Fish ponds look small on the farm map, but each one takes the same footprint as an iridium sprinkler. That means every pond is competing directly with a full crop layout, so the fish you choose need to justify the space.
Most species can live in ponds, reproduce up to ten per pond, and spit out roe or special items every few days. A handful stand out as consistent moneymakers or as quiet engines for rare resources and cooking ingredients. The rest are mostly flavor.
How fish ponds work in Stardew Valley
Robin sells the Fish Pond at the Carpenter’s Shop for 5,000g, 200 Stone, 5 Seaweed, and 5 Green Algae. The building occupies a 5x5 area and finishes in two days.
| Fish Pond basics | Details |
|---|---|
| Capacity | Up to 10 fish of one species (1 for Legendary fish and their II variants). |
| Population growth | Fish reproduce every 1–5 days depending on species price; Tiger Trout never reproduce. |
| Quests | When population hits a cap (1, 3, 5, 7, etc.), fish request items to raise max capacity. |
| Produce | Each day, a pond has a 23–95% base chance to generate roe or a species-specific item. |
| Golden Animal Cracker | Thrown into a pond once to permanently double its normal output. |
| Harvesting fish | Use a fishing rod on the pond to pull out fish one at a time, no minigame, no bait cost. |
Most fish produce Roe. Roe can go into a Preserves Jar to become Aged Roe that sells for double the unprocessed value. By default, roe value is:
roe sell price = base fish price ÷ 2 + 30Some species replace or supplement roe with more interesting drops: ores, geodes, batteries, or even Prismatic Shards. Those are the fish that tend to be worth the real estate.
Best fish ponds for pure profit
Fish ponds are not the strongest money-per-tile method compared with starfruit, ancient fruit, or pigs. But a few species turn into low-maintenance cash machines once they are established.
| Fish | Main money product | Artisan sell value (Aged Roe/Caviar) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lava Eel | Aged Roe | ≈1,060g per jar | Highest roe value in the game |
| Blobfish | Aged Roe | ≈780g per jar | Strong income plus pearls |
| Sturgeon | Caviar (from Sturgeon Roe) | 700g per jar with Artisan | Reliable, needed for bundles and perfection |
Lava Eel pond
Lava Eel is the top economic choice. It lives in the lava on level 100 of the Mines (and in the Volcano Dungeon) and is one of the hardest fish to hook, but it pays for the trouble.
- Base fish price: 700g.
- Aged Roe with Artisan: about 1,060g each.
- Roe quantity: up to 3 per day at higher populations.
On top of the roe value, a full Lava Eel pond can also produce:
- Gold Ore (5 at a time).
- Magma Geode (5–10 at once at max population).
- Spicy Eel (5 at a time), a staple Skull Cavern food.
Lava Eel ponds change the water to a deep red after the first pond quest completes, which makes them pull double duty as decor and profit.
Blobfish pond
Blobfish come from the Night Market submarine during Winter evenings. They are visually cursed and mechanically excellent.
- Base fish price: 500g.
- Aged Roe with Artisan: around 780g each.
- Population cap starts at 1, then rises through quests to 10.
At 9–10 fish, a Blobfish pond can occasionally replace roe with:
- Pearl (2% of items) — sells for 2,500g and is a universal love gift.
- Warp Totem: Farm (5 at once, 2% of items).
Because roe production is high and pond quests are simple (coral, coffee beans, basic foods), Blobfish ponds are easy to run in parallel. They are the best choice if you want profit close to Lava Eels without the same catch difficulty and with better gifting utility.
Sturgeon pond
Sturgeon live in the Mountain Lake during Summer and Winter. Sturgeon Roe is unique: when processed, it becomes Caviar rather than Aged Roe.
- Caviar sell price: 500g base, 700g with the Artisan profession.
- Only source of Caviar in the game.
- Required for late-game progression, such as the Missing Bundle and perfection goals.
Sturgeon ponds also hand out a few useful items through their quests and daily output:
- Omni Geodes (from quests at population 5).
- Nautilus Shells (rare quest item, also generated as produce at high populations through other ponds).
