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Stardew Valley Ponds - best products and best fish for ponds, and pond capacity quests explained

How to use the fish ponds and breed fish in Stardew Valley.

Building a fish pond on your farm in Stardew Valley allows you to breed the fish you catch.

You can place the fish you catch from around the valley in these ponds and receive, not just more fish, but a variety of products, including Roe and even Magma Geodes.

Completing capacity quests will allow you to breed more fish in each pond, helping you reap a profit from your fish farming endeavours.

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How to build ponds in Stardew Valley

If you want to build a fish pond on your farm in Stardew Valley, you must first collect 200 Stone, 5 Seaweed, 5 Green Algae and 5,000g.

Stone can be easily collected by breaking stones on your farm, in The Mines or in Skull Cavern.

Seaweed can be found by fishing in the ocean during any season or in the tidal pools on The Beach. These pools can only be reached once you fix the broken bridge on The Beach with 300 pieces of wood.

Green Algae can be found by fishing from any fishing spot, except for the pond on the Standard Farm, during any season. It's also a rare drop from the Green Slimes.

You can easily find Seaweed and Green Algae by fishing in the river and ocean.

Once you've collected all these resources and have raised the cash, it's time to head to the Carpenter's Shop. This is located just to the west of the Mountain Lake and open most days from 9am to 5pm by Robin.

Select the 'Fish Pond' option from the construction menu and then select where you want it to be on your farm.

Fish ponds take up a 5x5 space, so ensure that you've cleared that area for the pond.

It will take three days for Robin to build the fish pond, so use this time to catch whatever fish you're planning on breeding.

Make sure you're happy with the placement of your new fish pond.

Ponds in Stardew Valley explained

Now that you've built your fish pond, it's time to fill it with fish.

You can place every fish, except for the Legendary Fish and clams, into a fish pond. This also includes sea urchins and coral, which you can find on the beach.

Each fish pond can only hold one type of fish and the only way to change which type of fish live in a pond is by selecting the 'Empty Pond' option from the fish pond menu. This will reset your fish pond, but will also destroy any remaining fish living inside of it, so make sure you save them before choosing this option.

The fish pond menu will also show you how many fish you currently have in the pond, which type of fish they are and allow you to change the appearance of the fish pond.

The fish pond displays the current capacity of your pond, how many fish live there, any capacity quests and allows you to both change the appearance of your pond and empty it.

To begin filling a fish pond, simply throw your chosen fish into the pond, or maybe two so they have a friend, and let them begin to reproduce.

Once you've placed a fish within a pond, it will begin to reproduce until its reached the current capacity for that pond. The only exception to this are Tiger Trouts, which cannot reproduce.

The majority of fish will allow you to place three of their number into a pond, before needing to raise the capacity. The exceptions to this, which will only allow you to place one, are Blobfish, Ghostfish, Ice Pip, Lava Eel, Slimejack, Stonefish, Sturgeon, Void Salmon and Woodskip.

When the pond reaches full capacity, an exclamation mark (!) will appear above it. This will allow you to start a 'Fish Quest' for a specific set of items. Completing this quest will increase the capacity of the fish point, with the maximum capacity being 10 fish.

A fish pond with a capacity quest.

The difficulty of this quest depends on how rare the fish you're breeding is. If you're breeding Lava Eels, for example, you'll be asked to find an Iridium Bar, which is a lot harder to find compared to the coral Squids ask for.

If you want to easily keep track of exactly how many fish live in each pond, place a sign on top of it. This will automatically turn the sign into a fish counter for that specific pond.

Place a sign post on your pond to keep track of how many fish it contains.

Now that you have a working fish pond, you can harvest the fish one at a time by using your fishing rod on the pond. These fish will always be a regular quality of fish. You'll also be able to collect a variety of items from the chum bucket next to the pond.

What item you receive depends on what kind of fish you're breeding in the fish pond and how many fish currently live in the more. This means that if you're breeding a rare type of fish, then you can expect to receive a rarer resource in your chum bucket.

Best fish for fish ponds in Stardew Valley explained

If you're looking to make a strong profit from fish ponds, then your fish of choice should be the Lava Eel.

These volcanic eels may be the second hardest fish to catch, just under the legendary fish, and can only be found on the 100th floor of The Mines, but they are most definitely worth the trouble. Especially since you only need one to start your fishing pond business.

Lava Eels live in the magma lake found on Level 100 of The Mines.

Try to reach max capacity for your Lava Eel fish pond as quickly as possible, so you can take advantage of all the benefits. You can also fish more Lava Eels once they start breeding to populate other ponds.

Just be careful when placing the two Mega Bombs for one of the Lava Eel capacity quests - you don't want to accidentally destroy part of your farm.

