Bucket of Axolotl is obtained by right-clicking a wild axolotl with a water bucket, which scoops the mob into the bucket along with its exact color variant and current health. Bucket of Axolotl was added in Minecraft 1.17 "Caves & Cliffs Part I" for both Java and Bedrock Edition, and it cannot be crafted at a crafting table. Axolotls spawn in lush caves biomes in still water below height 0 in Java Edition, so a Bucket of Axolotl is the standard way to carry one up to the surface. The item stacks only to one and preserves the axolotl variant: Leucistic (pink), Wild (brown), Gold, Cyan, or the rare Blue.

Emptying a Bucket of Axolotl onto any water source block releases the axolotl and returns an empty bucket, making it the safe transport method that prevents the mob from despawning or taking fall damage. Players use Bucket of Axolotl to stock home aquariums, start axolotl breeding farms, and deploy axolotls as underwater allies that attack drowned and guardians while granting the player Regeneration. Because a bucketed axolotl never despawns and keeps its color, Bucket of Axolotl is the only reliable way to secure a rare Blue axolotl once it is bred.