Sandfish

The Sandfish is a fish that can be caught in the pond at The Desert during all seasons. It can also be found randomly in Garbage Cans after The Desert has been unlocked, and it may appear at the Traveling Cart. Using Magic Bait allows it to be caught regardless of the time of day.

Sandfish are one of the fish tied closely to desert progression. Once The Desert is available, they can be caught there at any season, and they also become part of several other systems: they may be requested on the Help Wanted board, they are used in fish pond management, and they can be turned into tailoring and dyeing materials. Willy also asks for them during the Desert Festival fishing challenge.

In practical use, Sandfish has several notable applications:

• It can be placed in a Fish Pond, where it reproduces every 4 days.
• A Sandfish pond starts with a capacity of 3 fish and can be expanded to 10 by completing two quests.
• The first pond quest asks for 3 Cactus Fruits or 3 Coconuts and increases capacity from 3 to 5.
• The second quest asks for 1 Golden Relic and increases capacity from 5 to 10.
• At higher populations, the pond can produce yellow Sandfish Roe, and at population 10 it can also produce Cactus Seeds.

The pond output table shows that Sandfish Roe is the primary product, with the exact daily chance depending on population. At lower populations, the pond mostly produces roe or nothing; at population 10, the pond can also produce Cactus Seeds. Sandfish pond production also grants Fishing XP when items are collected.

Sandfish are also useful outside the pond. They can be used in the spool of the Sewing Machine to create the dyeable Fish Shirt, and they can serve as a yellow dye at the dye pots in Emily's and Haley's house at 2 Willow Lane.

Other points of note:

• After The Desert is unlocked, Sandfish may be randomly requested on the Help Wanted board outside Pierre's General Store as an item delivery order, rewarding gold and friendship.
• During the Desert Festival on Spring 15, Willy requests 3 Sandfish for his fishing challenge.
• Sandfish can be caught with Magic Bait at any time of day, making them easier to target once that bait is available.
• Although Sandfish have a theoretical maximum size of 25", the layout of The Desert pond makes it impossible to catch one longer than 23". Catching a 23" Sandfish requires at least Fishing level 18.

Overall, Sandfish is a desert fish with several niche but useful roles, especially for fish pond progression, tailoring, dyeing, and seasonal desert content.