Dolphins are cute, loyal, and helpful creatures in Minecraft that need food to thrive, but which? That is something we will analyze in this guide besides briefly going over the benefits of keeping these aquatic friendly or hostile mobs around. For now, it is important to know they require air to survive but are also susceptible to dry weather outside of water. Thus, if you plan to create an aquarium to show them off, know that it must not be enclosed on the top and should be protected from the elements. Now, we will answer the next logical question, “what do dolphins eat in Minecraft?”
Foods that dolphins eat in Minecraft
Dolphins only consume fish, raw salmon or raw cod, given by the player in Minecraft. Feeding either increases the trust level of the dolphin with the player and the more food they get, the friendlier they become. Baby dolphins are exclusive to Bedrock Edition, so you can only see them and give them the aforementioned food in that version of Minecraft. Unlike horses, cats, foxes, and several other creatures, you can’t tame dolphins with food. Additionally, they neither have visible health points you can heal nor can enter Love Mode and breed with foods. Finally, if you attack one dolphin, and it survives, the whole pod will attack you, and giving them fish doesn’t make them friendly.
How do I lure and keep dolphins alive in Minecraft?
Dolphins frequently jump high in the air and even from one body of water to another, hence players want to lure and control them in Minecraft. The simplest way is to get in a boat since dolphins follow boats but cannot get inside. You can also drop items in the water since dolphins will follow the item and even knock it around. Finally, attaching a lead to dolphins lets you lead them to the desired spot.
Make sure the dolphin has at least one block of open air since they drown if they spend 4 minutes without coming to the surface of the water. You can mitigate this by giving dolphins the Water Breathing status effect. Moreover, they can only spend up to 2 minutes outside of water in dry weather. Raining removes that requirement, letting them stay unaffected.
What are the benefits of a dolphin in Minecraft?
The upsides of having dolphins around beside their cuteness are plentiful. First, they provide a Dolphin’s Grace buff that boosts swimming speed for 5 seconds on Java Edition. Or Bedrock Edition, the speed boost occurs but isn’t a status effect. That gives you 9.8 meters/second underwater speed, which is quicker than a boat. Effects such as Depth Strider, Soul Speed, and Speed II stack with it. Second, once you give dolphins food, they begin swimming to the nearest buried treasure, ocean ruins, or shipwreck. Once you find and open the chest, giving them food items makes them locate the next closest chest, so you can repeat the process.