Tilapia Stardew Valley Guide

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Stardew Valley is an amazingly detailed game with complex and wholesome storylines and skills. While the detail in Stardew Valley is a big appeal, it is also one of the trickier parts of the game! There is just so much detail that you need to know when it comes to fishing! There are so many types of Fish that live in different environments and can only be found in specific weather, times, and seasons!

Tilapia is one such Fish; whether you’re an avid fisher, or you just really want to finish the Community Centre bundles (which requires a lot of fishing), You might benefit from this guide!

Bottom Line Up Front

Tilapia is a fish that can be caught in the Ocean (at the Beach) between 6 am and 2 pm in Fall or Summer only; it has a mixed behavior pattern and so is relatively easy to catch. Applying Magic Bait to a fiberglass or iridium fishing rod will remove limitations of time and season so that you can catch Tilapia at any time of the year or day.

If you struggle to catch Tilapia, you can purchase it from Krobus’s shop on Wednesdays or the Travelling Cart on Sundays and Fridays. You can then make Maki Roll, Sashimi, or Quality Fertilizer with the Tilapia; Tilapia is not needed for any Quest but can be gifted to others; however, only Leo, Pam, Linus, Elliot, Sebastian, Willy, and Demetrius tolerate Tilapia.

Tilapia can also be donated to the Ocean Fish bundle in the Community Centre, used to create a Sailor Shirt, or sold onwards.

How to get Tilapia

Catching Tilapia

Tilapia live in the Ocean only and therefore can only be caught at the Beach, which is south of Pelican Town. You can only catch Tilapia in Summer or Fall between the hours of 6 am and 2 pm in any weather. Tilapia is relatively easy to catch. It only has a difficulty of 50 and has a mixed behavior pattern which means it has a basic movement pattern and is why it has a difficulty score of only 50.

If you struggle or can’t catch Tilapia between 6 am and 2 pm, you can always purchase some Magic Bait and add it to your fishing rod, which means that all restrictions are lifted. You can catch it at any time and in any season.

Purchasing Tilapia

You can purchase Tilapia either from Krobus’s Shop or from the Travelling Cart. In Krobus’s shop, you may be able to find Tilapia on Wednesdays for 200g, so of the purchase options, this is the cheaper and easier option (if you can find it)

You can also purchase Tilapia from the Travelling Cart, which visits the town on Friday and Sundays between the hours of 6 am and 8 pm, the Travelling Cart has a limited and random supply of stock, and so there is no guarantee that you will find the Tilapia in the Cart. The items in the Travelling Cart are also expensive, so you can expect to pay anywhere between 225-1000g for one Tilapia.

Bin Diving

You can look through each of the Bins outside the homes of the residents of Pelican Town once per day. When you look through the Bins, you have the chance of finding absolutely anything in there! You can get (obviously) rubbish like broken CDs and Wet Newspaper, but there is also a chance of finding valuable items like Diamonds and even Fish (like Tilapia).

Uses for Tilapia

Selling Tilapia

At a basic quality Tilapia sells for;

  • 75g at a basic level
  • 93g at a silver level
  • 112g at a gold level
  • 150g at an iridium level

Cooking with Tilapia

There is not much variety in cooking with Fish in Stardew Valley. Everything you can make with Fish can be made with any Fish you can catch (Walleye is substitutable for Tilapia, for example). Below, you can find everything you can make with Tilapia;

Maki Roll

If you like Sushi, then I am sure that Maki Roll will sound delicious! In the real world, Maki Roll is a type of rolled Sushi. Cooking is a small but wonderful pleasure within Stardew Valley; if you want to make Maki Roll, you need any fish (such as Tilapia), 1x Seaweed (which you can catch when fishing), and 1x Rice which you can grow on your farm!

Once you have one of each of these, you can make one portion of Maki Roll which in turn can be eaten, sold, or gifted. Maki Roll will provide you with 45 health points and 100 energy points if eaten. This makes it a great dish to take with you on big/exhausting adventures as a way to refuel.

If you want to sell Maki Roll, one dish sells for 220g. Maki Roll is also a great gift and is liked by the majority of the residents within Pelican Town, except for Krobus, Leo, Evelyn, and Emily, who all dislike or hate it before you can make the Maki Roll you need to get the recipe for it either by purchasing the recipe from the Stardrop Saloon for 300g or by learning it from the TV in your Cabin on the 21st of Summer in year one from the Queen of the Sauce channel.

Sashimi

Sashimi within Stardew Valley is exactly as it is in the real world; it is a meal that consists of slices of raw fish. This makes it simple to create. All you need is one Fish of any kind (including, of course, Tilapia) Much like Maki Roll, Tilapia can be eaten, sold, or gifted onwards.

