The latest update in Fisch introduced the Sunhat Starfish, a brand-new pet that players can unlock by completing Captain Conch’s questline. While the quest isn’t too difficult overall, you’ll still need to catch several event fish, with the Flame Slasher Fish being one of the biggest challenges.
After unlocking the pet, many players immediately wondered whether it could improve money farming. Thanks to its mutation and luck abilities, the Sunhat Starfish has the potential to increase your earnings, especially if you’re fishing for valuable species. Here’s everything you need to know.
How to Unlock the Sunhat Starfish
The Sunhat Starfish becomes available after completing the Captain Conch Fischfest questline. Most objectives are fairly simple, although catching the Flame Slasher Fish may take several attempts depending on your equipment and luck. Once unlocked, the pet can be equipped immediately and begins providing its passive bonuses as it levels up.
Sunhat Starfish Passive Abilities Explained
The new pet comes with two unique abilities that focus on mutations and increasing your fishing luck.
Tropical Sun Mutation Chance
The first passive gives every fish you catch a chance to receive a Tropical Sun mutation. At lower levels, the chance starts around 20%, while a fully upgraded Sunhat Starfish increases it to 35%. Possible Tropical Sun mutations include:
- Tan
- Beach
- Paradise
- Tropical
- Sandy
- Super Tan
Among these, the most valuable are:
| Mutation | Money Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Beach | 6x |
| Tropical | 7x |
| Paradise | 8x |
| Super Tan | 10x |
Landing a fish with one of these mutations can dramatically increase its selling price, making this passive the pet’s biggest strength.
Luck Boost From Lit Arms
The second passive is what makes the Sunhat Starfish especially interesting. Every time you catch a fish below Legendary rarity, one of the pet’s five arms lights up. Each lit arm increases your luck.
- Around 20% Luck per arm at lower levels.
- Up to 30% Luck per arm at maximum level.
With all five arms active, you can receive:
- Around 100% extra Luck at lower levels.
- Up to 150% extra Luck at max level.
The effect disappears once you catch a Legendary, Mythical, Secret, or higher rarity fish, resetting the arms back to zero.
This creates an interesting gameplay loop where catching several lower-rarity fish builds a large luck bonus before eventually rewarding you with a rare catch.
Best Place to Use the Sunhat Starfish
One of the strongest locations tested with this pet is Forsaken Shore.
This area offers excellent chances to catch the valuable Power Captain Goldfish, which already sells for a high amount. When combined with Tropical Sun mutations, the profits become even better.
For the best results, use:
- Daytime
- Truffle Worms
- All Season Potion
- Tier III Luck Potion
These conditions maximize your chances of finding valuable fish while allowing the Sunhat Starfish’s passive abilities to activate consistently.
Best Boosts to Pair With the Pet
To fully utilize the Sunhat Starfish, combine it with additional luck bonuses.
Recommended boosts include:
- Midas Luck
- Lure Boost
- Tier III Luck Potion
- All Season Potion
- Sparkly Totem
- Weather Matrix (optional)
If the Weather Matrix triggers Sovereign Storm, you’ll receive a massive luck increase, although it isn’t required for consistent farming.
Money Test Results
Several fishing rods were tested with the Sunhat Starfish equipped to see whether the pet significantly improves hourly profits.
| Fishing Rod | Average Money Per Hour |
|---|---|
| Elder Mossripper | 56.41 Million |
| Soul Weeper Rod | 41.72 Million |
| Fabulous Rod | 21.26 Million |
| Neptune’s Blade | 15.08 Million |
Elder Mossripper
This rod produced the best overall performance during testing.
With over 329% Luck before the pet’s bonus, the additional luck from the Sunhat Starfish helped generate more Mythical and Secret fish, leading to an impressive average of 56.41 million credits per hour.
If you already own this rod, the new pet is an excellent companion.
Soul Weeper Rod
Although already considered one of the strongest money-making rods in Fisch, the Sunhat Starfish didn’t outperform other popular enchantment combinations.
The rod still averaged 41.72 million credits per hour, making it a solid option, but there are stronger setups available if your goal is maximizing profits.
Fabulous Rod
Unfortunately, the Fabulous Rod continues to struggle.
Even with the Sunhat Starfish increasing overall luck, the rod only reached 21.26 million credits per hour.
Its slow passive activation remains the biggest issue, preventing it from competing with stronger money-making rods.
Neptune’s Blade
Neptune’s Blade finished last during testing with approximately 15.08 million credits per hour.
Although its passive guarantees one of several mutations, those mutations simply don’t provide enough value to compete with the stronger rods currently available.
Future mastery updates could improve its performance, but for now there are much better alternatives.
Is the Sunhat Starfish Worth Using?
Overall, the Sunhat Starfish is a strong pet for players who want more luck and higher-value mutations. Its Tropical Sun passive can occasionally produce fish worth several times their normal price, while the stacking luck bonus makes it easier to catch rare fish after building up enough lit arms.
The pet performs best with rods that already have high luck, especially the Elder Mossripper, where it noticeably increases hourly earnings. While it doesn’t completely change weaker rods like the Fabulous Rod or Neptune’s Blade, it’s still a useful companion for players focused on farming valuable fish at Forsaken Shore.
If you plan on completing the Fischfest content, unlocking the Sunhat Starfish is definitely worthwhile. With more levels and future updates, it could become one of the best money-focused pets currently available in Fisch.
