Fish Ponds - Worthy Investment?

[Sacor]

Hi there folks! This is my first time collaborating with these forums, but I wanted to get a general consensus on the fish ponds . Recently I picked up my Nintendo Switch to begin a second full playthrough of Stardew Valley. I came back to find the new updates added these fish ponds, and I love fish so I instantly started going all in on building them.

I have found that I am making really decent money with high value fish. I always sell any fish that are higher than basic quality because any fish you drop in the pond are reverted to the base quality regardless of the quality of fish added to the pond.

Has anybody else found this to be a lucrative use of stone/gold/fish? It would be nice to have a fish shed or hatchery where you can auto collect roe for multiple species of fish at once similar to the Barn or Coop Auto-Collector!

I love this game and I love reading about other people's designs and farms. :)

Thanks all!

 

[philodygmn]

Without wanting to spoil you on advanced strategies involving any particular fish, I will say that their footprint generally is more profitable when used instead for crops, however given specific priorities you may decide a specific slate of fish are worth their yields in items.

 

[MogBeoulve]

I like having fish ponds mostly for the non-roe items you can get. Right now, I have one pond that occasionally provides stone, and one for omni geodes. I do age the roe and sell it, but it's more of a bonus than a deliberate money making venture.

 

[Njin]

I vote no but that's just because I farm purely for profit at this point . I can't really speak from a mid game standpoint all money is good money when your trying to make your first mill. fish ponds came to my farm year 14, I built 2 when they were introduced at 1.5 & Late game it don't seem like the money is there for me to justify doing it for profit . I plan to build more fish ponds though as I like being able to put my fish to work creating more fish and gathering resources . I like the Idea of the roe and caviar but I would farm it just to collect it . eventually I will collect it all just to put it in a box so I can say I have it. It is a very cool addition a good way to diversify what you can farm. I see why people like them they look real cool on the farm. Def would be cooler if you could drop the legendary fish in it though.

 

[PoppyForPenny]

A fish pond is a full 25 tiles, the same as an iridium sprinkler. There's no way to fill a fish pond that is going to get you the same profit per tile, per day, as 24 tiles of crops.

From a money-only standpoint, no, fish ponds just are not profitable. However, they have many other benefits! The fish pond page of the wiki has the full list of each fish's loot- cool and fun and cute stuff like geodes, stone, wood, pearls, gems, totems, even trash. I usually raise a sturgeon for the caviar for the hidden bundle. And you can farm fish in the ponds, by removing some and letting them replenish, then selling them or using for recipes.

If you have never done fish ponds, and you have the space, I would say to give it a try. The little quests are fun, the fish jump, they give neat stuff and the roe is pretty colors. Some fish even color the water! When 1.4 first came out I did a bunch of fish ponds and it was great. My favorites were my ice pips!

 

[wildandblue]

I feel it's too much effort for the reward. You can be cruising along on your regular missions and the fishes' demands can derail what you were hoping to accomplish that day (or week). Yes, sure you can know ahead (via the wiki) and maybe stock up what each fish type will ask for, but there's so many other things I'd rather be doing. Truthfully when the Community Center remixed Greenhouse bundle include the fish pond, I'd rather avoid it and tend to start a new farm.

 

[Godkin]

Utilizing fish ponds can clearly increase your income, although it cannot be compared to dominant artisan products such as ancient wine/star fruit. As a suggestion, Rainbow Trout and Lava Eel are the best choices if you are focused on increasing your income.

However, for me personally, fish ponds are also important for additional aesthetic purposes if you want to create impressive and attractive farm layouts. (ーー゛)

 

[Comm]

In my experience they can take a decent amount of time to repay if you don't use the correct fish and if they want something hard to obtain/out of season, but personally I find them quite worth it.

