How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft

How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft

We are Loyal Fishing, an online platform that helps anglers to find the best fishing gear, read reviews about it, and also learn how to fish.

Have you ever seen a Fish in Minecraft and immediately wanted it as a pet? Turns out, this feature has been added to Minecraft! No longer must players wait around using the Fishing pole, hoping for a small chance at a bite. Instead, craft a bucket and jump directly into the ocean!

Players will be able to catch up to fish just by swimming, no enchantments required. By using this method players can stock up a few buckets to catch one of each type of fish. Tropical Fish can be found in any Lukewarm or Warm Ocean.

To craft Bucket of Tropical Fish in Minecraft, you will need the following:

You need a Bucket and water before finding a Tropical Fish, but you can find water easily.

In a Nutshell:

With a Bucket of Water, approach a Tropical Fish. Press the use key on the Tropical Fish to place it in your own Bucket!

Step 1- Open the Crafting Grid of the crafting menu.

How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft

Step 2- Craft a bucket if you do not already have one.

How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft

Step 3- Search nearby oceans for a Tropical Fish! Fill your Bucket with water.

How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft

Step 4- Once you have found your target, approach it with your bucket and catch it!

Catch the Tropical Fish by pressing the use key while holding a Bucket of Water

How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft

Q. Can you catch other mobs this way?

There are a few other examples of fish that will sit happily inside of a bucket. Some of these fish include Salmon, Cod, and Axoltyl.

With a Bucket, players can contain all kinds of liquids. With a Water Bucket, players can actually keep Fish alive indefinitely inside of their inventory, which is a very convenient way to transport them long distances. Tropical Fish in particular may not spawn near the player, as colder biomes will not house these fish, so this transport method is quite useful!

I am on iOS, and I can't seem to catch fish in a bucket. Please help!

A bucket of aquatic mob is a form of a water bucket with an aquatic mob (a fish, axolotl, or tadpole) inside.

Obtaining[]

A bucket of aquatic mob can be obtained by using a water bucket on an applicable mob. Once a water bucket is used, the mob is picked up along with the water source block. The mob bucket obtained corresponds to the mob picked up.

Trading[]

Wandering traders have 1⁄6 chance to either sell a bucket of pufferfish or a bucket of tropical fish for 5 emeralds.

Novice-level Fisherman villagers have a 50% chance to sell a bucket of cod for 3 emeralds.

Usage[]

Pressing use with a bucket of aquatic mob places a water source block, and spawns the mob back into the world, leaving an empty bucket in the player's inventory. For buckets of tropical fish, the fish and its details (color, size, name) are kept. Placing a bucket of aquatic mob in the Nether causes the same particles to appear that generate when a normal water bucket is placed in the Nether, and the fish is spawned alone.

Mobs caught in buckets then released do not despawn, unlike mobs that spawn naturally in their aquatic environments.

If a bucket of aquatic mob is inside a dispenser, the dispenser spawns the mob and water block in front of it upon activation, leaving an empty bucket inside. Dispensers cannot pick up mobs with water buckets (the bucket is emptied).

If a bucket of aquatic mob is named a certain name through an anvil, the mob inside display that name as if it were named with a name tag, making fish, axolotls, and tadpoles the only mobs that can exist in item form, and be named without a name tag.‌[Java Edition only] Alternatively, if a named mob is captured with a bucket of water, the resulting mob bucket shares a name with the captured mob.‌[Java Edition only] If a named mob is captured in Bedrock Edition, the item is called "Bucket of <Name>".

Bucket of tropical fish[]

Tropical fish also have assigned names that can be seen after capture. In Java Edition, the smaller text under the item name is displayed showing the fish name, similar to the text that displays enchantments under enchanted items. In Bedrock Edition, the item name is displayed showing "Bucket of <fish name>". Their colors are mostly named according to the colored block names, though with a few exceptions:

  • White
  • Orange
  • Magenta
  • Sky
  • Yellow
  • Lime
  • Rose
  • Gray
  • Silver
  • Teal
  • Plum
  • Blue
  • Brown
  • Green
  • Red

The base color comes first, and if the pattern color is different, it comes after that. Lastly, the fish bucket is given a name according to the shape and pattern of the fish:

Flopper Glitter Betty
Stripey Blockfish Clayfish
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Kob Snooper Brinely
SunStreak Dasher Spotty

Some tropical fish don't follow the normal naming system, and instead, reference real-life fish species. Apart from these names, these types of fish aren't different from regular tropical fish in terms of design or behavior.

