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Axolotls are underwater creatures in Minecraft that tend to be a fan-favorite, due to their cute appearance. Axolotls in Minecraft come in numerous colors - cyan, brown, pink, and yellow variants can all be found lurking in the depths.
There is a fifth variant, however - the blue Axolotl is ridiculously rare, to the point that it's almost mythical. Getting your hands on one is no mean feat, but this guide will walk you through the best method to get a unique aquatic ally.
Updated August 15, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: Blue Axolotls can be hard to get your hands on, which can be quite frustrating. We've updated this guide with even more information about Axolotl spawn locations and breeding conditions, as well as some tips to help you on your blue Axolotl journey in Minecraft.
The Basics
Blue Axolotls cannot spawn naturally - the only way to obtain them is through breeding. When breeding two Axolotls, there is a chance of roughly one in 1,200 that the baby produced will be blue.
This number wasn't chosen randomly - 1,200 is the estimated number of remaining real-life Axolotls in the wild, so it's a subtle way to raise awareness of a tragically endangered species.
The obvious fundamental of acquiring a blue Axolotl is a lot of breeding. To breed two Axolotls, you'll need two buckets of tropical fish. When fed to the Axolotls, you'll lose the fish and be left with buckets of water, so you can pick up more fish straight away.
Acquiring the Axolotls
Breeding a bunch of Axololts sounds all well and good, but in practice, it can be a tedious and messy task, so we'll walk you through everything you need to do to get things running smoothly. The first step is to acquire the Axolotls you're going to be using for breeding.
Axolotls only spawn in the water of lush caves biome, and the block below the spawning space must be clay. This makes them a little harder to find, but there are plenty of pools in the lush cave biome, so once you find the biome you'll be able to grab some Axolotls.
How To Find Tropical Fish
Once you have a couple of Axolotls, you'll want to make your way to a biome where tropical fish spawn. Below, you can check out a list of the biomes where you can find this fish.
- Mangrove Swamp
- Lukewarm Ocean
- Deep Lukewarm Ocean
- Warm Ocean
- Lush Caves
The best place to find tropical fish is within the warm and lukewarm ocean variants. Here, there is plenty of space for the fish to spawn, and the biomes are pretty easy to find. While exploring by boat or Elytra, you will notice this biome based on the light-blue ocean color and coral that spawn.
Breeding Your Axolotls
With fish in hand, you will now need to build a pool to keep your Axolotls in. You only need two to start with, as they'll quickly multiply and net you more and more breeding stock. We suggest breeding your Axolotls near a biome with tropical fish, so you can make runs to grab the fish without wandering too far.
Overall, it will take you a while to get the blue Axolotl, so be prepared to breed for a while.
Remember, you will need to feed both Axolotls for the breeding process to begin.
Creating A Breeding Pool
To maximize your chances of getting a blue Axolotl, we suggest creating a breeding pool. This is where you will store all your Axolotls for breeding. By doing so, you will stay nice and organized.
There are a few ways to build the pool. Something shallow with a lot of area can be a quick solution, and it's easy to fill up or even just build into an ocean. The size isn't an issue either, as Axolotls will come to you when they see the fish bucket in your hand.
Alternatively, if you prefer a neater solution, separating Axolotls into pairs in their own separate pools, and scooping out the babies to move them, could be a good option. This might be a bit slower than the first method, but it keeps things neat, and there's much less of a chance you'd miss the blue Axolotl in a crowd.
Whichever shape you choose to make your pool, the basics are the same; it need only be one block deep, and it should be entirely source blocks.
Flowing water will push Axolotls around and make things far more difficult than they need to be, so make sure there isn't any. Build the walls up a block above the water to keep Axolotls from escaping - they don't like to hang around on land, but they will pathfind to other water such as other pools or the ocean, which can lead to them getting out.
Getting The Blue Axolotl
With enough breeding, you'll be rewarded with an ultra-rare blue buddy of your own. Sadly, there's no quick trick to improve the odds - you just have to breed Axoltols as fast and as often as you can.
However long it takes, it's rewarding to get one in the end. Something so rare is a prized achievement in Minecraft, and you can bring your new friend with you wherever you go to show it off.
You don't need to worry about it despawning, as Axolotls don't despawn if they've ever been in a bucket, so once you pick it up for the first time, you'll be sorted forever.
Can Blue Axolotls Breed?
Blue Axolotls are just like the normal version, so they can also be bred.
All Axolotls will have a 99 percent chance to be the same color as their parent. So, if you breed a blue Axolotl with a non-blue one, you have a higher chance of getting a blue Axolotl baby. If you happen to have two blue Axolotls, then you will have a very good chance to get a blue baby.