Once you have two Lava Eels in a fish pond, they will start producing Roe. Since the base price for a Lava Eel is 700g, the price of Lava Eel Roe is roughly 380g. (Roe price is half of the base price for a fish, then an additional 30g.)

Lava Eel Roe sells for a high price.

Lava Eels will also produce Magma Geodes in the chum bucket, which can make you a healthy profit.

You can take Magma Geodes to Clint the Blacksmith and have them opened for 25g each. From doing this you can receive a variety of resources, including Iridium Ore, and geode minerals, which you can sell for a good amount of money.

Pond capacity quests in Stardew Valley explained

Below you'll find the various items that fish might require when it's time to increase the capacity of their pond, along with the population level required for these quests to appear.

These quests will appear every one to four days, until you reach the max capacity for that specific fish pond.

Only Coral and Sea Urchins are exempt from this and will simply reach max capacity, 10 for each, by themselves.

Fish Population - 1Population - 3Population - 5Popluation - 7
Albacore3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Anchovy3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Blobfish3 Coral
2 Frozen Tear
2 Sea Urchin
5 Coffee Bean
1 Mayonnaise
1 Pizza
1 Cookie
1 Green Tea
1 Wine
1 Rainbow Shell
1 Rice Pudding
Bream3 Acron
10 Bug Meat
3 Maple Seed
3 Pine Corn
3 Gold Ore
1 Maple Syrup
5 Mixed Seeds
1 Crayfish
1 Honey
2 Jade
1 Periwinkle
Bullhead10 Bug Meat
2 to 3 Clay
2 to 3 Green Algae
5 Slime
2 to 3 Common Mushroom
1 to 2 Earth Crystal
1 Limestone
1 Mudstone
1 Snail
5 Wild Bait
Carp2 Green Algae2 Cave Carrot
Catfish2 Amethyst
3 Copper Bar
3 Red Mushroom
2 Topaz
10 Bat Wing
2 Earth Crystal
5 Mixed Seeds
2 to 3 Purple Mushroom
1 Diamond
3 Iron Bar
1 Mayonnaise
1 Pickles
Chub3 Acron
10 Bug Meat
3 Maple Seed
3 Pine Corn
3 Gold Ore
1 Maple Syrup
5 Mixed Seeds
1 Crayfish
1 Honey
2 Jade
1 Periwinkle
Cockle5 Clay10 Bug Meat
5 Quartz
1 Sea Urchin
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Crab5 Clay10 Bug Meat
5 Quartz
1 Sea Urchin
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Crayfish5 Clay
15 Fiber
10 Bug Meat
1 Cave Carrot
5 Hardwood
1 Field Snack
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Dorado2 Bream
2 Carp
2 Chub
2 Bullhead
2 Largemouth Bass
2 Ghostfish
2 Sandfish
2 Woodskip
Eel3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Flounder3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Ghostfish5 Quartz5 Cave Carrot5 White Algae1 Dwarf Scroll I
1 Dwarf Scroll II
2 Refined Quartz
Halibut3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Herring3 Driftwood1 Coral
Ice Pip10 Iron Ore5 Frozen tear10 Coal
1 Crystal Fruit
5 Frozen Geode
4 Iron bar
10 Refined Quartz
Largemouth Bass10 Bug Meat
2 to 3 Clay
2 to 3 Green Algae
5 Slime
2 to 3 Common Mushroom
1 to 2 Earth Crystal
1 Limestone
1 Mudstone
1 Snail
5 Wild Bait
Lava Eel3 Fire Quartz1 Basalt
2 Diamond
1 Dwarf Scroll III
2 Mega Bomb1 Iridium Bar
Lingcod2 Bream
2 Carp
2 Chub
2 Bullhead
2 Largemouth Bass
2 Ghostfish
2 Sandfish
2 Woodskip
Lobster5 Clay10 Bug Meat
5 Quartz
1 Sea Urchin
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Midnight Carp10 Bug Meat
2 to 3 Clay
2 to 3 Green Algae
5 Slime
2 to 3 Common Mushroom
1 to 2 Earth Crystal
1 Limestone
1 Mudstone
1 Snail
5 Wild Bait
Midnight Squid3 Coral
2 Sea Urchin
2 Sardine 1 Ocean Stone
Mussel5 Clay10 Bug Meat
5 Quartz
1 Sea Urchin
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Octopus3 Coral
1 Honey
1 Oyster
3 Refined Quartz
1 Dried Starfish
2 Emerald
2 to 3 Omni Geode
2 to 3 Purple Mushroom
1 Green Tea
