Inland fisheries are essential to nutrition and food security in developing countries but remain undervalued. Worldwide, studies of aquatic resource consumption are rare. 'Fish rescue us from hunger' MS 2 We use data from a monthly survey of 40 households over one year in a Tanzanian village, combined with qualitative methods, to analyse consumption of animal aquatic resources across wealth, seasons, fishing vs. non-fishing and male-vs. female-headed households. We find that local freshwater fish are the most frequent source of animal protein, consumed on 57% of survey days. Wealth matters, with better-off households eating fish more often and in larger daily quantities on average. Middle-ranked households catch and sell fish more often, but all households double their consumption on average on days they catch rather than purchase fish. Female-headed households rely on gifts to increase consumption. Our results emphasise the need to preserve the livelihood functions of inland fisheries in the face of increasing threats.