Minecraft Fan Points Out Bizarre Dolphin Detail

Summary

Minecraft dolphins can't survive in aquariums, highlighted by a sandbox player.
Dolphins need air to breathe and drown after 4 minutes underwater.
Minecraft remains popular in 2025 with over 300 million copies sold and 170 million monthly players, as recorded in 2024.

A Minecraft player has pointed out a devastating issue relating to the dolphins of the voxel world, asking why the aquatic mammals cannot survive within an aquarium. Minecraft's dolphins are known as neutral mobs within the sandbox game that usually reside in non-frozen ocean biomes. The intelligent sea creatures can give players a speed boost when they are swimming close by and feeding them raw cod or salmon can improve their trust in the player, which is a fantastic element for animal lovers.

Released in 2011 by Swedish developer Mojang Studios, Minecraft remains one of the best classic games that are still active in 2025, proving its popularity over a decade after its initial release. To its acclaim, the title is among the best-selling games of all time, and it was recorded in 2024 that the game has sold over 300 million copies with around 170 million monthly active players. Minecraft thrives on user-generated content in addition to the foundations’ extensive gameplay, including mods, servers, skins, texture packs, and custom maps.

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By Eric Warner

Posted on Reddit by derChopsuey, a handful of screenshots were shared in the Minecraft subreddit, showing a sad scene of expired dolphins within an aquarium, resembling the build achieved by another Minecraft player who presented an impressive indoor aquarium full of colorful creatures. The player asked why dolphins cannot survive in aquariums, and the answer is very simple but perhaps not known by most players. Dolphins cannot survive without breathing air every once in a while, and they sadly begin to drown after being submerged in water for around four minutes, hence why they cannot survive in an enclosed aquarium.

Minecraft Player Notes Dolphins Cannot Survive in Aquariums

Minecraft fans have had interesting ideas for new biomes over the years, and the community agrees that a balanced biome offering air and water is the ideal habitat for dolphins to survive in the voxel world. The water breathing status effect can also stop them from drowning, as it prevents the suffocation damage. Redditors also mentioned that rendering distance can terminate their lives very quickly, and called for Mojang to fix the buggy animals.

Minecraft players can take advantage of the Aqua Affinity enchantment, a useful mechanic if gameplay requires a lot of underwater building. Aqua Affinity is an essential helmet when building in Survival Mode and even when exploring underwater structures, as players must keep track of their oxygen levels. Sadly, this perk cannot be given to the dolphins of this world, and the fandom hopes Mojang deploys better functions for dolphins to survive within a future update.

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