This is a deceptively simple game, relaxing, enjoyable, with gorgeous graphics... The complexity lies in the breeding, in obtaining specific colour combinations through the use of Elixirs as well as breeding specific males to females.
Elixirs do not become available until you reach Level 3 but as soon as you begin this game, you should be aware of them. The way to obtain Elixirs is twofold: either by emptying a shell filled with Coins (whether your own or your Friend's Shell) or by opening a gift left by a Friend. Until you reach Level 3, you will not find them in the Coin Shells, but as soon as you reach Level 3, they will begin to pop out randomly when you empty Coin Shells. They will appear randomly in the treasure chests left by Friends as well.
You will be forced to use some of your Elixirs to achieve specific Goals. Your Goals appear as a target with an arrow through the centre, located on the left side of your screen. You can use other Elixirs to experiment with colour results but I now suggest that players begin to save a few each day in anticipation of reaching Level 10. At Level 10, a 'Slot Machine' gambling game is unlocked wherein you can 'pay' with specific amounts of your basic Elixirs to set a board in motion that allows you to obtain rare Elixirs.
Here is how it works: There is a board that has shelves that are filled with Elixir bottles. Common Elixirs will appear as brown bottles. The rarer Elixirs will appear as white bottles at the bottom of the board. Any 'magic' Elixirs will appear at the far left of the top shelf. When you open the Slot Machine Menu, there will be no 'magic' Elixirs. They will become available only if you deposit or wager a specific number of your ordinary Elixirs on the next 'game'. The more Elixirs you throw into the wager, the more rare and magic Elixirs that will appear You then have to tap on 'Bet' at the right moment when the cursor is on one of the rare or magic bottles. 2 Elixirs is the minimum wager.
Initially, I used my 'rare' Elixirs as soon as I obtained them. I now have put them aside for the future. I would like to be more knowledgeable about colour results before I potentially waste a valuable white or purple elixir. When I used them initially, they did not produce ANY rare colours or results.
I then discovered that one really does not even need a 'white' elixir to produce a white colour in a fish. I became very excited when I finally was able to produce a Mermaid with white hair by using a simple yellow Elixir on my breeding couple. So the 'Slot Machine' is interesting and I do believe it is the only way to produce a fish that changes colour magically (using one of the very rare magic Elixirs found on the top left of the display), but you can achieve some interesting results by using nothing more than your basic four Elixirs.
Basically this is advanced strategy, however. What you need to do on a daily basis is to visit as many Friends as possible, empty their Coin Shells, leave a treasure chest for each in the Gift Box and then care for your own Fish, emptying your own Coin Shell and opening your Treasure Chests in your Gift Box as they become ready. Everything in this game has its own time gauge. Treasure Chests left in your Gift Box cannot be opened instantly and you can leave one in each Friend's Gift box only once in any 24 hour period. Every type of Fish hatches in a specific time period and then grows to maturity in a specific time period. You can speed this by using premium Cash in the form of Seastars, but it is better to be patient really. There are no time limits to Goals. In this game, your Fish neither will sicken nor die if you neglect them. Your aquarium will become dirty but that has no negative impact on health. You simply wipe a sponge over the glass to clean it. Doing so, incidentally earns you 9 XP and 10 Coins. Cleaning a Friend's tank earns the same.
Cleaning a specific number of tanks can be a Goal as well, which means that you will earn Seatars (premium cash) as well as XP and Coins when the Goal is completed. It is one of the quicker ways to earn XP when visiting your Neighbours.
Feeding hungry fish in a Friend's tank earns you neither XP nor Coins although it can be part of a Goal as well. It is emotionally satisfying, however, if nothing more.
The basic actions to perform daily then are:
1. Visit each Friend to empty his/her Coin Shell and leave a Treasure Chest in the Gift Box.
2. Empty your own Coin Shell and pay attention to the Treasure Chests in your own Gift Box in order to open them before they expire. (Yes, this is the only aspect of the game with a time limit.)
3. Pay attention to your Goals and try to complete as many as possible. Raising your Level unlocks new types of Fish and new options in the game.
4. Clean your own Tanks and those of your Friends to earn XP and Coins. Feed your own Fish and 'pet' them to earn Coins and XP.
5. Breed fish and sell them when they are mature, unless you wish to keep a rare colour combination for future breeding. You earn both XP and Coins by selling mature Fish.
Breeding Log
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Tap on the Heart Icon at the bottom of the screen to gain access to the Breeding option. You then need to choose a male and a female from the same species. Only adult fish can be bred and you cannot use a 'hungry' fish, so feed all your fish first. You cannot crossbreed different species either. Oddly enough, there are two different 'Molly' species. In the same Menu is a Breeding Log screen but it only is valid for a period of 24 hours, so if you obtain a specific result from an Elixir and two Fish or two Fish and no Elixir and wish to remember it for future breeding, keep your own log elsewhere.
Once you have bred two fish, they need time to recover before you can breed them again. Every species has a different recovery period. Again, you can use premium cash to speed the process, although patience is all that is truly required.
Specific Colours
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The Shop will offer a few different colours of every species of Fish, but you actually need only to purchase one colour as long as you purchase both a male and a female. You then can obtain all other colours through breeding. This is where new players, including myself, waste real money (Seastars) by purchasing pretty colours of a new type of fish we have unlocked with a Seastar price. Always choose the fish with the Coin price and then use Elixirs to obtain the pretty colours!
For example, the third breed to be unlocked is the Scolare. The Swamp Scolare costs 1200 Coins. The other type is the Devil Scolare that costs 36 Seastars. You are better served if you purchase two of the Swamp Scolare (a breeding pair) and then use a Red Elixir to obtain the colour that is displayed by the Devil Scolare.
Note here that colour and price have nothing whatsoever to do with ultimate value. A Devil Scolare that costs 36 Seastars gives you 12 XP and sells for 1250 Coins. A Swamp Scolare that costs 1200 Coins gives you 12 XP and sells for 1250 Coins. In other words, the two are identical in XP and Coin value after being purchased.
Featured Fish
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This is a special menu that changes periodically, offering high level species of Fish temporarily without any Level (XP) requirements. It was through the Featured Fish option that one could purchase Whales, ordinarily not unlocked until you reach Level 40. Often, you have to pay Seastars (premium Cash) for any Featured Fish. They will be unlocked at a higher level of XP in the ordinary course of the game, however, so again, patience is the key here as with anything in this game.
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