Oyster5 Clay10 Bug Meat
5 Quartz
1 Sea Urchin
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Perch3 Acron
10 Bug Meat
3 Maple Seed
3 Pine Corn
3 Gold Ore
1 Maple Syrup
5 Mixed Seeds
1 Crayfish
1 Honey
2 Jade
1 Periwinkle
Periwinkle5 Clay
15 Fiber
10 Bug Meat
1 Cave Carrot
5 Hardwood
1 Field Snack
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Pike2 Bream
2 Carp
2 Chub
2 Bullhead
2 Largemouth Bass
2 Ghostfish
2 Sandfish
2 Woodskip
Pufferfish3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquarmarine
1 Museel
Sea Urchin
Rainbow Trout3 Coral
1 Honey
1 Oyster
3 Refined Quartz
1 Dried Starfish
2 Emerald
2 to 3 Omni Geode
2 to 3 Purple Mushroom
1 Diamond
3 Gold Bar
1 Iridium Ore
1 Jelly
1 Pickles
Red Mullet3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Red Snapper3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Salmon3 Acron
10 Bug Meat
3 Maple Seed
3 Pine Corn
3 Gold Ore
1 Maple Syrup
5 Mixed Seeds
1 Crayfish
1 Honey
2 Jade
1 Periwinkle
Sandfish3 Cactus Fruit
3 Coconut
1 Golden Relic
Sardine3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Scorpion Carp3 Cactus Fruit
3 Coconut
1 Golden Relic
Sea Cucumber3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Shad 3 Acron
10 Bug Meat
3 Maple Seed
3 Pine Corn
3 Gold Ore
1 Maple Syrup
5 Mixed Seeds
1 Crayfish
1 Honey
2 Jade
1 Periwinkle
Shrimp5 Clay10 Bug Meat
5 Quartz
1 Sea Urchin
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Slimejack20 Slime10 Bug Meat1 Algae Soup
5 Wild Bait
1 Petrified Slime
Smallmouth Bass3 Acron
10 Bug Meat
3 Maple Seed
3 Pine Corn
3 Gold Ore
1 Maple Syrup
5 Mixed Seeds
1 Crayfish
1 Honey
2 Jade
1 Periwinkle
Snail5 Clay
15 Fiber
10 Bug Meat
1 Cave Carrot
5 Hardwood
1 Field Snack
5 Solar Essence
1 Wild Bait
Spook Fish3 Amethyst
3 Coral
3 Iron Bar
1 Oyster
3 Red Mushroom
3 Refined Quartz
1 Dried Starfish
2 Emerald
1 Granite
2 to 3 Omni Geode
2 to 3 Purple Mushroom
1 Diamond
3 Gold Bar
1 Iridium Ore
1 Mayonnaise
1 Pickles
Squid3 Coral
1 Sea Urchin
2 Sardine
Stonefish10 Copper Ore5 Earth Crystal10 Coal
5 Geode
4 Copper Bar
4 Refined Quartz
Sturgeon1 Diamond1 Jelly
2 Maple Syrup
1 Pickles
3 Omni Geode1 Nautilus Shell
Sunfish2 Acorn
2 Geode
1 Amethyst
3 Mixed Seeds
Super Cucumber 3 Coral
1 Honey
1 Oyster
3 Driftwood
3 Refined Quartz
1 Dried Starfish
2 Emerald
2 to 3 Omni Geode
2 to 3 Purple Mushroom
1 Diamond
3 Gold Bar
1 Iridium Ore
1 Jelly
1 Pickles
1 Sea Urchin
Tilapia3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Tuna3 Driftwood
1 Frozen Geode
1 to 2 Seaweed
2 Clam
2 Coral
2 Aquamarine
1 Mussel
2 Sea Urchin
Void Salmon5 Void Essence10 Bat Wings1 Diamond
1 Void Egg
1 Iridium Ore
Walleye3 Acorn
10 Bug Meat
3 Maple Seeds
3 Pine Cone
3 Gold Ore
1 Maple Syrup
5 Mixed Seeds
1 Crayfish
1 Honey
2 Jade
1 Periwinkle
Woodskip10 Hardwood2 to 3 Commum Mushroom
2 to 3 Red Mushroom
1 Oak Resin
1 Pine Tar
2 Jade
1 Tea Leaves
Cover image for YouTube videoGetting started in Stardew Valley - tips for your first Spring

One of the main goals in Stardew Valley is to complete the Community Center bundles or, if you’re corporate minded, you can buy a JojaMart Membership. Fishing is a great way to earn money in Stardew Valley, especially if you decide to use crab pots and ponds. Throughout the year you’ll also be able to take in a variety of festivals, including the Egg Festival, Stardew Valley Fair and the Night Market.


Pond products in Stardew Valley explained

As the population of fish in your pond grows, you'll steadily unlock a variety of produce that you can find in your chum bucket. As long as you're above or on the population level associated with an item, you'll always be able to receive it.

