Dolphin in Minecraft: Dolphin's Grace and Treasure Hunting
Sprint-swim near a dolphin for a speed boost, or feed it raw fish and it leads you to a shipwreck or ocean ruin. Where dolphins spawn, and why not to hit.
Dolphins are neutral ocean mobs that give you a big swim-speed boost when you sprint-swim near them. Feed one raw fish and it swims toward the nearest shipwreck or ocean ruin, which turns a pod of dolphins into a free treasure guide. Hit one and the whole pod fights back.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Health | 10 (5 hearts) |
| Attack | 2.5 / 3 / 4.5 (Easy / Normal / Hard) |
| Behavior | Neutral (babies passive) |
| Spawns | Ocean, deep ocean, lukewarm and warm oceans, between Y 50 and 64 |
| Drops | 0-1 raw cod (cooked if on fire); 1-3 XP |
Where to find dolphins
Dolphins swim in pods in every ocean except cold and frozen ones: one or two per pod in Java, three to five in Bedrock. They stay near the surface, between Y 50 and 64, and leap out of the water to breathe, which makes them easy to spot from a boat. They’ll even chase your boat, though you don’t get the speed boost while in one.
Dolphin’s Grace
Sprint-swim within nine blocks of a dolphin and you get a swim-speed boost for five seconds, refreshed as long as you stay within 15 blocks. In Java it shows up as the Dolphin’s Grace effect; Bedrock gives you the speed without an effect icon.
It’s a large boost. Combined with Depth Strider boots you cross open water faster than most other ways of getting around, short of an elytra. The only catch is that you have to stay near the dolphins, so it’s more useful for exploring than for getting somewhere specific.
Treasure guide
Feed a dolphin raw cod or raw salmon and it heads for the nearest shipwreck or ocean ruin. Follow it with Dolphin’s Grace active and you’ll get there quickly. Shipwrecks carry treasure maps to buried treasure, which holds the heart of the sea you need for a conduit. Fishing is the easy way to stock up on raw cod first.
In Java, dolphins also play with dropped items in the water, picking them up and tossing them around.
Don’t hit them
Attack a dolphin and its whole pod turns on you, similar to wolves. Feeding them afterward doesn’t calm them down. They’re a lot more dangerous in Bedrock than Java, and a pod can quickly hurt an under-armored player in the water.
Killing one drops a raw cod at most, so there’s no reason to.
Odd details
- Dolphins need air. Keep them underwater for about four minutes and they drown. On land in dry weather they dry out after two minutes.
- They can’t be bred. A wild baby grows up in 20 minutes, and each fish you feed it cuts 10% off the remaining time.
- Dolphins avoid guardians and elder guardians, so you won’t find pods hanging around ocean monuments.
Common questions
How do you get Dolphin's Grace?
Sprint-swim within about nine blocks of a dolphin. The boost lasts five seconds and keeps refreshing while you stay near the pod.
Can you breed dolphins?
No. Dolphins can't be bred. Baby dolphins only come from natural spawning, about 10% of the time.
What happens if you feed a dolphin?
Feed it raw cod or raw salmon and it swims toward the nearest shipwreck or ocean ruin, so you can follow it to loot.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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