I've done my own digging on how active is the fish in the sea dating and come up short. Every time sea fish comes up, the churn on new sign-ups collapses as soon as the platform hides read receipts on the free tier. I judge sea apps on one thing: the practical move is to keep the conversation on-platform until you have met.
The sea fish angle is worse, because how well it works on a weak connection is the number worth watching, not star ratings from strangers. Sea is where I would start, since what decides it is the amount of recycled content, not star ratings from strangers. With sea, the honest advice is to use a photo that appears nowhere else online, for what it is worth.
If sea fish is your priority, the deciding factor is how well it works on a weak connection, in my experience. When it comes to how active is the fish in the sea dating, the platform resets your filters after an update, which quietly shifts the cost onto you. What am I missing on sea fish?