These varieties are:

Name Type
Anemone Orange-Gray Stripey
Black Tang Gray Flopper
Blue Dory ‌[Bedrock Edition only] Gray-Sky SunStreak
Blue Tang ‌[Java Edition only] Gray-Blue Flopper
Butterfly Fish ‌[Bedrock Edition only]/Butterflyfish ‌[Java Edition only] White-Gray Clayfish
Cichlid Blue-Gray SunStreak
Clownfish Orange-White Kob
Cotton Candy Betta Rose-Sky Spotty
Dottyback Plum-Yellow Blockfish
Emperor Red Snapper White-Red Clayfish
Goatfish White-Yellow Spotty
Moorish Idol White-Gray Glitter
Ornate Butterfly ‌[Bedrock Edition only]/Ornate Butterflyfish ‌[Java Edition only] White-Orange Clayfish
Parrotfish Teal-Rose Dasher
Queen Angel Fish ‌[Bedrock Edition only]/Queen Angelfish ‌[Java Edition only] Lime-Sky Brinely
Red Cichlid Red-White Betty
Red Lipped Blenny Gray-Red Snooper
Red Snapper Red-White Blockfish
Threadfin White-Yellow Flopper
Tomato Clown ‌[Bedrock Edition only] Red-White SunStreak
Tomato Clownfish ‌[Java Edition only] Red-White Kob
Triggerfish Gray-White SunStreak
Yellowtail Parrot ‌[Bedrock Edition only]/Yellowtail Parrotfish ‌[Java Edition only] Teal-Yellow Dasher
Yellow Tang Yellow Flopper

A bucket of tropical fish purchased from a wandering trader or pulled from the Creative inventory spawns random tropical fish when used, due to it having no associated NBT.

Bucket of axolotl[]

In Bedrock Edition, if an axolotl is picked up with a bucket, the bucket appears in the player's inventory as "Bucket of <Baby/Adult> <Color> Axolotl" based on the age and color of the axolotl. These varieties are:

  • Bucket of Baby Leucistic Axolotl
  • Bucket of Adult Leucistic Axolotl
  • Bucket of Baby Brown Axolotl
  • Bucket of Adult Brown Axolotl
  • Bucket of Baby Gold Axolotl
  • Bucket of Adult Gold Axolotl
  • Bucket of Baby Cyan Axolotl
  • Bucket of Adult Cyan Axolotl
  • Bucket of Baby Blue Axolotl
  • Bucket of Adult Blue Axolotl

When the player spawns in an axolotl with a Bucket of Axolotl from creative inventory, it is always a leucistic adult. Buckets containing other variants will always spawn that variant when used in creative mode.

The bucket of axolotl does not change textures in the inventory to reflect the captured axolotl's color, it always appears leucistic.

Sounds[]

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

NameIdentifierFormItem tagsTranslation key
Bucket of Codcod_bucketItemNoneitem.minecraft.cod_bucket
Bucket of Salmonsalmon_bucketItemNoneitem.minecraft.salmon_bucket
Bucket of Pufferfishpufferfish_bucketItemNoneitem.minecraft.pufferfish_bucket
Bucket of Tropical Fishtropical_fish_bucketItemaxolotl_tempt_itemsitem.minecraft.tropical_fish_bucket
Bucket of Axolotlaxolotl_bucketItemNoneitem.minecraft.axolotl_bucket
Bucket of Tadpoletadpole_bucketItemNoneitem.minecraft.tadpole_bucket

Bedrock Edition:

NameIdentifierAlias ID Numeric ID FormTranslation key
Bucket of Codcod_bucketbucket / 2364Itemitem.bucketFish.name
Bucket of Salmonsalmon_bucketbucket / 3365Itemitem.bucketSalmon.name
Bucket of Tropical Fishtropical_fish_bucketbucket / 4366Itemitem.bucketTropical.name
item.bucketCustomFish.name
Bucket of Pufferfishpufferfish_bucketbucket / 5367Itemitem.bucketPuffer.name
Bucket of Axolotlaxolotl_bucketbucket / 12369Itemitem.bucketAxolotl.name
Bucket of Tadpoletadpole_bucketbucket / 13630Itemitem.bucketTadpole.name

Item data[]

Java Edition:

Main article: Player.dat format

    •  BucketVariantTag: The variant data of the tropical fish in the bucket. Applies only to Bucket of Tropical Fish.
    •  EntityTag: Stores entity data that is applied to the aquatic mob when it is poured out. If this data includes a tropical fish variant, it overrides the one provided in BucketVariantTag.

Normal buckets of fish use only the BucketVariantTag tag to store the variant of any tropical fish that is picked up, and the item's display name to store the fish's custom name.

Bedrock Edition:

See Bedrock Edition level format/Item format.

