Fish ponds in Stardew Valley can be a good source of income and items if you know which fish will benefit you better over others. A fish pond costs you a visit to Robin, 5,000 gold, 200 stone, 5 seaweed, and 5 algae. After it’s built you get to drop a fish into the pond, but which fish will you choose? Below is my top 15 list of the best fish for fish ponds in Stardew Valley!

1. Rainbow Trout

Rainbow trout are not rainbow colored, but can produce a Prismatic Shard

This takes my top spot because Rainbow Trout are the only fish in the game with a chance of producing a Prismatic Shard in their pond! They also produce roe and they have a chance of producing a rainbow shell too. 

2. Sturgeon

A room full of Caviar is sure to make you rich

Sturgeon are number two because the roe Sturgeon can produce is special! Putting their roe in a preserves jar does not produce pickled roe, it instead produces Caviar. Caviar sells at a base price of 500 gold, making Sturgeon the most profitable fish. 

3. Stingray

Nothing is cooler than catching a Stringray in a Pirate Cove

Stingrays can be helpful in a few ways! They produce a multitude of items such as a magma cap, 2-5 cinder shards, a dragon tooth, a battery pack, or roe. 

4. Blobfish

Blobfish are special for being able to produce a hard to obtain item. Besides roe, they have a chance of making a pearl or five Warp Totems to your farm. 

5. Lava Eel

You can fish for Lava Eels in any source of lava you can find

Lava Eels are useful for producing a range of stuff too, like Stingrays. They can produce roe, five gold ore, five spicy eel dishes (useful for luck boosts), or 5-10 magma geodes. Plus they turn their pond water red!

6. Super Cucumber

Keep Willy company by fishing next to him

Super Cucumbers (the purple ones, not the yellow) are a good source of iridium and amethyst. They can produce roe, 1-3 iridium, or 1-3 amethysts.

7. Octopus

Perfect catch!

Octopus are unexpectedly good fish to keep in a fish pond. They can produce roe and up to ten omni geodes! Omni geodes are great as a small source of income when you break them open and to find prismatic shards. 

8. Ice Pip

Find an Ice Pip in the freezing water of level 60 in the Mines

Ice Pips are cute little fish that can produce a range of items besides roe. They can make five iron ore, 1-5 frozen geodes, thirty stones, or a diamond! They are one of the only two fish that can produce diamonds. 

9. Slimejack

Slimejacks are good fish to keep especially if you are big into farming slimes. They produce roe, green algae, 10-50 slimes, or a green slime egg. 

10. Spookfish

Logically fishing in a submarine doesn't make sense, but it looks cool

Spookfish produce something no other fish does. They don’t make something as vital as a prismatic shard but they can produce a treasure chest. Selling a treasure chest is worth 5,000 gold, making them more than worth it to keep around. 

11. Stonefish

Fish who need something will alert you with an exclaimation mark above their pond

Stonefish produce exactly what you’d expect; stone! They can produce roe, five copper ore, 1-5 geodes, thirty stones, or (the only other fish to do this) a diamond. 

12. Lionfish

Lionfish are another fish that are good to keep around if you are into farming slimes. They can produce roe, 2-5 taro, or a tiger slime egg (otherwise only found on Ginger Island)!

13. Woodskip

Fall fishing vibes

Similar to Stonefish, Woodskip produces exactly what you’d expect; wood! They can make roe, 1-10 pieces of wood, five pieces of hardwood, 1-5 acorns, 1-5 maple seeds, or 1-5 pinecones. 

14. Ghostfish

Besides being ghostly, Ghostfish produce a range of things. They make roe, 1-3 quartz, five pieces of white algae, refined quartz, or three pale broth dishes. 

15. Midnight Squid

You can even turn your fish ponds into a zen area

In our number fifteen spot I have Midnight Squid. Midnight Squid produce something that’s challenging to obtain but they do not produce roe. Instead they make 1-2 bottles squid ink!

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