Bucket of Salmon
Bucket of Salmon traps a live salmon in a water bucket so you can carry it home for aquariums without it despawning (vanishing over time).
Description
Emptying a Bucket of Salmon places a water source block and releases the salmon at full health, and any salmon freed from a bucket is flagged to never despawn — ideal for stocking decorative aquariums and survival fish farms. Since Minecraft 1.21, salmon come in small, medium, and large sizes, and Bucket of Salmon preserves the exact size of the captured fish. Bucket of Salmon cannot be crafted; the only source is filling a Water Bucket directly on a live salmon.
Java & Bedrock Guide
How to get and use a Bucket of Salmon in Minecraft
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1
Fill a bucket with water
Right-click a water source with an empty Bucket to make a Water Bucket.
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2
Find a salmon
Search rivers, frozen rivers, cold oceans, and frozen oceans, where salmon swim in small groups.
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3
Catch the salmon
Right-click the salmon with the Water Bucket to turn it into a Bucket of Salmon.
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4
Release the salmon
Right-click any block or water with the Bucket of Salmon to place water and free the fish.
A salmon released from a Bucket of Salmon keeps its small, medium, or large size and never despawns, unlike naturally spawned salmon.
Frequently asked questions
Can you craft a Bucket of Salmon?
No. A Bucket of Salmon has no crafting recipe; you make one by right-clicking a salmon with a Water Bucket.
Where do you find salmon to bucket?
Salmon spawn in rivers, frozen rivers, cold oceans, and frozen oceans, usually in small groups.
Does a bucketed salmon despawn after release?
No. Any salmon released from a Bucket of Salmon is set to never despawn, so it stays in your aquarium permanently.
What Minecraft version added the Bucket of Salmon?
Bucket of Salmon was added in Java Edition 1.13, the Update Aquatic, and is also in Bedrock Edition.
Can you eat a Bucket of Salmon?
No. You must empty the bucket and catch the salmon to get raw salmon; the bucket itself is only for transport.
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