Fish pond stuck at its population limit
A full-looking pond can be waiting for its own growth timer. Find out whether the pond needs a fish, more time, or a delivery before removing any stock.
Read the resident species and capacity
Interact with the pond to see the species and current population. One ordinary breeding fish is enough to start a population; the starting capacity and delay depend on the species. Adding extra fish manually can fill the available slots, but it does not immediately create a request. Leave a newly filled pond stocked through the next growth opportunity. Tiger Trout do not reproduce, so increasing that population requires additional fish.
Deliver the request instead of fishing out a resident
When an exclamation mark appears, interact to read the item and quantity. Bring the requested item to the edge and throw it in. Where several are required, deliver enough units to finish the request. Check for the jumping fish and the new capacity. Removing a resident while waiting can make the quest marker vanish because the pond is below capacity. Restore the population and the unfinished request can return.
Decide whether to preserve progress or change species
To harvest surplus stock without losing completed capacity upgrades, use a fishing rod to remove residents. Even fishing the last resident out leaves the pond assigned to that species. For a different species, use the Empty Pond command in the pond interface. It resets the pond and its capacity progress. If you have invested a Golden Animal Cracker, the reset also loses its benefit. Make that decision before treating Empty Pond as a quick way to harvest fish.