It should be noted that there can be days where your fish pond won't produce any additional products at all, so don't be surprised if you find the chum bucket item.

Below you'll find a list of what each fish produces in the fish pond and at what population level you'll receive this item:

FishPopulation 1+Population 3+Population 5 to 6Population 7 to 8Population 9 to 10
Albacore1 Roe1 Roe
Anchovy1 Roe1 Roe
Blobfish1 Roe2 Roe1 Pearl
5 Farm Warp Totems
Bream1 Roe
Bullhead1 Roe
Carp1 Roe
Catfish1 Roe
Chub1 Roe
Cockle1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 Roe
1 to 3 Seaweed
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
1 Coral
1 Sea Urchin
1 Beach Warp Totem
1 Nautilus Shell
Coral1 Dolomite
1 Limestone
Crab1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 Roe
1 to 3 Seaweed
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
1 Coral
1 Sea Urchin
1 Beach Warp Totem
1 Nautilus Shell
Crayfish1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 to 3 Green Algae
1 Roe
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
2 to 3 Mixed Seeds1 Mountains Warp Totem
Dorado1 Roe20 Bug Meat
Eel1 Roe1 Roe
Flounder1 Roe1 Roe
Ghostfish1 Roe1 Quartz3 Quartz
1 Refined Quartz
3 Pale Broth
5 White Algae
Halibut1 Roe1 Roe
Herring 1 Roe
Ice Pip1 Roe5 Iron Ore1 Diamond
1 to Frozon Geodes
1 Frozen Tear
Largemouth Bass 1 Roe
Lava Eel1 Roe5 Gold Ore2 to 3 Roe
5 Spicy Eels
5 to 10 Magma Geodes
Lingcod1 Roe20 Bug Meat
Lobster1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 Roe
1 to 3 Seaweed
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
1 Coral
1 Sea Urchin
1 Beach Warp Totem
1 Nautilus Shell
Midnight Carp1 Roe
Midnight Squid1 Squid Ink2 Squid Ink
Mussel1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 Roe
1 to 3 Seaweed
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
1 Coral
1 Sea Urchin
1 Beach Warp Totem
1 Nautilus Shell
Octopus1 Roe1 to 10 Omni Geodes
Oyster1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 Roe
1 to 3 Seaweed
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
1 Coral
1 Sea Urchin
1 Beach Warp Totem
1 Nautilus Shell
Perch1 Roe
Periwinkle1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 to 3 Green Algae
1 Roe
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
2 to 3 Mixed Seeds1 Mountains Warp Totem
Pike1 Roe20 Bug Meat
Pufferfish1 Roe1 Roe
Rainbow Trout1 Roe1 Prismatic Shard
1 Rainbow Shell
Red Mullet1 Roe1 Roe
Red Snapper1 Roe1 Roe
Salmon1 Roe
Sandfish1 Roe2 Roe3 Roe
2 to 5 Cactus Seeds
Sardine1 Roe1 Roe
Scorpion Carp1 Roe2 Roe3 Roe
2 to 5 Cactus Seeds
Sea Cucumber1 Roe1 Roe
Sea Urchin1 Roe5 Roe
Shad1 Roe
Shrimp1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 Roe
1 to 3 Seaweed
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
1 Coral
1 Sea Urchin
1 Beach Warp Totem
1 Nautilus Shell
Slimejack1 Roe1 Green Algae10 to 50 Slime
1 Green Slime Egg
Smallmouth Bass1 Roe
Snail1 Broken CD
1 Broken Glasses
1 Driftwood
1 to 3 Green Algae
1 Roe
1 Soggy Newspaper
1 Trash
2 to 3 Mixed Seeds1 Mountains Warp Totem
Spook Fish1 Roe1 Treasure Chest
Squid1 Squid Ink
Stonefish1 Roe5 Copper Ore1 Diamond
1 to 5 Geodes
30 Stone
Sturgeon1 Sturgeon Roe2 Sturgeon Roe
Sunfish1 Roe1 Solar Essence
Super Cucumber1 Roe1 to 3 Amethyst
1 to 3 Iridium Ore
Tiger Trout1 Roe2 Roe
Tilapia1 Roe1 Roe
Tuna1 Roe1 Roe
Void Salmon1 Roe5 to 10 Void Essence3 Roe
1 Void Egg
Walleye1 Roe
Woodskip1 Roe
1 to 5 Wood
5 Hardwood5 to 10 Wood1 to 5 Acorn
1 to 5 Maple Seed
1 to 5 Pine Cone

If you want to know more about the Fishing Skill in Stardew Valley, then check out our dedicated fishing, crab pot and treasure chests guides!