An extremely useful building in Stardew Valley is the Fish Pond, allowing you to generate specific resources each day based on what fish you put into it. There are all the best fish for your Stardew Valley Fish Pond that will generate some very useful resources.
How to build the Fish Pond
First, you’ll need to actually build a Fish Pond back at your farm in Stardew Valley. In order to build a Fish Pond, you need to visit Robin at the Carpenter’s Shop between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm on any day other than Tuesday. Robin can build a variety of important structures at your farm including the Fish Pond. Building the Fish Pond has the following building material costs:
- 5,000 Gold
- 200 Stone
- 5 Seaweed
- 5 Green Algae
The Fish Pond itself takes up a 5×5 surface area and will take two days to be built. You can actually build more than one Fish Pond, and it’s recommended you build a few of them to make the most out of your Fish Ponds as they can only hold up to ten fish.
How the Fish Pond works in Stardew Valley
Once you’ve built a Fish Pond, you can stock it with up to ten fish at a time, or just a single fish if it is a Legendary Fish. You can only have one type of fish in your Fish Pond at a time, with each type of fish resulting in different items being generated by the Fish Pond based on which fish you have put in it.
You can put fish in your Fish Pond by holding the fish in your hands and then right-clicking on the Fish Pond which will throw the fish into the Fish Pond. You can then harvest the fish by fishing in it with your fishing pole, though the fish will automatically be caught and do not require you to complete the fishing minigame.
Alongside various materials and items, the fish in your Fish Pond will also produce Roe.
Farming Roe with your Fish Pond
Every fish that can be placed into a Fish Pond except for the Squid will produce Roe each day. The more fish you have in the Fish Pond, and the fish type you have in it, will determine the actual chance of generating Roe each day.
Sturgeon Roe specifically can then be crafted into Caviar using a Preserves Jar, while all other types of Roe can be used with a Preserves Jar to create Aged Roe. You can sell then sell the Aged Roe and receive double the value of the Roe, making it an extremely worthwhile Gold farming method in Stardew Valley.
Best Fish for Ponds
Depending on which item you are trying to generate, each fish in a Fish Pond has its own specific uses. However, these are the best fish overall for your Fish Pond and will generate some of the most important items in Stardew Valley.
| Fish | Items Made | # of Fish Required | Daily % Chance |
| Rainbow Trout | 1 Prismatic Shard 1 Rainbow Shell 1 Roe |
9 9 1 |
0.09% 1.7-1.9% 23-93% |
| Squid | 1 Squid Ink | 1 | 6–95% |
| Octopus | 1-10 Omni Geode 1 Roe |
9 1 |
15-16% 23-79% |
| Super Cucumber | 1-3 Amethyst 1-3 Iridium Ore 1 Roe |
9 9 1 |
4-5% 4-5% 23-86% |
| Lava Eel | 1-3 Roe 1-3 Cave Jelly 5 Gold Ore 5-10 Magma Geode 5 Spicy Eel |
1 8 3 9 9 |
18-74% 3-6% 4-8% 2-5% 3.4-3.5% |
Rainbow Trout
Stocking your Fish Pond with entirely Rainbow Trout is the best use for your Fish Pond in Stardew Valley. Although it’s a low chance, a fully-stocked Rainbow Trout Fish Pond has a 0.09% chance each day of generating a Prismatic Shard. This is one of the rarest items in the game and is required for a variety of important uses including obtaining the Galaxy Sword, completing the Missing Bundle to unlock the Movie Theater, enchanting tools at the Forge, and more. Rainbow Trout will also produce a solid amount of Roe when fully stocked in your Fish Pond.
Squid
If you stock your Fish Pond with only Squid, you’ll be able to generate a lot of Squid Ink with up to 95% chance of success each day. Squid Ink is used for the Fish Farmer’s Bundle in the Pantry but is also used to craft Seafoam Pudding and Squid Ink Ravioli, as well as with the Sewing Machine to craft the Midnight Dog Jacket. You can also sell extra Squid Ink to Willy at his Fish Shop.
Octopus
The Octopus in Stardew Valley can be tricky to catch, but if you’re able to catch enough to fully stock your Fish Pond with them, it can be a great source of Omni Geodes with a roughly 15-16% daily chance. These contain various minerals, artifacts, ores, and resources and even has a chance of rewarding you with a Prismatic Shard.
Super Cucumber
You can take advantage of a well-stocked Super Cucumber Fish Pond to be a pretty reliable source of Iridium Ore with a 4-5% daily chance of generating 1-3 Iridium Ore. You can then smelt five Iridium Ore with one Coal to get an Iridium Bar which is used to upgrade tools, craft various items, and build some of the best buildings in Stardew Valley.
Lava Eel
One of the best choices for stocking your Fish Pond is Lava Eels. A fully stocked Lava Eel Fish Pond will have a roughly 3.5% chance of generating 5 Spicy Eel each day. You can then throw the Spicy Eel in your Smoker which greatly increases the sell value. If you combine the sale price of the Smoked Spicy Eel with the Aged Roe generated from the Fish Pond, this can be one of the best gold-making methods in Stardew Valley.
Because you can build multiple Fish Ponds in Stardew Valley, it’s recommended you build several of them and stock them with different fish. If you really want to utilize the Fish Pond to make some gold, stock a lot of them with Lava Eels for the best gold income. However, I recommend stocking at least a few Fish Ponds with Rainbow Trout so you can have a solid chance of generating some Prismatic Shards.