 

[FilthyGorilla]

They’ll make a fair enough profit for a semi low maintenance building. You’ll mostly be making them for the aesthetic and items though

 

[Jianadaren1]

They're nowhere close to being the most profitable use of space, though that's only relevant once you're operating all your space at max intensity. But until you reach that point, whatever: it's more profitable than fallow land. Also, at least one is required to get products required for completion and they can also produce valuable and/or difficult to obtain fishes, which could conceivably be much more valuable as ingredients/gifts than their sale price would suggest

 

[SteveDJ9999]

Most of the time, I don't even bother with fish ponds. But when I do, I typically include one with rainbow trout. And, after years of game play, across several saves, they finally paid off!

 

[Lew Zealand]

Income? No, there are lots of ways to add more income but after you get past their incessant requests for:

Ocean Stone - !! whaa— I've… never even seen that
Dwarf Scroll III - can't I just give you Scrolls I and II, that's totally like III!
Diamond - !! I don't even give Penny Diamond, ya think I'm gonna toss one to a FISH??
Crystal Fruit - it's Spring you @%$^$%@!
Purple Mushroom - wait 3?? Purple Mushrooms, grrr whaddya need wit— ooo purple water, OK you win
Mayonnaise - I— um, I don't wanna..., ok can I toss it to you from real far away, ewww......
other Fish - No. I'm replacing you with Crabs
PoopMudstone - gross.

I do like the different colored waters and have incorporated those into farm design (on my Slime Farm). And if you like Fishing and the Qi's Extended Family Quest then keeping Flounder, Midnight Carp, and a (midnight) Squid for Seafoam Pudding is just great!

Lots of Fish give good items at reasonable rates like:

(Midnight) Squid - Ink
Stingray - Dragon Tooth, Magma Cap, Battery Pack
Lava Eel - Spicy Eel, Magma Geode, Gold Ore
Slimejack - Lotsa Slime
SuperCuke - Iridium Ore, Abby nibbles
Octopus - Omni Geodes
…and many others for what fits your needs

But MOST importantly they do it passively! No work other than bumping into the Pond once in a while! I can do that like even once every few days… if I have a Horse. Otherwise maybe once a week? Totally fits my Farm work ethic!

 

[Rhiannon]

I'm one of those weird "self-sufficient" players that insists on growing/making/crafting all things that I can instead of buying things. So deluxe speed-gro is a must and can be made with coral and oak resin. Therefore, I have three ponds for propagating coral. I also have one with rainbow trout so I can be disappointed daily with no prismatic shard.

 

[MogBeoulve]

I also have one with rainbow trout so I can be disappointed daily with no prismatic shard.

Maybe one day you will get one!

It took me a long time to decide to use deluxe speed grow. But eventually I had so many bones that I just set up a hopper with the bone mill, and at that point, I figured I may as well use it.

 

[Prime]

If you're purely looking for profit, there are better ways go about it. If you're looking for a steady supply of certain items, it can be worth having a few anyway.

I have a few super cucumber ponds on my farm as they produce iridium ore and amethysts.

 

[Operator CT02]

Consider developing different types of fish with different colors. For example, you can include a Lava Eel with a striking red color.

 

[An Everyday Person]

Hi there folks! This is my first time collaborating with these forums, but I wanted to get a general consensus on the fish ponds . Recently I picked up my Nintendo Switch to begin a second full playthrough of Stardew Valley. I came back to find the new updates added these fish ponds, and I love fish so I instantly started going all in on building them.

I have found that I am making really decent money with high value fish. I always sell any fish that are higher than basic quality because any fish you drop in the pond are reverted to the base quality regardless of the quality of fish added to the pond.

Has anybody else found this to be a lucrative use of stone/gold/fish? It would be nice to have a fish shed or hatchery where you can auto collect roe for multiple species of fish at once similar to the Barn or Coop Auto-Collector!

I love this game and I love reading about other people's designs and farms. :)

Thanks all!

They look good, but they're definitely outclassed in terms of money for that space. A fish pond is 25 tiles, you can fit 24 crops and an iridium sprinkler in there which will make much more money.