- Heirloom
- Medium
- 85 days to maturity (from transplant)
- 5,000–30,000 SHU
- Striped
Fish
Fish Pepper
Heirloom medium pepper from United States. Clean sharp heat in a thin-walled pod, traditionally picked pale so it seasons without colouring the dish. Ready in about 85 days from transplant.
Single source · Updated Sep 19, 2026 · Values marked like this (estimated) are estimates.
At a glance
- Heat
- Medium 5,000–30,000 SHU
- Pod
- Elongated <1 oz (5–10 g) (estimated)
Slim pods about 64 mm long that hang downward, striped along their length until fully ripe.
- Species
- Capsicum annuum
- Days to harvest
- 85 days from transplant · Mid-late
- Plant height
- 1½–2 ft (46–61 cm) Compact
- Spacing
- 15 × 18 in (38 × 46 cm) (estimated)
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Position
- Handles open positions
- Growing sites
- Greenhouse · Open ground · Container
- Container growing
- Balcony friendly min. 5 gal (20 L) pot (estimated)
- Difficulty
- Easy-moderate (estimated) 2/5
- Skin
-
- Striped
- Orange
- Red
Heat
Scoville heat units
Medium
Fish Scoville heat units: 5,000–30,000 SHU
Noticeable heat. Mucho Nacho, the jumbo jalapeño, sits at the bottom of this band and Hungarian Yellow Wax near the middle. Hot enough to lead a salsa, mild enough to eat whole.
Flavor
“Clean sharp heat in a thin-walled pod, traditionally picked pale so it seasons without colouring the dish.”
Growing calendar
85 days from transplant Mid-late
Timing shown for temperate climates; sow indoors 7–9 (estimated) weeks before your last frost date. Look up your last frost date by ZIP code →
Disease resistance
No documented disease resistances — protect this variety with good airflow and crop rotation.
Uses & tags
- Sauce & paste
- Drying
- Canning
- Heirloom classic
- Novelty color
- Container star
- Rare collector
Origin
Fish is an African-American heirloom from the Chesapeake Bay region, kept alive through the twentieth century by the painter Horace Pippin and the beekeeper H. Ralph Weaver before reaching Seed Savers Exchange. The Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions compendium records it as an open-pollinated ornamental type with green and white variegated foliage and fruit about 64 mm long, hanging downward and ripening from cream with green stripes through orange with brown stripes to solid red. It took its name from the crab and oyster houses of Baltimore and Philadelphia, where the pale unripe pods were prized for seasoning without discolouring a white sauce.
Sources
Where to buy seeds
Prices rechecked daily- Tomato Growers Supply CompanySeeds
Pack (30 seeds)
Check availability
$3.25Checked Oct 16, 2026 - True Leaf MarketSeeds
300mg Packet
Check availability
$3.69Checked Oct 16, 2026 - Sandia Seed CompanySeeds
10 seeds
Check availability
$3.99Checked Oct 16, 2026 - Pepper Joe'sLive plant
1 Seedling
Check availability
$8.99Checked Oct 16, 2026
Links may earn us a commission at no cost to you. Prices checked Oct 16, 2026.
All photos
Questions
How do you grow a Fish plant?
A Fish plant grows 1½–2 ft (46–61 cm) tall. Space plants 15 in (38 cm) apart in rows 18 in (46 cm) apart (estimated). Start seed indoors 7–9 weeks before your last frost (estimated); it germinates in 7–14 days. It needs full sun.
How long does Fish take to mature?
Fish is ready in about 85 days from transplant.
How hot is Fish?
Fish sits in the medium range, about 5,000–30,000 Scoville heat units. Figures vary between seed sellers, so treat them as a band rather than a measurement.
Can Fish be grown in a container?
Yes — Fish grows well in a container of at least 20 L (5 gal).
Is Fish resistant to disease?
No disease resistance is documented for Fish.