Many players run a single Sturgeon pond early to stockpile a handful of Caviar, then convert that pond later to a more profitable species once bundle requirements and gifting needs are covered.
Best fish ponds for rare resources
Not every valuable pond is about raw gold. Some species quietly supply items that are otherwise grind-heavy or season-locked.
| Fish | Key resource | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Super Cucumber | Iridium Ore, Amethyst | Slow but steady Iridium without Skull Cavern |
| Rainbow Trout | Prismatic Shard, Rainbow Shell | Extremely rare shard source; shells for quests |
| Spook Fish | Treasure Chest | 5,000g item and novelty drop |
| Octopus | Omni Geode | Omni-based trades like the Magic Cowboy Hat |
| Squid / Midnight Squid | Squid Ink | Seafoam Pudding and other recipes |
| Blobfish | Pearl | Universal love gift for fast friendships |
| Stingray | Cinder Shard, Dragon Tooth, Battery Pack | Volcano Forge upgrades and late-game crafting |
| Blue Discus | Banana, Golden Coconut | Ginger Island fruit and artifact shells |
| Lionfish | Tiger Slime Egg | Rare egg for Tiger Slime Hutch or sale |
| Stonefish / Ice Pip | Geodes, ores, Diamonds | Mining resources without leaving the farm |
Super Cucumber pond
Super Cucumber is the late-evening ocean catch in Summer and Fall, and it also appears at Ginger Island and in the Night Market submarine. In ponds, it does three things that matter:
- Produces mid-value Roe that can be aged.
- At 9–10 population, it has a flat 5% share of items as Iridium Ore, 1–3 at a time.
- Can also drop Amethyst.
The Iridium drip is not fast, but it runs independently of the mine schedule and can be multiplied easily by running several ponds. Super Cucumber also changes the pond water to a soft purple once the population hits 3, which many players use purely for aesthetics.
Rainbow Trout pond
Rainbow Trout are common in Pelican Town rivers and lakes during Summer and during the Trout Derby. In sale price terms, they are unimpressive, but ponds give them two tricks:
- Rainbow Shells as a periodic drop at higher populations.
- A tiny chance at a Prismatic Shard once the population reaches 9–10.
The shard chance is about 0.09% per item roll. That is not something to rely on for your first Galaxy Sword, but it does mean a full pond may occasionally surprise you with an extra shard while you are mostly ignoring it. For many players, that alone is enough to justify dedicating a single pond.
Spook Fish pond
Spook Fish share the Night Market submarine with Blobfish during Winter. Their Aged Roe sells reasonably well, but the real purpose of the pond is a specific, rare item: Treasure Chest.
- At 9+ population, Spook Fish ponds can produce a Treasure Chest with a 0.3% share of items.
- Each Treasure Chest sells for 5,000g.
That works out to an occasional large cash spike rather than a steady income. If you like seeing the end-of-day tally flash a 5,000g single item, Spook Fish are a fun choice. They also serve as a thematic companion pond to Blobfish and Midnight Squid if you enjoy building a Night Market corner on your farm.
Octopus pond
Octopus is notoriously annoying to catch in the ocean, but Ginger Island loosens that bottleneck by making it available year-round. In a pond, an Octopus does one useful thing very consistently: Omni Geodes.
- At 9–10 population, an Octopus pond can spit out 1–10 Omni Geodes in a single day.
- Omni Geodes feed multiple Desert Trader recipes, including the Magic Cowboy Hat, and fill museum collections faster.
If you have a specific Omni Geode trade in mind or you are chasing artifacts, a single Octopus pond can replace a lot of crab pot micromanagement.
Squid and Midnight Squid ponds
Squid are a Winter night fish at the beach; Midnight Squid live in the Night Market submarine. Neither species produces roe, but both ponds compensate with a direct Squid Ink feed.
- Squid ponds generate Squid Ink once the population is established.
- Midnight Squid ponds generate 1–2 Squid Ink as their main product.
