To tame a nautilus in Minecraft, swim up to an adult one and feed it a pufferfish or a bucket of pufferfish until hearts appear; each attempt can fail, so bring several. Then put a saddle on it to ride it underwater. Below we cover where nautiluses spawn, how to get pufferfish, riding controls, nautilus armor, breeding, and how to tame the zombie nautilus.
This guide is current for Minecraft Java Edition 26.3 and Bedrock Edition 26.50. The nautilus arrived in the Mounts of Mayhem drop on December 9, 2025 (Java 1.21.11 and Bedrock 1.21.130), and taming works the same way on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.
Where to Find a Nautilus
Per Mojang’s Mounts of Mayhem changelog, the nautilus is a neutral aquatic mob that spawns in all ocean biomes. Mojang’s Bedrock notes add that it spawns between Y 38 and Y 58, which is roughly 5 to 25 blocks below the surface (sea level is Y 63), so look in the middle of the water rather than at the top. The community wiki says they appear in groups of one to three.
They are neutral, so they leave you alone unless you hit one. Provoke it and it attacks with a fast dash. They also hunt pufferfish on their own, which is a useful hint about what they eat.
On Java, a wild nautilus can despawn like other ocean mobs, but Mojang’s changelog says it “becomes persistent when interacted with by a player,” so feeding one keeps it around.
How to Get Pufferfish
Mojang lists exactly two taming items: a pufferfish and a bucket of pufferfish. Other fish do not work.
- Fishing. On Java, the game’s fishing loot table weights pufferfish at 13 of every 100 fish, wherever you fish, so expect roughly one in eight fish to be one. Bedrock ties catches to the biome, per the community wiki, so fish in an ocean; Mojang’s 1.21.130 notes also added jungles as a place to catch them.
- Catch a live one in a bucket. Use a water bucket on a pufferfish to scoop it up. Per the community wiki they live in warm and lukewarm oceans, and Mojang’s Bedrock 1.21.130 notes confirm they now spawn in lukewarm oceans on Bedrock too. Keep your distance while you scoop, because a puffed-up pufferfish poisons anything that touches it.
- Kill a pufferfish for the raw fish item.
How to Tame a Nautilus
- Prepare to stay underwater. A Water Breathing potion, a helmet with Respiration, or both make this much easier. Our best enchantments for every item guide covers Respiration, and you can add it to a helmet with an enchanted book.
- Pick an adult. Per the community wiki, baby nautiluses cannot be tamed.
- Hold the pufferfish or bucket of pufferfish and use it on the nautilus (right-click on PC, LT on Xbox, L2 on PlayStation, ZL on Switch).
- Repeat until hearts appear. The community wiki puts the chance at one in three per item, so bring a few spares.
A tamed nautilus stays near where you leave it: Mojang’s notes give it a roaming range of 32 blocks without a saddle and 16 blocks with one. Mark the spot with our guide to showing coordinates so you can find it again.
How to Saddle and Ride a Nautilus
A tamed nautilus needs a saddle before you can steer it. Saddles are craftable from three leather and one iron ingot on current versions of both editions (the community wiki dates the recipe to the Chase the Skies drop), and they still turn up in chests.
- Use the saddle on the tamed nautilus. It also has its own inventory screen with slots for a saddle and armor.
- Use it again to climb on.
- Steer with your normal movement controls. Per the community wiki, it picks up speed the longer you swim in a straight line.
- Press the jump button to dash (Space on PC, the bottom face button on controllers). Mojang says the dash works like a camel’s.
While you ride, you get the Breath of the Nautilus effect. Mojang’s changelog is precise about it: it “pauses player oxygen consumption (but does not replenish oxygen),” so surface before you mount if your air is low. Keep the nautilus in the water, because it takes suffocation damage on land.
Nautilus Armor
Nautilus armor comes in copper, golden, iron, diamond and netherite. None of the first four can be crafted; per Mojang’s changelog they are found in chests in buried treasure, ocean ruins and shipwrecks. Netherite nautilus armor is made by upgrading diamond nautilus armor at a smithing table with a netherite upgrade template and a netherite ingot. On Bedrock, using shears on a nautilus removes its armor first, then its saddle.
Breeding and the Zombie Nautilus
Breeding. Mojang’s changelog says nautiluses are bred with the same pufferfish items used to tame them, and the community wiki adds that on Java any fish or bucket of fish also works. Breeding a pair counts toward the Two by Two advancement, and taming one counts toward Best Friends Forever.
Zombie nautilus. This undead version spawns with a Drowned rider holding a trident. Mojang says it is “only hostile if ridden by a hostile mob,” so kill the rider first, then tame it with pufferfish the same way. It rides like a normal nautilus but cannot be bred. A coral-covered variant spawns in warm oceans. If you want that trident, the drowned riders are worth hunting in their own right. There is more in every Minecraft guide on the site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you feed a nautilus to tame it in Minecraft? A pufferfish or a bucket of pufferfish. Those are the only two taming items Mojang lists.
Can you ride a nautilus without a saddle? Not properly. Mojang’s notes say a tamed nautilus “can be equipped with a Saddle to ride,” so saddle it before you set off.
Can you tame a baby nautilus? Not directly, per the community wiki. Tame an adult, or breed two tamed adults.
Can you tame a zombie nautilus? Yes. Remove its Drowned rider first, then feed it pufferfish. It cannot be bred.
Does riding a nautilus let you breathe underwater? It pauses your oxygen bar while you ride, but it does not refill it.