched to fit my monitor) and unrealistic fish tank background; it looks like it can't decide between being semi-vector art and semi-photo.

The fish tank background with the original AD is a photo of a real fish tank that was filtered to curb the realism of it compared to the fish and elements.  It's oddly difficult to find wallpaper that we could get permission (or even buy) to distribute with AD and still be able to keep the price of the product so low.  We do hope to add more wallpapers in the future if we are able to get them.

Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The fish tank background with the original AD is a photo of a real fish tank that was filtered to curb the realism of it compared to the fish and elements. It's oddly difficult to find wallpaper that we could get permission (or even buy) to distribute with AD and still be able to keep the price of the product so low. We do hope to add more wallpapers in the future if we are able to get them.


That's too bad and I did get the impression it was hard to find wallpapers that you could distribute from that thread over the summer asking for submissions. You say that the background is actually a photo of a real fish tank that's been filtered... Can't you just distribute a copy of the original unfiltered photograph?
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
where are the original fish listed for Aquarium Desktop 2006? I'm not really into goldfish so much and that's what most of what I see seems to be. I realize that might sound snooty, and if so I'm sorry. I have a 115 gal salt tank and a 55 gal freshwater tank with angels and gourami in it and I have had other tanks set up in the past with other fresh, brackish and salt fish in them. My wife has 4 betas in various decorative bowls. Gold fish just weren't ever anything I went out and bought.
Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top

You say that the background is actually a photo of a real fish tank that's been filtered... Can't you just distribute a copy of the original unfiltered photograph?

That's too logical.....   If I can locate it, I will see if we can get it in there.

where are the original fish listed for Aquarium Desktop 2006?

This is a fish pack, which adds to the fish in the AD 2006.  It doesn't replace them, they just add to them.

Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hmmm, Just thinking..

I've never used AD so forgive me if it already does something like this.

But If inside the AD gadget, you split the background image into effective layers... and cut one layer from the other, creating two images (ie. Foreground elements and background elements), You could actually make the fish swim inbetween the background and foreground (i.e. Around the weeds) as well as just infront of everything...
Also with this idea, if you included the ability to change the background image to something quite plain but allowed the user to customize the foreground layer with some animated objects designed specifically for AD.. that would be quite classy and catchy.
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top
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Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Given its aquatic feel, and the beach not too far away, it'd be nice if AD had a little gauge for local water temperature and tide times....something like Natural Desktop does for weather.

There I go again.....finding ways to complicate things.
Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top


I just wanted to say how much it hurts me to see the (freshwater) goldfish share their turf with (marine water)coral-reef fish.

I would suggest to make different themed screenshots, which point out the variety of AD.

A coral-reef shot with appropriate background
A gold-fish bowl shot
A freswater tank (eg. the neon-tetras (which could be a bit smaller compared to the goldfish) with lots of underwater plants.

Sorry if that sounds picky, I just can't help myself

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central
Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Next Desktop:
The Beach with sunset and sun rise!!!!

(Also on tap: City Scenes!!! Day Time and night time looks of NY, The golden Gate bridge, Paris, and Las Vegas)
Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top

 

Citizen 4D

The elements are separate and configurable.  The background is just a background, and can be changed to anything.

I just wanted to say how much it hurts me to see the (freshwater) goldfish share their turf with (marine water)coral-reef fish

We will hopefully have an update in January which will have saltwater backgrounds.