Squid Ink is the bottleneck for Seafoam Pudding, one of the strongest fishing buffs in the game. There is no other repeatable ink source that comes close in convenience, so one Squid or Midnight Squid pond is effectively mandatory if you live in the mines or rely heavily on high-difficulty fishing.
Stingray, Blue Discus, and Lionfish ponds on Ginger Island
Ginger Island adds three pond-compatible species that hand out late-game island resources.
- Stingray ponds can produce Magma Caps, clusters of Cinder Shards, Dragon Teeth, and Battery Packs at higher populations. That covers most of what the Volcano Forge and advanced obelisks require.
- Blue Discus ponds provide Roe, Bananas, and Golden Coconuts. This gives you year-round Bananas without relying on tree output and more chances at Golden Coconut-based artifacts.
- Lionfish ponds have a 2% daily share of items as Tiger Slime Eggs at max population, plus Taro Tubers. Tiger Slime Eggs sell for 8,000g and unlock Tiger Slimes for the Slime Hutch.
These ponds shine once your core economy is stable and you are optimizing for convenience and endgame crafting rather than raw profit.
Stonefish and Ice Pip ponds
Stonefish (early mines) and Ice Pip (floor 60) are both high-value fish that convert pond slots into ore and geode income.
- Stonefish can generate Copper Ore, regular Geodes in batches of up to 5, Stone in stacks of 30, and even the occasional Diamond.
- Ice Pip replaces that with Iron Ore, Frozen Geodes in similar quantities, Frozen Tears, and rare Diamonds.
Their Roe is worth aging if you care about the Artisan angle, but their main value is a passive mining feed while you spend your days elsewhere. They are also practical homes for the “I worked hard to catch this, I refuse to sell it” tier of fish.
Best fish ponds for cooking and utility
Some ponds are less about gold or rare drops and more about keeping your fridge stocked without watching the calendar. Many cooking recipes require fish that are seasonal or annoying to catch on demand.
| Fish | Key recipe or use | Why a pond helps |
|---|---|---|
| Sea Cucumber | Lucky Lunch | Instant access to luck food without Fall/Winter fishing. |
| Eel | Spicy Eel | Year-round ingredient for desert and mines runs. |
| Midnight Carp, Flounder, Tuna | Seafoam Pudding and other dishes | Locks in seasonal fish for permanent cooking stock. |
| Crab, Lobster | Lobster Bisque and special event interactions | Reliable shellfish without dozens of crab pots. |
| Rainbow Trout | Rare Prismatic Shard rolls | As above, plus cooking uses. |
This is also where purely “fun” ponds live: Slimejack for slime eggs and green water, Void Salmon for purple water and Void Eggs, or a mix of color-changing ponds as a visual motif.
One-pond, three-pond, and “pond city” lineups
The number of ponds you plan to build changes, which fish give the best returns.
| Farm plan | Recommended ponds | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Only 1 pond | Lava Eel or Blobfish | Best mix of money and useful drops. |
| 2–3 ponds | Lava Eel, Blobfish, Sturgeon | Profit, pearls, and enough Caviar for all bundles. |
| 4–6 ponds | + Super Cucumber, Squid/Midnight Squid, Octopus or Rainbow Trout | Iridium, Squid Ink, Omni Geodes or shard rolls. |
| Late-game “pond city” | Add Stingray, Blue Discus, Lionfish, Stonefish, Ice Pip, flavor fish | Island mats, mining mats, aesthetics, and niche drops. |
Within those tiers, the “right” choice depends on what currently slows you down. If money is the bottleneck, fill every pond with Lava Eel until your wallet stops hurting. If mining or forging is the problem, lean into Stingray, Super Cucumber, Stonefish, and Ice Pip. If relationships take too long, run Blobfish for pearls.
The main pattern is simple: ponds shine when they are either printing extremely valuable roe (Lava Eel, Blobfish, Sturgeon) or replacing a grind you dislike (Squid Ink, island mats, geodes, Prismatic Shards). Everything else is window dressing, and there is nothing wrong with dedicating a 5x5 square of farmland to a purple Super Cucumber pool purely because it looks good outside your farmhouse.
