The nautilus is an underwater mount added to Minecraft in the Mounts of Mayhem drop. Once tamed and saddled, it carries you through oceans much faster than swimming, gives you an effect that stops your oxygen from running out, and can dash through the water to charge enemies. This guide explains how to tame a nautilus in Minecraft, what nautilus eat, how to find them, how to ride and armor them, and how to tame the zombie nautilus ridden by drowned.
Quick answer
- Find a nautilus in any ocean biome, usually between Y 38 and 58.
- Hold a pufferfish or a bucket of pufferfish.
- Feed it to the nautilus until hearts appear. It is now tamed.
- Use a saddle on it to ride.
Where to find a nautilus
Nautilus spawn in all ocean biomes, from cold and frozen oceans to warm coral reefs, at depths roughly between Y 38 and Y 58. That means you will usually find them below the surface, swimming around the ocean floor in deeper areas. Bring a Respiration helmet or water breathing potions, because you will spend time underwater. Night vision makes them far easier to spot. See how to breathe underwater.
What do nautilus eat in Minecraft?
Nautilus eat pufferfish. Raw pufferfish or a bucket of pufferfish is used to tame them and to heal tamed ones. Wild nautilus even hunt pufferfish on their own, occasionally dashing at them. You can catch pufferfish by fishing, by killing them in warm oceans, or by scooping them into a water bucket. A bucket of pufferfish is handy because you can carry the live fish to the nautilus.
How to tame a nautilus step by step
- Gather several pufferfish, since taming may take more than one.
- Swim close to a wild nautilus without attacking it. Nautilus are neutral: they ignore you unless provoked, then attack with a dash.
- Hold the pufferfish and use it on the nautilus. Repeat until heart particles appear.
- Equip a saddle by using it on the tamed nautilus. Saddles are now craftable from three leather and an iron ingot; see how to make a saddle.
- Mount the nautilus and steer with normal movement controls.
Riding a nautilus
A saddled nautilus moves quickly underwater in the direction you look. Press the jump button to use its dash, a burst of speed similar to the camel’s dash on land, which also damages mobs you hit. The dash has a cooldown of about four seconds. While you ride, you get Breath of the Nautilus, an effect that pauses oxygen consumption, so your air bar stops going down. It does not refill your oxygen, so surface or use another breathing method if you were low when you mounted. Nautilus take suffocation damage on land, so keep them in water.
Nautilus armor
Like horses, nautilus can wear armor. Nautilus armor comes in copper, gold, iron, diamond and netherite. It protects your mount from guardians, drowned and other ocean threats. Use shears on a nautilus to remove its armor first, then its saddle, if you want to move them to a different mount.
Keeping your nautilus nearby
A tamed nautilus without a saddle roams within about 32 blocks of where it was tamed, and with a saddle within about 16 blocks, which makes it easier to find again. Build an underwater pen with glass or a lit bay near your base so you can always find your mount. Name it with a name tag to tell multiple nautilus apart.
Zombie nautilus and coral zombie nautilus
The Mounts of Mayhem drop also added the zombie nautilus, an undead version that often spawns with a drowned rider holding a trident. While it has a hostile rider, it attacks you. To tame it, defeat or knock off the drowned rider, then tempt and feed the zombie nautilus with pufferfish. Warm oceans also have coral zombie nautilus, covered in coral growth. Tamed zombie nautilus work like normal ones as mounts, with their own spooky look.
Uses for a nautilus mount
- Exploring ocean monuments and shipwrecks quickly.
- Collecting prismarine, sponges and treasure from the ocean floor.
- Escaping guardians and drowned with the dash.
- Transporting yourself across long stretches of ocean without boats.
- Finding buried treasure maps and shipwreck loot; see how to find buried treasure.
Nautilus vs nautilus shells
Do not confuse the new nautilus mob with nautilus shells, the item that drowned sometimes hold and that fishing can give. Eight nautilus shells and a heart of the sea craft a conduit, which grants underwater breathing in an area. See what the heart of the sea does.
Nautilus FAQ
How do you tame a nautilus in Minecraft?
Feed it pufferfish or a bucket of pufferfish until hearts appear.
What do nautilus eat?
Pufferfish.
How do you ride a nautilus?
Tame it, then put a saddle on it and mount it.
Where do nautilus spawn?
In all ocean biomes, usually between Y 38 and 58.
Can a nautilus go on land?
No. It takes suffocation damage out of water.
How to find a nautilus faster
Oceans are huge, so a little planning saves time. Start in a deep ocean biome, where more of the water column sits in the nautilus spawn range, rather than shallow coastal water. Bring a few Night Vision potions so the dark ocean floor becomes clear, and a Respiration III helmet or Water Breathing potions so you can search for minutes at a time. Swim slowly near the seabed and watch for the nautilus’s shell shape and the bubbles it leaves when it dashes. If you see pufferfish behaving strangely or being chased, a nautilus may be hunting nearby. A boat on the surface is a fast way to scout large areas before diving.
Preparing for an underwater taming trip
- At least five pufferfish or a couple of buckets of pufferfish for taming and healing.
- A saddle, so you can ride the nautilus as soon as it is tamed.
- Night Vision and Water Breathing potions, or a Respiration and Aqua Affinity helmet.
- A sword or trident to deal with drowned and guardians.
- Doors or signs to create air pockets if you run low on oxygen.
- Nautilus armor if you already have some, especially if you plan to explore ocean monuments.
Tips for riding and fighting
The nautilus’s dash is both a movement skill and an attack. Use it to close distance on drowned, to break away from guardian lasers, and to cross trenches quickly. Because the dash has a cooldown, plan your bursts: dash toward the next landmark, cruise while it recharges, then dash again. In combat, approach drowned from above so their tridents miss, and dash through them to knock them back. Keep pufferfish in your hotbar to heal your mount between fights.
Java vs Bedrock
The nautilus works the same on Java and Bedrock, including taming with pufferfish, saddles, armor and the Breath of the Nautilus effect. Minor differences in spawn rates and controls exist, but the steps in this guide apply to both editions.
Is the nautilus worth taming?
Yes, if you spend time in the ocean. It turns slow underwater exploration into fast, safe travel, and its breath effect removes the biggest danger of diving. Builders working on underwater bases benefit most, because the nautilus lets them move materials and explore large areas without constantly surfacing.