FishingPond

From a humble fishing spot to a thriving Viking fish farm!

FishingPond introduces a fish-farming system to Valheim, allowing players to manage enclosed fish populations, control breeding, supply food, and develop productive aquatic environments.

Instead of relying entirely on wild fishing, you can establish a managed pond where fish grow, reproduce, and contribute to your settlement's resources.

Designed for survival gameplay, fishing villages, harbor settlements, riverside bases, and dedicated multiplayer communities.

Main Features

Fish farming and breeding

• Manage fish populations within designated pond boundaries.
• Maintain independent breeding and growth cycles for different fish species.
• Raise new generations of fish through an automated breeding system.
• Control breeding frequency and maturation time through server configuration.
• Support multiple fish species with independent breeding timers.
• Maintain existing fish populations across server restarts through persistent world data.

Pond boundary management

• Define the area used for fish farming.
• Calculate the ecological capacity of a pond from its enclosed area.
• Configure the required space per fish.
• Monitor the number of swimming fish against the pond's capacity.
• Keep fish populations within defined pond boundaries.

Food management

• Supply food to support breeding.
• Configure the maximum amount of stored feed.
• Set food consumption per egg.
• Prevent new breeding when insufficient food is available.
• Allow previously funded offspring to continue growing even when food runs out.

Fish population control

• Configure the maximum ecological population.
• Independently limit the number of automatically released swimming fish.
• Control automatic release intervals.
• Set species-specific hourly release limits.
• Monitor fish and pond capacity through the in-game HUD.

Pond administration

• Dedicated administrative interface using F7.
• Assign administrators through Steam IDs or authenticated platform identities.
• Allow recognized Valheim server administrators to manage ponds.
• Manage authorized pond boundaries.
• Access administrative reset operations.
• Enforce permissions on the server rather than trusting the client.

Installation

Install using Thunderstore Mod Manager

1. Open Thunderstore Mod Manager or r2modman.
2. Select Valheim.
3. Choose your mod profile.
4. Search for FishingPond.
5. Install the mod and its required dependencies.
6. Start Valheim using Start Modded.

Dedicated server installation

FishingPond uses server-authoritative logic for important gameplay operations.

For multiplayer servers:

1. Install BepInEx on the dedicated server.
2. Install FishingPond in the server's BepInEx/plugins/ directory.
3. Install FishingPond on the participating game clients.
4. Start the server to generate the configuration.
5. Edit the server configuration to establish access permissions and gameplay balance.
6. Restart the server to apply the settings.

Important: Server configuration controls permissions, breeding, and population limits. Editing a client configuration does not override those server settings.

Avoid installing duplicate DLLs.

Getting Started

Step 1 — Prepare your fishing area

Choose a suitable location for your fish farm.

Ideal builds include:

• A natural pond.
• A sheltered river inlet.
• A fishing harbor.
• A dedicated aquatic enclosure.
• A larger fish-farming area integrated into a Viking settlement.

Make sure the enclosure provides enough space for the population you want to maintain.

Step 2 — Define the pond boundaries

An authorized administrator can open the pond-management interface using:

F7

Use the interface to establish the pond's managed boundary.

The configured area determines the ecological capacity available to the fish population.

Step 3 — Introduce fish

Stock the managed pond with fish.

Different species maintain independent breeding schedules and growth progression.

A species requires an adequate breeding population and sufficient food to produce offspring.

Step 4 — Provide food

Supply the pond's feeding system with the appropriate feed.

Food supports the creation of new eggs. Each egg consumes a configurable amount of feed once.

Already funded offspring can continue maturing without consuming additional food for that same egg.

Step 5 — Monitor growth

Fish reproduction and maturation progress using Valheim server world time.

This allows the system to account for world-time progression, including sleeping and time-skipping mechanics.

Step 6 — Maintain a sustainable population

Keep an eye on the pond's ecological capacity, feeding reserves, and fish population.

Increasing pond size allows for a higher ecological capacity, subject to the configured global population limit.

Crafting, Feeding, and Food Production

Pondkeeper's Feed Bin

FishingPond includes the Pondkeeper's Feed Bin, a buildable container based on Valheim's chest system.

It has a distinctive sack decoration and a custom inventory icon, making it suitable for fishing villages and fish-farming facilities.

Important: The Feed Bin is a storage container. It does not automatically transfer food to fish or replace the pond's feeding mechanics.

Fish feed

Fish breeding consumes feed according to the server's configured consumption rate.

The default setting is:

FeedUnitsPerEgg = 1

This means that one feed unit is charged when a new egg is produced.

An administrator can increase or decrease the cost.

Recipes and fish-based meals

FishingPond includes custom crafting-guide and food-description content associated with its fish-farming functionality.

Use the in-game crafting stations and recipe listings to check the ingredients and quantities available in your installed version.

Exact material requirements for the Feed Bin, fish feed, and individual meals should be taken from the release's in-game recipes.

Configuration

FishingPond is highly configurable, allowing server administrators to create anything from a small decorative fish pond to a larger productive fish farm.

Configuration file:

BepInEx/config/promotor.valheim.fishfarming.cfg

The internal filename is retained for compatibility with existing installations and saved data.

Access and permissions

[Access]
AllowedPlayerIDs = 76561198225268576
AllowValheimAdmins = true

AllowedPlayerIDs

A comma- or semicolon-separated list of authorized SteamID64 or authenticated platform identities.

Example:

76561198225268576

Or:

Steam_76561198225268576

Do not use character names to establish administrative permissions.

AllowValheimAdmins

When enabled, authenticated users recognized through the dedicated server's adminlist.txt can also manage ponds.

