Got questions about the new Minecraft Axolotl mob? Part one of the Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update added the new amphibious creature. Until the new biomes are introduced later this year in part two, there’s plenty to discover about the Axolotl in the meantime.
One of the new animals added with the 1.17 update is the Minecraft axolotl. However, be wary of goats, which will do their best to chase you off their mountainside homes. Luckily, axolotls are far friendlier, so why not befriend these adorable creatures? Exactly. Our guide to the Minecraft axolotl includes where to find them, how to tame them, and their different colors.
Minecraft axolotl spawn location
The original theory said that axolotls spawned in Lush Caves, one of the new cave biomes. However, since the new biomes won’t be coming to Minecraft until later this year, where can we find these fun fish?
Axolotls can spawn in any underground water source, as long as it’s in total darkness and below sea level (Y63). When the new biomes go live in update 1.18, I will update this guide. This will reflect any future spawn changes. In the meantime, this is how you can find axolotls.
How to tame an axolotl in Minecraft
Axolotls cannot be tamed, but they are not hostile to players and can easily be thrown into a bucket. Afterwards, you can carry them around with you or re-home them in a pond or lake closer to your base.
If you don’t have a bucket handy, you can attach a lead to an axolotl, but it will drown if it’s out of water for more than five minutes unless it’s raining or there is a thunderstorm.
How to breed axolotl in Minecraft
Axolotls can be bred by using buckets of tropical fish. Once you have two adult axolotls together, feed each with tropical fish and you will see red hearts signaling that they are in ‘love mode’. How romantic.
The resulting baby axolotl will inherit the color of one of its parents at random and take 20 in-game minutes to reach maturity. Adding more tropical fish will speed up the process.
Minecraft axolotl colors: How to get the rare blue axolotl
Minecraft axolotls come in the following colors:
- Lucy (pink)
- Wild (brown)
- Gold
- Cyan
- Blue
The blue axolotl is by far the rarest color and has a 0.083% chance of spawning, either naturally or via the breeding of adults with other colors. You’ll need a lot of patience and more than a little luck if you want to own a blue axolotl.
What do axolotls eat?
Axolotls eat tropical fish, which can be found in ocean biomes. If you wish to feed an axolotl, you must use a bucket of tropical fish rather than single ones you’ve previously caught.
Tropical fish tend to scare easily, so they can be quite difficult to catch in a bucket, so patience is key. Otherwise, you should check to see if the Wandering Trader has tropical fish for sale.
Do axolotls attack other mobs?
The adorable creatures aren’t hostile to players, but they won’t hesitate to take on seaborne threats. Dolphins and turtles are off limits, but everything else is fair game. They’ll even take on a drowned.
They also have a neat defense mechanism: If an axolotl takes damage while underwater, it will die and regenerate. The Regeneration status effect can temporarily be applied to a player by killing a mob the Axolotl was fighting.
Are Minecraft axolotls hostile?
Axolotls are passive mobs – at least when it comes to players.
All other aquatic mobs, with the exception of dolphins and turtles, are hostile to them.
Axolotls have a high chance of playing dead rather than actually dying if you are a flint-hearted monster (or possibly just clumsy). This holds true if it takes damage from other mobs (like those it constantly aggroes for no apparent reason).
As it recovers its health, it cannot be attacked by other mobs until it returns to normal activity. Other than that, these cute amphibians are surprisingly hardy creatures.