Achievements[]

Icon Achievement In-game description Actual requirements (if different) Gamerscore earned Trophy type (PS4)
PS4 Other platforms
I am a Marine BiologistCollect a fish in a bucketUse an empty bucket on any fish mob to collect it.20GBronze

Advancements[]

Icon Advancement In-game description Parent Actual requirements (if different) Resource location
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Bukkit Bukkit
Catch a Tadpole in a Bucket Husbandryhusbandry/tadpole_in_a_bucket
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Tactical Fishing
Catch a fish... without a fishing rod! Fishy BusinessUse a water bucket on any fish mob.husbandry/tactical_fishing
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
The Cutest Predator
Catch an axolotl in a bucket Tactical FishingUse a water bucket on an axolotl.husbandry/axolotl_in_a_bucket

History[]

Java Edition
1.1318w08b
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added cod, salmon and "Puffer Fish" buckets.
The texture of what appears to be a clownfish bucket can be seen in the game files.
18w10a
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added tropical fish buckets.
18w14aCatching a fish in a water bucket now awards the Tactical Fishing advancement.
18w19a"Puffer Fish Bucket" has been corrected to "Pufferfish Bucket".
The ID of tropical fish buckets has been changed to tropical_fish_bucket.
18w22a
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
The texture of tropical fish buckets has been updated, due to an inconsistent dark pixel on the bottom right of the bucket's texture that wasn't part of the other fish buckets.[1]
pre5The name of fish buckets has been changed from "[type of fish] bucket" to "bucket of [type of fish]", like they are in Bedrock Edition.
1.13.118w33aTooltips have been added for buckets of tropical fish.
1.1418w43b
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
The textures of buckets of cod, salmon, pufferfish and tropical fish have been changed.
19w05aAdded wandering traders, which sell buckets of tropical fish and buckets of pufferfish.
19w11aFisherman villagers can now sell a bucket of cod.
October 3, 2020
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
In Minecraft Live 2020, a bucket of axolotl was shown.
On the live event, it has an untranslated name: item.minecraft.axolotl_bucket.
1.1720w51a
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added buckets of axolotls.
Buckets of tropical fish can be used to breed the new axolotls.
Buckets of tropical fish can be used to make axolotls attack drowned and guardians.
21w20aAxolotls can now be fed buckets of tropical fish, not just tropical fish.
October 16, 2021Buckets of Tadpoles were mentioned, but not shown.
December 8, 2021
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
LadyAgnes tweets the first image of a tadpole in a bucket.
1.1922w11a
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added buckets of tadpoles.
Bedrock Edition
1.4.0beta 1.2.14.2
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added fish buckets of cod, salmon, tropical fish and pufferfish.
Buckets of pufferfish have a different texture compared to Java Edition.
beta 1.2.20.2Fish buckets are now available in the Creative inventory.
1.10.0beta 1.10.0.3Buckets of pufferfish and tropical fish are now sold by the new wandering traders.
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
The textures of buckets of cod, salmon, pufferfish and tropical fish have been changed.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.4Buckets of cod can now be bought from fisherman villagers.
1.16.100beta 1.16.100.56The IDs of buckets with fish have been changed from bucket to <fish>_bucket.
1.17.0beta 1.16.230.52
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added buckets of axolotls.
Buckets of tropical fish can be used to breed and attract the new axolotls.
1.18.10beta 1.18.10.24
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added the bucket of tadpole behind the "Wild Update" experimental toggle.
Legacy Console Edition
TU69 1.76 Patch 38
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added buckets of cod, salmon, pufferfish and tropical fish.
1.90
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
The textures of buckets of cod, salmon, pufferfish and tropical fish have been changed.
Education Edition
1.4.0
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
How to catch a fish in a bucket in minecraft
Added buckets of cod, salmon, pufferfish and tropical fish.
The texture of the bucket of pufferfish and the texture of the bucket of tropical fish are the same as the ones in Bedrock Edition.

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Bucket of Fish", "Bucket of Mob", "Bucket of Cod", "Bucket of Salmon", "Bucket of Pufferfish", "Bucket of Tropical Fish", or "Bucket Of Tadpole" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[]

  • When a water bucket is transformed into a bucket of aquatic mob, it actually pushes the bucket texture down one pixel. According to Dinnerbone, JAPPA says this is due to the "weight of the fish".[2]
  • Buckets of tropical fish always appear to contain a clownfish, regardless of whatever fish is actually inside.[3]
  • Since empty buckets can be used to capture fish or axolotls in Bedrock Edition, it is possible to create an infinite amount of water source blocks simply by catching a fish mob with a bucket and continually placing and re-capturing the mob.
  • The bucket of cod and bucket of tropical fish are actually re-colorations of each other.

References[]

  1. MC-130015
  2. MC-127919
  3. MC-126761

Items