If AllowedPlayerIDs is empty, access is restricted to recognized server administrators when this option is enabled.

Only authorized players can open the F7 management interface and perform protected pond operations.

Ecology settings

[Ecology]
AreaSquareMetersPerFishV2 = 1
MaximumTotalFishV2 = 256

AreaSquareMetersPerFishV2

Controls the area required per fish.

Default: 1

MaximumTotalFishV2

Sets the maximum ecological fish population.

Default: 256

The effective ecological capacity is the smaller of the calculated area-based capacity and the configured maximum.

Offspring and automatic release

[Offspring]
MaxLoadedPondFishV2 = 100
AutoRelease = true
ReleaseIntervalSeconds = 5
MaxReleasesPerSpeciesPerHour = 6

MaxLoadedPondFishV2

Maximum number of active swimming fish allowed by the automatic release system.

Default: 100

This controls automated releases, not the ability to manually introduce fish.

AutoRelease

Enables or disables automatic offspring release.

ReleaseIntervalSeconds

Sets the interval between automatic release opportunities.

Default: 5

MaxReleasesPerSpeciesPerHour

Limits the number of automatic releases for each species per hour.

Default: 6

Breeding settings

[Breeding]
EggIntervalMultiplier = 1
MaturityDaysMultiplier = 1

EggIntervalMultiplier

Controls breeding frequency while preserving species-specific baseline rates.

• 1.0 — Normal breeding speed.
• 0.5 — Twice the normal breeding frequency.
• 2.0 — Half the normal breeding frequency.

MaturityDaysMultiplier

Controls the time needed for offspring to mature.

• 1.0 — Normal maturation.
• 0.5 — Twice as fast.
• 2.0 — Twice as long.

Feeding settings

[Feeding]
MaxFeedUnits = 100
FeedUnitsPerEgg = 1

MaxFeedUnits

Controls the maximum available feed units.

Default: 100

FeedUnitsPerEgg

Controls how many feed units are consumed when an egg is produced.

Default: 1

Feed is charged once per egg. Offspring that have already been funded continue developing even when the available feed reaches zero.

Understanding Population Limits

FishingPond uses separate concepts for ecological capacity and active swimming fish.

Ecological capacity represents the fish population the pond can support based on area and server configuration.

Active swimming fish represent fish that are currently loaded and swimming in the pond.

The HUD displays the number of swimming fish relative to the server-calculated ecological capacity.

Example:

24 / 100

This indicates 24 swimming fish against a capacity of 100.

The automatic release limit is separate from the ecological maximum.

Increasing the maximum number of active fish can increase CPU usage, rendering demand, and loading times.

Multiplayer Administration

FishingPond is designed to protect important gameplay operations on dedicated servers.

The server validates permission-sensitive actions, including boundary modifications and pond resets.

Client interface visibility alone does not grant administrative rights.

To grant access to a player:

1. Obtain their SteamID64 or authenticated platform identity.
2. Open the dedicated server's FishingPond configuration.
3. Add the ID to AllowedPlayerIDs.
4. Save the file.
5. Restart the dedicated server.

Do not rely on character names for access control.

Resetting a Pond

FishingPond includes administrative reset functionality for managing pond populations and associated state.

Resets are destructive and should be used carefully.

Before resetting:

1. Back up the Valheim world.
2. Confirm that the correct pond is selected.
3. Verify that no important fish or feeding resources will be unintentionally removed.
4. Use the administrative reset process.
5. Verify the pond's state before restocking.

The reset system includes verification mechanisms intended to prevent accidental removal of unrelated or newly introduced fish.

Performance Recommendations

For small private servers, begin with conservative population settings.

For larger servers, consider:

• Reducing the maximum number of loaded swimming fish.
• Increasing the minimum area required per fish.
• Limiting automatic releases.
• Avoiding excessively large populations in densely built bases.
• Monitoring server performance when increasing fish counts.

A large ecological capacity does not require an equally large number of actively swimming fish.

Troubleshooting

F7 does not open

• Verify that FishingPond is installed and enabled.
• Check that BepInEx successfully loaded the plugin.
• Confirm your Steam ID is authorized on the dedicated server.
• Check AllowValheimAdmins and your server's adminlist.txt.

Fish are not breeding

• Confirm that the pond has an adequate breeding population.
• Verify sufficient feed is available.
• Check ecological capacity.
• Review breeding interval settings.
• Allow enough in-game world time for breeding and maturation.

Offspring are not being released

• Verify AutoRelease = true.
• Check the active swimming-fish cap.
• Review release intervals and species-specific release limits.
• Ensure the pond has sufficient capacity.

Population numbers look incorrect

The HUD distinguishes swimming fish from ecological capacity.

Temporary missing snapshots can display -- while the information is unavailable or being refreshed.

Configuration changes do not apply

• Edit the server-side configuration file.
• Save the changes.
• Restart the dedicated server.
• Check for duplicate plugin installations.

Low FPS around ponds

Reduce the maximum loaded swimming-fish population and verify that you have not configured excessively aggressive release settings.

Compatibility and Persistence

FishingPond maintains internal identifiers and saved-data compatibility across its updated releases.

Existing installations should be updated without unnecessarily clearing saved pond information.

Back up world files before major version changes, administrative resets, or extensive population experiments.

Compatibility with every other fish-spawning or fish-management mod is not guaranteed.

Source Code and Bug Reports

GitHub: https://github.com/Sn4Pz/FishingPondAddon

For bug reports, include:

• FishingPond version.
• Valheim version.
• Dedicated server or single-player environment.
• Relevant BepInEx logs.
• Steps needed to reproduce the issue.

Build your pond. Feed your fish. Grow your Viking fishing empire!