Fish Pond

A Fish Pond is a buildable farm building that can hold a school of fish and gradually turn them into a renewable source of items. It must be populated with a single fish species, and each pond can only contain one species at a time. Once stocked, the fish reproduce over time until the pond reaches its current capacity, and the pond may also generate daily products in its chum bucket.

The pond starts small, but special fish quests can raise its capacity up to a maximum of 10 fish. Legendary Fish and Legendary Fish II ponds are exceptions and cap at 1. When the fish population reaches a quest threshold, an exclamation point appears over the pond and the fish request specific items. Delivering the requested items completes the quest, increases capacity, and grants Fishing XP. If the pond is already full and fish are removed by catching them, the capacity increase is retained; only using the pond menu’s “empty pond” option fully resets it to a newly built state.

Fish ponds reproduce on a species-dependent timer, usually every 1 to 5 days. Fish will reproduce even if only one fish is present, and the pond can be filled by throwing in more fish up to its current capacity instead of waiting. However, quest-related growth is slower than ordinary reproduction: when a quest is completed, the spawning clock resets, so the next population increase takes the normal spawn time again.

Fish pond quests depend on both species and capacity. A few examples include:

• Carp: 2 Green Algae at 3 fish, 2 Cave Carrot at 5 fish
• Stonefish: Copper Ore, Earth Crystal, Coal or Geodes depending on population
• Lava Eel: Fire Quartz, Basalt, Diamonds, Mega Bombs, or Iridium Bar
• Woodskip: Hardwood, common or red mushrooms, sap products, Jade, or Tea Leaves
• Blobfish, Super Cucumber, Octopus, and other late-game fish can ask for a wide variety of items

Ponds also produce items in the chum bucket once per day. Roe is the most common output, but some fish can produce rare goods at higher populations, and the exact item pool depends on the species and population. Collecting a product by clicking the pond grants Fishing XP based on the item’s sell price. A Golden Animal Cracker can be thrown into the pond to double its output, and this effect can be removed by emptying the pond through the menu.

Several visual and utility behaviors are tied to Fish Ponds:

• Right-clicking a populated pond lets the player change its decorations.
• The initial decoration style is chosen randomly when the pond is purchased.
• Some fish change the color of the pond water, including Legendary Fish, Lava Eels, Super Cucumbers, Slimejacks, Void Salmons, and Legendary Fish II.
• A sign placed on the pond can show the fish count, turning the pond into a visible counter.
• The pond can be used to refill Watering Cans.

There are also a few special cases worth noting. Tiger Trout do not reproduce, though they can still be kept in a pond. A pond full of 10 Crabs triggers unique dialogue from Willy the next time the player speaks to him, and he gives a Pearl. Empty ponds do not produce items, and removing fish during an active quest pauses that quest without resetting it.