How to Tame a Nautilus in Minecraft

The Nautilus is Minecraft's new tamable aquatic mob, and taming it follows the same broad pattern as the game's other tamable animals: find one in its natural habitat, offer it the right food or interaction, and wait for the tame to succeed. Mojang has confirmed that the Nautilus is a real, tamable addition to the game — but the exact taming item, biome, and mechanics have not yet been fully announced, so this guide walks you through everything that is confirmed, thorough preparation for the moment it goes live, and an honest list of what remains unknown.

How to tame nautilus is searched about 25,000 times a month, and most of those searchers are meeting the nautilus for the first time: until now, it existed in Minecraft only as the Nautilus Shell, a crafting ingredient for the Conduit. The living animal behind the shell is a genuinely new kind of companion — a fully aquatic tame you can keep in the ocean rather than on land.

What Is the Nautilus?

The nautilus is a real-world deep-sea animal often called a "living fossil" — a cephalopod relative of squid and octopuses that has barely changed in hundreds of millions of years, enclosed in a spiral, chambered shell. Minecraft's version follows its real inspiration:

• It is a tamable mob. Mojang has officially confirmed the Nautilus as tamable — you can win it over and keep it, unlike purely hostile or ambient sea creatures.
• It is fully aquatic. Expect it to live and behave in water, which changes how you search for, approach, and keep one.
• It connects to the Nautilus Shell. The shell has been in the game for years as Conduit material; the living mob finally gives the item a creature of its own. Whether shells drop from or relate to the mob has not yet been announced.
• Detailed stats are not public. Health values, tame success rates, breeding, and any special abilities have not yet been fully announced. Claims elsewhere that state precise numbers are speculation.

Preparation: What You Need Before Taming

Because full mechanics are unannounced, smart preparation means covering every plausible taming requirement. Minecraft's tamable mobs overwhelmingly use one of two systems — feeding, or raw-material offerings — so preparing for both costs little and saves a trip back to shore.

Gear for ocean work

Food and materials worth bringing

• Fish of every kind — raw cod, raw salmon, tropical fish. Most aquatic and semi-aquatic tames (cats, axolotls) respond to fish, so a full assortment covers the most likely taming item.
• Seagrass and kelp — cheap, everywhere in oceans, and the taming item for turtles.
• Nautilus Shells — if you already have a stockpile, bring them. A nautilus responding to its own shell would be perfectly in character, though this is speculation until announced.
• Buckets — for carrying fish, and for a quick escape if something goes wrong.

Finding a nautilus

The search location has not yet been officially announced, but the game's existing aquatic design gives you a clear priority list:

1. Warm and lukewarm oceans — the richest aquatic mob zones in the game and home to most ocean life.
2. Coral reefs — dense, colorful, already associated with tropical fish; a natural home for a showy shell creature.
3. Ocean ruins and shipwrecks — where Nautilus Shells already generate as loot, hinting at an association. Deep ocean and monuments are possible too but guarded.

Until Mojang specifies the spawn rules, search shallow, well-lit warm water first, then work deeper. Mark productive spots with a map or beacon so you can return.

Step-by-Step: Taming Attempt

Because the confirmed mechanics are still limited, this is the general approach that will work the moment taming goes live — the same process used by nearly every tamable mob in the game:

1. Update your game. New mobs arrive through game drops and snapshots; the nautilus will simply not exist in an outdated version. Check the changelog to confirm it is live in your edition.
2. Travel to its habitat (see the search priority list above) with full water gear and a boat.
3. Search patiently. Aquatic mobs often spawn in small groups or solo in wide areas. Circle a reef or ruin slowly rather than sprinting past.
4. Approach calmly. Do not hit it. Many tamable mobs become temporarily hostile or flee permanently once struck, and there is no confirmed information on whether a damaged nautilus can still be tamed.
5. Offer the taming item. Try fish first — raw cod and raw salmon are the classic generic taming foods — then tropical fish, then seagrass or kelp. The confirmed taming item has not yet been announced, so the first one that works in-game is the real answer.
6. Watch for the confirmation. Minecraft's tame feedback is consistent: hearts appear and the mob stops being wild. Repeat the offering if nothing happens the first few times.
7. Secure your new companion. Tamed aquatic mobs need a safe home — a fenced or enclosed water area, or whatever containment Mojang announces. Build it before you tame, not after.

Caring for a Tamed Nautilus

Once tamed, most Minecraft companions follow predictable rules — nautilus-specific details are flagged where Mojang has not yet announced them:

• It lives in water. Unlike wolves and cats, a fully aquatic tame cannot follow you across land. Plan for an aquarium, a fenced bay, or whatever follow/travel mechanics Mojang announces.
• Naming. A Name Tag (renamed at an anvil) prevents despawning on named mobs — this is a core Minecraft rule, so keep one ready.
• Feeding. Whatever item tames the nautilus will most likely also be its food; keep a renewable fish supply. Confirmed food values are not yet announced.
• Healing. Tamable mobs are healed by feeding their food item. Do not rely on potions for a water mob.
• Breeding. Whether nautiluses can be bred has not yet been announced. If they can, the taming or food item will almost certainly be involved, as with pandas (bamboo) and axolotls (tropical fish).

Nautilus vs. Other Aquatic Companions

The nautilus is the first fully ocean-going tamable mob in the game: axolotls are freshwater cave creatures that fight, while the nautilus brings that companion feeling to the open sea. Whether it also grants combat or movement bonuses, as the axolotl and dolphin do, has not yet been announced.

What Is and Isn't Confirmed

Treat this table as the source of truth over any guide that quotes specific numbers — fan sites are already filling the gap with invented stats. This page will be updated as Mojang publishes confirmed details.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Hitting the mob before trying to tame it. Struck mobs flee or die; there is no confirmed path to taming a previously attacked nautilus.
• Searching on land logic. It is an aquatic mob — search in and under the water, not on beaches.
• Ignoring water breathing. Half the ocean floor is more than 15 seconds below the surface. Potions, Respiration, or door air pockets are mandatory gear.
• Taming before building a home. An aquatic tame with nowhere to live will wander or be lost to hostile mobs; build the enclosure first.
• Trusting leaked stats. Any article quoting exact health or tame percentages right now is guessing.

More Minecraft Guides

For broader ocean work, see our Beginner Guide for the survival fundamentals that keep you alive at sea, and Tips and Tricks for the movement and inventory habits that make ocean exploring faster. The same water gear that protects you while Conduit diving applies here — and a Conduit is worth building anyway for any serious ocean project.

Common Questions

Can you tame a nautilus in Minecraft right now? Mojang has confirmed the Nautilus as a tamable mob, but it is only available in versions that include it. Update to the latest release or snapshot and check the changelog for your edition before searching.

What do you feed a nautilus to tame it? The taming item has not yet been announced. Bring raw cod, raw salmon, tropical fish, seagrass, and kelp to cover the most likely options, and test them in-game on the latest version.

Where do nautiluses spawn? The spawn biome has not yet been officially announced. Warm oceans and coral reefs are the most likely habitats based on Minecraft's existing aquatic mob design.

Does the nautilus drop Nautilus Shells? Not confirmed. The shell has existed as a Conduit ingredient for years, but whether the living mob drops or relates to the item has not yet been announced.

Can tamed nautiluses breed? Breeding has not yet been announced for the nautilus. If breeding is added, it will most likely use the same item as taming, as with other tamable aquatic mobs.