Learn about the best fish to keep in a Fish Pond in Stardew Valley!
Stardew Valley has tons of fish you can put in ponds, but choosing the best to keep can be difficult. This guide will review the most profitable fish you can place in Fish Ponds and the qualities that make them the best.
A farm without a Fish Pond is simply an incomplete one. When you know all the benefits you can get from breeding fish, it would be hard not to sink your money into multiple ponds. Investing in them early in the game will generate loads of income in your first year, but there are other reasons why you should start raising fish in ponds as early as possible.
Farm Design: You can use a fish pond’s aesthetics creatively. Some fish change the color of their ponds based on their appearance. Slimejacks turn their pond to Green, Super Cucumbers make their pond Light Purple, Void Salmons change the color of their pond to Dark Purple, and Lava Eels have Red water. You may also change a pond’s design by clicking on a pond and toggling the Change Appearance button. Lastly, you can also place Wood, Stone, Dark Signs, and Signs of the Vessel on Fish Ponds so you can identify them quickly.
Cooking: Fish are an ingredient in many dishes, and cooked dishes are great for gifting to raise a villager’s friendship level. Alex particularly loves Salmon Dinner, while Abigail prefers to get Spicy Eel as a gift. You’ll need plenty of Salmon and Eel to cook these dishes constantly, but these fish can only spawn in specific seasons. But with a Fish Pond, you can easily breed these fish and take them out of their ponds whenever needed.
Items: Fish Ponds generally produce Roe. You may sell them to earn hundreds of Gold. But these are not the only items you may get from Fish Ponds. Some fish give you resources like Stone or Hardwood. The best ones have a chance to produce rare items like Prismatic Shards or Iridium Ore, but more on that later.
How to Build a Fish Pond in Stardew Valley
- Prepare 200 stones, 5 seaweed, 5 Green algae
- Save up 5,000 Gold
- Go to Robin’s Carpenter Shop and ask her to build you a Fish Pond
You must wait two days before a fish pond is completely built. Unfortunately, your very own fish pond does not come with a fish. You must store fish in your chest or refrigerator to start breeding them.
You can raise any kind of fish except for Legendary Fish. Even if you try putting a Legendary Fish in a pond, the game will state that they will not be happy living there.
How to Raise Fish in Fish Ponds in Stardew Valley
Fish in ponds do not require you to feed them fish food every day. The key to breeding fish is to make them happy. But how do you make a fish happy in this game? You will have to keep giving them some specific items that they request.
They will begin reproducing once you fulfill any of their requests. You can continue giving them quest items if you want to add more space for fish in your pond. It is also worth noting that Common fish have an initial capacity of 3, while Rare fish have only 1.
Keeping them happy will guarantee they will multiply in no time. As a result, these fish will constantly produce roe or rare items. If you’re lucky, they might even surprise you with some extremely valuable ones.
What Are The Best Fish Raise in Fish Ponds in Stardew Valley
Let’s say that you already have a bunch of fish ponds and some fish stored away on your farm. But you’re still having trouble determining which fish are the best to put in ponds. To help you decide better, we have detailed everything you need to know about the finest fish you can catch throughout Stardew Valley.
Ice Pip
Ice Pip can only survive in the cold climate, but you can fish them at any season or any time of day on the 60th Floor of the Mines.
The Ice Pip fish mainly produce Roe. An Ice Pip Roe costs 280 Gold. And if you put one in a Preserves Jar, you’ll get an Aged Roe that can sell up to 784 Gold, provided you choose the Artisan Profession route.
They may also give you a couple of Iron Ore and Frozen Geodes. For players who would like to become friends with Sebastian, keeping Ice Pips is a good choice since they produce Frozen Tear, which Sebastian loves. Diamonds are essential in crafting items, but they are also well-loved by the villagers. You’ll be glad that Ice Pips can sometimes give you those.
The Ice Pip Fish will request items depending on their population level. Each time you grant their request, the pond’s capacity will increase two to three times. Below are the items Ice Pips will ask you as they reach a certain population level:
1 Ice Pip: 10 Iron Ore
3 Ice Pips: 5 Frozen Tears
5 Ice Pips: 10 Coal, 1 Crystal Fruit, or 5 Frozen Geodes
7 Ice Pips: 4 Iron Bars or 10 Refined Quartz
Stingray
Stingray is a new fish that was added in the 1.5 update. They can only spawn in the Pirate Cove on Ginger Island. These cartilaginous fish can be caught at any season, weather, or time.
Stingrays may not be the best at producing costly Roe, but they can provide you with some Battery Packs or Magma Caps. Battery packs are used to craft important items like Iridium Sprinklers and Magma Caps, which can be traded for Pineapple Seeds at the Island Trader.
There’s also a chance they will give you some Cinder Shards. Collecting plenty of Cinder Shards will let you upgrade or enchant tools and weapons in the Forge as many times as you want. Dragon Tooth is a rare item you can obtain from killing Lava Lurks. Ten Dragon Teeth are needed to build an Island Obelisk on your farm.
There are only a few quests you’ll need to fulfill for Stingrays, and here is a list of the items that they thrive for:
3 Stingrays: 7 Cindershards
5 Stingrays: 1 Dragon Tooth
Rainbow Trout
Rainbow Trout can only be caught in Summer. You’ll likely find a Rainbow Trout in the Mountain Lake and Pelican Town Rivers. Make sure to go fishing for them between 6:00 AM and 7:00 PM if there’s sunny weather.
Rainbow Trouts will not give you much when it comes to their Roe. However, they are the only fish that can produce Prismatic Shards. These gems are hard to obtain, but you can get them from a Rainbow Trout Pond on some days.
