Stringfish

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New Horizons fish

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New Horizons fish
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Stringfish
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Parahucho perryi (stringfish) Family: Salmonidae (salmons and trouts)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  イトウ  일본연어  Taimen  Huchen  远东哲罗鱼  Dai yu  Taimén  Donauzalm  遠東哲羅魚  Dai yu  Taimén  Таймень

The stringfish (イトウ, Itō) is a freshwater fish in the Animal Crossing series introduced in Doubutsu no Mori. In games prior to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it appears with a varying shadow size that can be found in rivers from 4 PM to 9 AM exclusively during winter. In New Horizons, it instead appears as a very large shadow in clifftop rivers from winter to early spring. It is tied with the dorado and golden trout as the most valuable freshwater fish in the Animal Crossing series, selling for  15,000 Bells.

Catch details

In Animal Crossing

#24

"Ohhh, boy! I hooked a stringfish! I was just stringing it along..."

DnM / iQue

DnM+

AC

DnMe+

Time of year	Dec – Feb
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Location	River
Shadow size	Very large
Selling price	15,000 Bells
Feng shui	None
Furniture size

In Wild World

#26

"Whoa... I caught a stringfish! I completely rock! YIPPEEEEEE!"

Description	A relative of the salmon, they can live a long time.
Time of year	Dec – Feb
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	Dec – Jan
Location	River
Shadow size	Huge
Fish size	150 cm
Selling price	15,000 Bells
Furniture size

In City Folk

#27

"OH MY GOSH! I caught a stringfish! This is AWESOME! ♪"

Description	Rarely seen and treasured, these are known for having voracious appetites.
Time of year	Dec – Feb
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	N/A
Location	River
Shadow size	Large
Fish size	About 60 in.
Selling price	15,000 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#29

"OH MY GOSH! I caught a stringfish! My theory really paid off!"

Time of year	Dec – Feb
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	N/A
Location	River
Shadow size	Huge
Fish size	140 cm
Selling price	15,000 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#91

Event availability	Sneaky Stringfish Goals
Location	Lost Lure Creek
Shadow size	Huge
Fish size	115.6 cm - 164.0 cm
Rarity	★★★
Catch rate	Cannot be caught at this time
Selling price	5,000 Bells
Request reward	2,000 Bells, 4 Friendship Points Fortune Cookie, Bronze Treats, Sparkle Stone (1.6%)

In New Horizons

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the stringfish is a lucky item during winter, meaning it gives a 777-point Happy Home Academy bonus when placed in the player's house.

#30

"OH MY GOSH! I caught a stringfish! Five more and I'll have a guitarfish!"

Time of year	North: Dec – Mar South: Jun – Sep
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Location	River (clifftop)
Shadow size	Very large
Rarity	Rare
Spawn requirement	Catch 100 total fish
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  15,000 Bells  C.J.:  22,500 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

In Animal Crossing

After donating the stringfish, Blathers will make the following remarks:

"Hoo! Indeed, WOO hoo! This is an extremely rare fish, I'll have you know! I'm absolutely agog! If I may hazard a guess, this must have been the most difficult fish to catch yet! I almost can't believe it! To think, you're donating such a rare find to us... Allow me to commend you on your matchless generosity. We've been saving a place just for this day, wot wot! Have faith, this fish will be thoroughly treasured!"

In Wild World

Blathers will tell the player the following about the stringfish upon its donation to the museum:

"I've heard it said that this fish is actually very high in fat content... If such words are true, then whatever possessed someone to name it that? If you were to call a portly fellow "stringy", well... Madness would ensue!"

The stringfish can then be seen swimming about in the first freshwater tank.

In City Folk

After donating the stringfish, Blathers will impart his knowledge of the fish to the player dialogue.

"...Stringfish are hardy creatures that can live for up to 15 years with ease! These older fish grow to remarkable sizes actually... One fish even made it to a gargantuan 80 inches (2 meters)! At that size, perhaps we should call it the king of the river! No wonder it looks so serene, eh wot?"

The stringfish can be found in the middle-left tank in the aquarium.

In New Leaf

The following information will be displayed by its tank:

"Stringfish live in cold rivers, can grow to over a yard long, and are stout and bulky like logs. They live up to 20 years but grow so slowly that it takes them 15 years to reach full maturity. They are called "phantom fish" because there are so few of them. Adults are particularly hard to find."

The stringfish can be found in the larger of the two left-hand tanks in the freshwater fish room.

In New Horizons

When donating to Blathers or selecting "Tell me about this!" in New Horizons, he will provide the following information about the fish:

"The stringfish grows slowly, but also lives quite a long time for a fish, with up to 15 years being typical. Consequently, while it takes a while, they can get quite large-perhaps even up to six feet long! The stringfish is perhaps the best embodiment in the fish world of 'slow and steady wins the race.'"

The stringfish can be found in the second tier in the waterfall fish-tank with the sweetfish and crucian carp.

Fishing Tourney

In City Folk

Chip will not eat this fish as an entry for the Fishing Tourney. He will mention that it is too special to eat as it is. He will accept it as an entry and will measure it as usual.

In New Leaf

"For stringfish, saltin' and grillin' 'em works great. And you know, fried or meunière ain't bad options either. But it'd be a bad idea to munch this guy right here. I mean, it IS a phantom fish..."

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

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  Animal Crossing

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  Animal Crossing: Wild World

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  Animal Crossing: City Folk

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  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

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  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Real-world information

A Sakhalin taimen, the real name of the stringfish

The Parahucho perryi is one of the largest, most ancient type of salmon species which inhabits the lower to middle reaches of lakes and rivers. It is Critically Endangered. Females lay between 2,000 - 10,000 eggs each time on sandy/gravelly river bottoms, most of them do not hatch. The fish can be found in areas of the Northwest Pacific, namely the Sakhalin Island (Russia, where it gets the name Sakhalin taimen), the Island of Hokkaidō (Japan) and parts of the far eastern Russian mainland. More information on this topic is available at Wikipedia.

Names in other languages

	イトウ itō	Stringfish
	일본연어 ilbonyeoneo	"Japanese salmon"
	远东哲罗鱼 yuǎndōng zhéluóyú	Stringfish (lit. "Far East taimen")
	遠東哲羅魚 Unknown
	Таймень Taymen'	Taimen
	Donauzalm	Huchen/Danube salmon, a related species
	Huchen	Huchen/Danube salmon, a related species
	Taimén	Taimen
	Dai yu	Stringfish
	Sperlano Taimen (New Horizons)	Smelt Taimen

Notes

Pocket Camp fish

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