Paint A Fish vs Mina Spark
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paint A Fish
Design and paint your own virtual fish, then see it swim in a digital aquarium exhibit using augmented reality. Choose from various fish types and colors to create unique aquatic life.
- Paint custom fish designs
- Augmented reality integration
- Multiple aquarium exhibit environments
- Variety of fish species to paint
- Interactive virtual swimming
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Bring the Aquarium’s popular Paint a Fish exhibit to your own mobile device. Paint your own fish and watch it swim right in front of you or in the exhibit of your choice. Watch as your own painted shark swims next to our zebra shark in Shark Lagoon. See your own painted basslet swim in our Coral Lagoon. Look at your own painted parrotfish swimming gracefully alongside all the other colorful fish in our Tropical Reef Habitat. Choose from an assortment of colors and paint either a fairy basslet, parrotfish, or black tip reef shark any way you like. Then, with the power of augmented reality, watch it appear to swim right in front of your eyes... and in any exhibit at the Aquarium!
Mina Spark
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Clearer spoken words Words are now read aloud more slowly and clearly, so they're easier to hear and spell — especially single words during practice. Apostrophe words now check correctly Words like "don't" and "what's" are no longer marked wrong when they're spelled right. Importing a spelling list by photo also handles them properly now.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Mina Spark at every 2 weeks against Paint A Fish's every 4 months. Paint A Fish's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Paint A Fish ships an update every 4 months, Mina Spark every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paint A Fish | Mina Spark |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (12 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 16.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 200 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aquarium of the Pacific | Photo Ops LLC |
In-app purchases
Paint A Fish
No in-app purchases
Mina Spark
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Paint A Fish free?
Is Mina Spark free?
Do Paint A Fish or Mina Spark have ads?
Which is updated more often, Paint A Fish or Mina Spark?
Other comparisons