Below are quest items you’ll need to make your Rainbow Trouts happy:
3 Rainbow Trouts: 3 Coral, 1 Honey, 1 Oyster, or 3 Refined Quartz
5 Rainbow Trouts: 1 Dried Starfish, 2 Emeralds, 2-3 Omni Geodes, or 2-3 Purple Mushrooms.
7 Rainbow Trouts: 1 Diamond, 3 Gold Bars, 1 Iridium Ore, 1 Jelly, or 1 jar of Pickles.
Spook Fish
Deep-sea fishing in the Submarine is the only way to catch a Spook Fish. The Fishing Submarine can be found at the Night Market. It’s during a festival in Pelican Town every Winter between 15 and 17. It only comes once a year, so it’s a good idea to take your chances on catching a Spook Fish while there’s a Night Market in town.
Spook Fish produces Roe the most and can also provide a Treasure Chest. The Treasure Chest is a rare item, each costing 5,000 Gold.
The more Spook Fish you have, the greater your chances of getting Treasure Chests from them. Here are the items Spook Fish would commonly request from you:
3 Spook Fish: 3 Amethysts, 3 Coral, 3 Iron Bars, 1 Oyster, 3 Red Mushroom, or 3 Refined Quartz
5 Spook Fish: 1 Dried Starfish, 2 Emeralds, 1 Granite, 2-3 Omni Geodes, or 2-3 Purple Mushrooms
7 Spook Fish: 1 Diamond, 3 Gold Bars, 1 Iridium Ore, 1 Mayonnaise, or 1 jar of Pickles
Blobfish
Another exotic deep-sea creature you can fish in the Submarine is the Blobfish. They have a lower chance of being caught than Spook Fish, but they sell well, even on their own.
Blobfish will earn you up to 1,500 Gold, so their Roe is also pretty valuable. Choosing the Artisan Profession will give you an Aged Blobfish Roe that costs 784 Gold each. Aside from Roe, they can also produce Pearl, a gift item everyone in Pelican Town loves. They can also give you some Warp Totem: Farm.
Here are the items you can get for Blobfish to expand their pond’s capacity:
1 Blobfish: 3 Coral, 2 Frozen Tears, or 2 Sea Urchins
3 Blobfish: 5 Coffee Beans, 1 Mayonaise, or 1 Pizza
5 Blobfish: 1 Cookie, 1 Green Tea, or 1 Wine
7 Blobfish: 1 Rainbow Shell or 1 Rice Pudding
Sturgeon
You can catch Sturgeons in Mountain Lake during Summer and Winter. They mostly appear there on Rainy Summer days, between 6:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Sturgeons are considered endangered in the game, making them harder to catch.
Sturgeons will give you Roe; it is the only Roe you can turn into Caviar. You can turn it into Caviar by putting it inside a Preserves Jar. You’ll earn 700 Gold per Caviar if you choose the Artisan Profession. The Preserved Fish Egg is also one of the items you may use to complete The Missing Bundle in the Abandoned Jojamart Warehouse.
You won’t have difficulty fetching quest items for Sturgeons as they are low maintenance. These are the items you’ll need to increase the space in your Sturgeon Fish Pond:
1 Sturgeon: 1 Diamond
3 Sturgeons: 1 Jelly, 2 Maple Syrup, or 1 jar of Pickles
5 Sturgeons: 3 Omni Geodes
7 Sturgeons: 1 Nautilus Shell
Lava Eel
Lava Eels spawn in the Mines and the Volcano Dungeon at any period of the year. The Forge inside the Volcano Dungeon is where you can find Lava Eels. They can be caught on the 100th Floor of the Mines, where most of its water is lava.
Lava Eel’s price can go as high as 2,100 Gold. Therefore, their Roe is also of high value. Aged Lava Eel Roe is the most profitable Roe in the game. The highest amount you can get from selling Aged Roe is 1,064 Gold. Lava Eels also produce many items like Gold Ore, Spicy Eel, and Magma Geodes.
To get the most out of your Lava Eels, fulfill all their requests. Here are the items Lava Eels would like to get from you:
1 Lava Eel: 3 Fire Quartz
3 Lava Eels: 1 Basalt, 2 Diamonds, or 1 Dwarf Scroll III
5 Lava Eels: 2 Mega Bombs
7 Lava Eels: 1 Iridium Bar
Honorable Mentions
These fish might not have been included in the list above, but they can still be worthy of being included in the Honorable Mentions. Should you plan on adding more fish ponds to your farm, here are a variety of fish you may consider raising.
Sea Cucumber: Sea Cucumber is one of the ingredients used to cook Lucky Lunch. If you can reproduce a couple of Sea Cucumbers, you’ll have a steady supply of Lucky Lunch that you may consume to boost your daily luck.
Super Cucumber: You’ll get a 5% chance to get Iridium Ore from Super Cucumbers. If you need some Iridium Ore but don’t feel like diving deep in the Skull Cavern or are not a fan of mining, you can breed some Super Cucumber.
Blue Discus: The best thing about raising Blue Discus is that you can sometimes obtain Golden Coconut from them. Breaking open Golden Coconuts will give you Golden Walnuts. Golden Coconuts will also give you other rare items found only on Ginger Island.
Midnight Squid: You can get Squid Ink from a Midnight Squid Fish Pond. Squid Ink is an item Elliot loves and an ingredient required to make Seafoam Pudding. Seafoam Pudding can be useful when fishing because it can give a fishing buff when consumed.
Void Salmon: Void Salmon produces Void Essence, an item you’ll need to craft Mega Bomb and Iridium Band.
Octopus: Are you in need of more Omni Geodes? Head to your Octopus Fish Pond and see if they have produced some for you. You might also want to invest in making Octopus happy since they can give you 10 Omni Geodes on lucky days.
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