Buckets of water mob are a form of a water bucket with a mob inside.
Obtaining
A bucket of water mob can be obtained by using a water bucket on any fish or axolotl. Once an empty bucket[Bedrock Edition only][until BE 1.17.10] or 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 mob places a water source block, and spawns the corresponding fish or axolotl 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 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 oceans.[verify]
If a bucket of mob is inside a dispenser, the dispenser spawns the mob and water block in front of it upon activation.
If a bucket of 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 fishes and axolotls the only mobs that can exist in item form, and be named without a name tag.[Java Edition only] Alternatively, if a named fish is captured with a bucket of water, the resulting fish bucket shares a name with the captured fish.
Bucket of tropical fish
Tropical fish also have assigned names that can be seen after capture, so that smaller text under the item name is displayed showing the fish name, similar to the text that displays enchantments under enchanted items. 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:
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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 Stripey |
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, it will change from "Bucket of Axolotl" to "Bucket of (Age) (Color) Axolotl." Based on the Age and Color of the Axolotl. When placing down the Axolotl it will retain its color and age [needs testing].
These varieties are:
| Age | Color |
|---|---|
| Baby | Leucistic |
| Adult | Leucistic |
| Baby | Brown |
| Adult | Brown |
| Baby | Gold |
| Adult | Gold |
| Baby | Cyan |
| Adult | Cyan |
| Baby | Blue |
| Adult | Blue |
When the player spawns in an axolotl with a Bucket of Axolotl from creative inventory, it has a randomized color due to it having no associated NBT.
The Bucket of Axolotl will not change textures in the inventory.
The /give cannot give the player these varieties. The player needs to pick up a spawned axolotl to get the variety buckets.
Sounds
Reason: Add axolotls
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish captured | Friendly Creatures | Plays when collecting fish | item | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Bucket empties | Friendly Creatures | Plays when depositing fish | item | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 |
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Form | Item tags (JE) | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucket of Cod | cod_bucket | Item | None | item.minecraft.cod_bucket |
| Bucket of Salmon | salmon_bucket | Item | None | item.minecraft.salmon_bucket |
| Bucket of Pufferfish | pufferfish_bucket | Item | None | item.minecraft.pufferfish_bucket |
| Bucket of Tropical Fish | tropical_fish_bucket | Item | axolotl_tempt_items | item.minecraft.tropical_fish_bucket |
| Bucket of Axolotl | axolotl_bucket | Item | None | item.minecraft.axolotl_bucket |
| Name | Identifier | Alias ID (BE) | Numeric ID | Form | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucket of Cod | cod_bucket | bucket / 2 | 325 | Item | item.bucketFish.name |
| Bucket of Salmon | salmon_bucket | bucket / 3 | 325 | Item | item.bucketSalmon.name |
| Bucket of Tropical Fish | tropical_fish_bucket | bucket / 4 | 325 | Item | item.bucketTropical.nameitem.bucketCustomFish.name |
| Bucket of Pufferfish | pufferfish_bucket | bucket / 5 | 325 | Item | item.bucketPuffer.name |
| Bucket of Axolotl | axolotl_bucket | bucket / 12 | 325 | Item | item.axolotl_bucket.name |
Item data
- tag: The item's tag tag.
- 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.
- See entity format.
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.
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | |||||
| I am a Marine Biologist | Collect a fish in a bucket | Use an empty bucket on any fish mob to collect it. | 20G | Bronze | ||
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Parent | Actual requirements (if different) | Resource location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Tactical Fishing | Catch a Fish... without a Fishing Rod! | Fishy Business | Use a water bucket on any fish mob. | husbandry/tactical_fishing
|
![]() | The Cutest Predator | Catch an Axolotl in a Bucket | Tactical Fishing | Use a water bucket on an axolotl. | husbandry/axolotl_in_a_bucket
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History
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.13 | 18w08b | File:Bucket of Cod Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Salmon Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Pufferfish Revision 1.png 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 | File:Bucket of Tropical Fish Revision 1.png Added tropical fish buckets. | ||||
| 18w14a | Catching 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 | File:Bucket of Tropical Fish Revision 2.png 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] | ||||
| pre5 | The name of fish buckets has been changed from "[type of fish] bucket" to "bucket of [type of fish]", like they are in Bedrock Edition. | ||||
| 1.13.1 | 18w33a | Tooltips have been added for buckets of tropical fish. | |||
| 1.14 | 18w43b | ||||
| October 3, 2020 | |||||
On the live event, it has an untranslated name: item.minecraft.axolotl_bucket. | |||||
| 1.17 | 20w51a | File:Bucket of Axolotl JE1.png Added the bucket of axolotl. | |||
| Bucket of tropical fish can be used to breed the new axolotls. | |||||
| Bucket of tropical fish can be used to make axolotls attack drowned and guardians. | |||||
| 21w20a | Axolotls can now be fed buckets of tropical fish, not just tropical fish. | ||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| 1.4.0 | beta 1.2.14.2 | File:Bucket of Cod Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Salmon Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Tropical Fish Revision 1.png Added fish buckets of cod, salmon and tropical fish. | |||
| File:Bucket of Pufferfish BE.png Added buckets of pufferfish. | |||||
| Buckets of pufferfish have a different texture compared to Java Edition. | |||||
| beta 1.2.20.2 | Fish buckets are now available in the Creative inventory. | ||||
| 1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | Buckets of pufferfish and tropical fish are now sold by the new wandering traders. | |||
| 1.11.0 | beta 1.11.0.4 | Buckets of cod can now be bought from fisherman villagers. | |||
| 1.16.100 | beta 1.16.100.56 | The IDs of buckets with fish have been changed from bucket to <fish>_bucket. | |||
| 1.17.0 | beta 1.16.230.52 | File:Bucket of Axolotl JE1.png Added the bucket of axolotl. | |||
| Bucket of tropical fish can be used to breed and attract the new axolotls. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU69 | 1.76 | Patch 38 | File:Bucket of Cod Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Salmon Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Pufferfish Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Tropical Fish Revision 2.png Added buckets of cod, salmon, pufferfish and tropical fish. | ||
| 1.90 | |||||
| Education Edition | |||||
| 1.4.0 | File:Bucket of Cod Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Salmon Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Pufferfish Revision 1.png File:Bucket of Tropical Fish Revision 2.png 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", or "Bucket of Tropical Fish" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia
- When a water bucket is transformed into a bucket of 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-colors of each other.

