Pond smelt

The Pond Smelt (ワカサギ, Wakasagi), is a relatively common winter fish found in the river (Lake in ) at any time of the day between December and February. It cannot be found in holding ponds, despite its name and the characteristics it has in real life.

In
Blathers will give his usual short speech on the player's donation. His words are as follows:

Upon donating it to the museum, it can be found in the middle/right tank in the Aquarium.

In
An information board in the aquarium will display this description of the Pond Smelt after donation:

In
Once donated to the museum, the Pond Smelt can be found in the lower level of the waterfall tank with the Salmon and King Salmon.

Chip will say this when given a Pond Smelt:

"Ya know, with pond smelt, deep frying 'em is tasty. But grilling 'em up right is pretty good too! Not that I mind having this guy raw. Nope, not me! Happy to!"

Real-world information
The pond smelt is a type of harmless commercially-caught fish found in middle to surface waters in lakes, rivers, and ponds. It can be found across the world in the Arctic, Northwest to Northeast of the Pacific, Canada, Alaska, Korea, and Japan. They feed off plankton, small insects, and algae. Adults can be found spawning in in-shore areas between spring and summer.