Start aquaculture: fill the tank, feed fish and check the next morning

Two ways into aquaculture

The Aquafarmer starting scenario is now available in 1.0. You can choose it for a new run rather than treating its absence in an older Demo selector as a missing upgrade. The alternative network-unlock route below comes from October Demo references; compare its requirements with your live network. Released scenario

The following feeding, growth-space and captive-breeding details remain labelled Demo build 26017150. Release availability confirms the system, not every old numerical or species rule.

Unlock the system before buying a collection of fish

In the community reference for Demo build 26017150, Joe Wild’s network progresses through WaterTrading → Aquaculture → Aquaculture II. The first aquaculture upgrade supplies starter equipment and arranges a merchant visit. Check your network’s current unlock requirements and whether you have actually obtained that upgrade before assuming the merchant is missing. No guaranteed arrival day is documented. Unlock reference

Use the first equipment to establish one working tank before expanding. Identify the installed tank, its water state, filtration and energy cell, then choose a fish whose needs you can meet. Buying more fish cannot fix an unfilled or unpowered setup.

The 19 October official Demo update confirms the system, habitat requirements, water quality, filtration, energy cells and harvesting tools. The more specific operating checks below come from community code references for the same October Demo build, not two independent playtests. Neither source reports an in-game regression test. The announcement’s GIFs use the forthcoming 1.0 interface, so they are not a reliable map of the Demo’s buttons. Official scope · Community method · Build reference

Fill the installed tank, not its fish inventory

For an installed RAS tank, use the tank’s filling interaction and inspect its water state afterward. A water bottle left in the fish inventory does not fill the tank, according to the build-specific community reference. Moving a bottle into a grid and changing the tank’s water are different actions. Tank operation

Before stocking, check three independent conditions:

Check	What to look at	If it is wrong
Tank water	The tank’s own water state and the fish’s habitat needs	Confirm the filling operation changed the tank, rather than merely moving a bottle
Water quality and filtration	The fish’s requirements and the tank’s filtering provision	Address the missing care condition before adding another fish
Energy cell	Actual available charge and the equipment’s requirements	Follow the power checks; a fitted cell is not proof of usable energy

The official update says species have different habitat requirements. Read the requirements on your current fish and equipment rather than applying one volume, quality threshold or care interval to every species. If a tank fails, address the unmet condition first. Official care requirements

Match the food, then inspect the processed reserve

Check the species before loading food. The community reference for build 26017150 lists its three tilapia variants as omnivorous; eels, electric eels and sturgeon are listed as carnivorous. That is a scoped reference for this Demo build, not a promise about every future fish or version. Species and feeding reference

Load suitable food into the feeder and use its processing interaction. Then inspect the corresponding calorie reserve, rather than assuming visible food in an inventory already counts as available nutrition. The useful chain is food type → processing → matching reserve → fish care. Do not buy more of the same food until you know which link failed.

Symptom	First check	What not to conclude yet
Food is present, but the fish’s needs are unmet	Diet, processing step and the matching reserve	That every kind of food supplies every reserve
The reserve did not change as expected	Whether suitable input was processed in the feeder	That loading and processing are the same action
Care declines despite feeding	Tank water, filtration and charge as well as nutrition	That enough food compensates for a habitat problem

Check the food and reserve values on your current items before choosing a ration.

Inspect the next overnight result before expanding

Before closing, note the tank’s water state, filtration, energy, food reserves and available fish space. After reopening, compare fish condition and any roe, fry or growth with that baseline. This before-and-after note is an editorial troubleshooting method, not an automatic log supplied by the game.

If care has worsened, revisit the unmet requirement before adding capacity. If the fish appear supported but there is no reproduction, separate whether that species can breed from whether the setup has room for growth. One quiet night does not establish a bug or a guaranteed breeding timetable.

Breeding space is not the same as water capacity

The official update describes a possible progression from roe through fertilisation and fry to mature fish. It does not promise that every species will complete that cycle in captivity. The community build reference lists the tilapia variants as breedable, while eels, electric eels and sturgeon are listed as not breeding in captivity in that build. Buying another sturgeon is therefore not a supported fix for “no sturgeon fry.” Official lifecycle · Community species limits

Check growth space and water amount separately. A larger fish-inventory grid does not establish that the tank holds more water. If fry cannot grow, inspect available space as well as the care requirements; do not assume extra slots solved every limit. Use your current tank’s displayed limits when planning capacity.

Choose the harvest goal and the correct tool

For fish meat, the official update identifies a knife. For sturgeon caviar, it identifies Surgery Tools. These are different harvest goals; caviar harvesting is not proof that captive sturgeon reproduction is supported. Check the selected fish and intended product before using the tool. Official harvesting tools

Before increasing production, also establish how you will sell the output. Use the stock and buyer checklist to inspect actual tags and customer requests. A functioning tank can still leave you with unsold inventory.

Quick diagnosis when the chain breaks

Problem	Next useful action
No aquaculture merchant yet	Verify the network upgrade and arranged visit; do not assume a fixed arrival day
Bottle in the grid, tank still unfilled	Use the installed tank’s filling interaction and recheck its water state
Food loaded, care still poor	Check species diet, processing and reserve, then water/filter/energy
Fry present but growth stalls	Inspect growth space separately from tank water and care
No eggs from an eel or sturgeon	Check the build-specific captive-breeding restriction before spending more
Healthy fish, but the planned product is missing	Separate the harvest goal and tool from breeding; inspect the actual fish

If the result still disagrees, record the game build, species, tank state, food reserve and before/after observation. Those details help another player identify which requirement failed.