If you choose to eat Sashimi, it will give you 33 health points and 75 energy points. While it is not as effective as Maki Roll, it is still a great item to take with you on your adventures! If you want to sell Sashimi, it sells for 75g per dish. Sashimi is another crowd-pleaser of a meal.

Everyone within Pelican Town, except for Leo, Kent, Emily, Evelyn, and Krobus, dislike or hate Sashimi. To make the Sashimi, you need the recipe from Linus, but he will only share this with you once you reach three hearts in your relationship with him.

Quality Fertilizer

This is an important tool if you are eager to plant and harvest your crops. When you have the Quality Fertilizer, you should apply it to tiled soil before you plant any crops/seeds in it. This increases the chance that when your crops grow, they will be of higher quality, such as silver or gold level crops.

To make the Quality Fertilizer, you will need 2x sap and 1x Fish, and you must also reach farming level nine to get the recipe. There is little other value in the Quality Fertilizer, so I would not recommend selling it, but you will make 10g for it if you do.

Fish is not a fun gift

I have established in all my time playing Stardew Valley that no one wants to be gifted a fish (crazy, right?) Tilapia is no exception to this, no one likes it, and certainly, no one loves it either. Some people can tolerate it, though, including Leo, Pam, Linus, Elliot, Sebastian, Willy, and Demetrius.

Just because a gift is considered neutral does not make it bad; neutral gifts still provide 20 friendship points. So if you have some Tilapia going spare, there is no harm in gifting it to others! However, it is not as effective as gifting things that others like (which provides 45 points) or gifts that people love (80 points).

Getting creative with Tilapia

Have you always wanted to look like a fashionable and nautical icon? The benefit of Tilapia is that it can be used to create a Sailor Shirt. You can make the Sailor Shirt using Tilapia in the Sewing Machine, and then you can wear it whenever you like! While the Sailor Shirt has an aesthetic benefit, it doesn’t offer a buffer or advantage like other items in the game.

Tilapia in the Community Centre

If you are eager to shut down that nasty Joja Mart, you will want to complete all the bundles within the Community Centre as quickly as possible! Luckily for you (if you find yourself in possession of Tilapia), you can donate Tilapia to the Ocean Fish bundle of the Community Centre to complete the Ocean Fish bundle you will need;

  • Sardine x1
  • Tuna x1
  • Red Snapper x1
  • Tilapia x1

Completing the Ocean Fish bundle will reward you with 5 Beach Warp Totems, which will instantly transport you to the Beach when activated, which can be helpful if you have a lot to do within a day or want to reach the Shack just before it closes!

The Ocean Fish bundle is part of the Fish Tank Room, which includes the following bundles;

  • River Fish bundle
  • Lake Fish bundle
  • Ocean Fish bundle
  • Night Fishing bundle
  • Crab Pot bundle
  • Specialty Fish bundle

The reward for completing all the bundles in the Fish Tank will reward you by removing the large and glittering boulder which you can find to the left of the Mines. Once this large boulder is removed, you will then be able to pan in the water by the Mines for valuable goods such as Iron and Gold!

Tilapia in Quests

Tilapia is not necessary to progress the story of Stardew Valley. However, it may randomly be requested on the Special Orders Board outside Lewis’s shop during the Summer.

Cultivating Tilapia

You can put the Tilapia into the pond on your farm, where they will reproduce every two days; they are not the most valuable of all the Fish. However, this is an option for you. You could then sell the extra Tilapia or use them to consistently create Quality Fertilizer to make even more money for your farm.

FAQs

Question: Where can I find Tilapia in Stardew Valley?

Answer: Stardew Valley live in the Ocean, and so you can find them in the water at the Beach (Which you can find south of Pelican Town)

Question: What can I do with Tilapia in Stardew Valley?

Answer: There are lots of options for Tilapia in Stardew Valley; you can cook with them and make either Maki Roll, Sashimi, or Quality Fertilizer. You can also use them to create a Sailor Shirt, which you can wear, or add them to your own pond where they will reproduce. You can donate them to the Ocean Fish bundle in the Community Centre, and if all else fails, you can also sell them.

Question: How much do Tilapia sell for in Stardew Valley?

Answer: You can get 75g for one Tilapia at their most basic level. In comparison, you can make 93g for a silver Tilapia, 112g for a gold Tilapia, and 150g for an iridium Tilapia.

Tilapia Stardew Valley Guide: Conclusion

There you have, everything you need to know about Tilapia! Luckily it is not a difficult fish (to catch at least) and is relatively helpful (although it is not needed for quests). Wishing you all the best in your adventures and happy fishing!

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