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Fish may make low-maintenance pets compared to cats and dogs, but they are still fragile creatures, and you may find that neglecting to clean the tank, forgetting to feed them, or letting their water get too warm in the summer months will send Bubbles to an early, watery grave. Even with utmost care, some fish don’t have very long lifespans, and no one likes saying goodbye to a beloved pet.

Well, now you can forgo the aquarium maintenance and not worry about the heartache, by creating your own invincible fishy friends and bringing them to life through your iPhone with Takara Tomy Arts’ new Pictuarium!

The Pictuarium hit the shelves around the end of June, and uses an iPhone application to bring your very own hand-drawn water creatures to life in a virtual aquarium. Interact with your pets as they swim around, and even give them little treats if you like.

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The process is simple-just draw your own creative creature design on the special “fish card” provided, place your phone face down on top of the aquarium, and scan your picture using the special app. Your very own fish gets projected and brought to life in the virtual aquarium!

After watching the videos and reading all about it, we knew we had to grab one of these things for ourselves.

▼ The Pictuarium kit comes with an aquarium, lid, and the special fish and snack cards you need

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▼ Draw your own fish on the special card provided

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▼ Place the lid on top of the aquarium and set your phone face down. You can then use your phone’s camera to scan your fishr0005581

▼ Watch your creation come to life in its virtual world!

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▼ You can even take selfies of you and your friends, and swim around your virtual aquarium with your creations!

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This is sure to provide as much entertainment, if not more, for the grown-up crowd as it will for the kids. And at only 1,922 yen (US$15.53) for hours of fun, it’s definitely worth the purchase.

You can get your own Pictuarium here through the Takara Tomy Mall!

All images: RocketNews24

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