Render by Blockaria from the Minecraft: Java Edition models and textures (Mojang).

3/4 view

PASSIVE Added in 1.17

Glow Squid mob in Minecraft

The Glow Squid is the luminous cousin of the Squid, found in dark underground water. It is just as harmless, and its value lies in the Glow Ink Sac it drops: that is what makes Glow Item Frames and glowing sign text.

Health: 105 hearts
Behavior: Passive
Main drop: Glow Ink Sac
Found in: 54 biomes

Glow Squid stats

Health: 10 5 hearts
Behavior: Passive
Main drop: Glow Ink Sac
Spawns in: 54 biomes
Size: 0.8 × 0.8 blocks
XP when killed: 1 to 3none as a baby
Detection range: 16 blocks

// Experience drops only when a player kills it.

Where to find Glow Squid

Biomes where it spawns naturally, with its share of the spawns in each group.

All 54 biomes

Spawning

Group size: 4 to 6

Glow Squid drops

Glow Squid dropsFrom the loot table · chance per kill

Glow Ink Sac+1 per Looting level1–3

Health compared

Health vs other passive mobshealth points

Cow10

Fox10

Frog10

Glow Squid10

Mooshroom10

Ocelot10

Pig10

Glow Squid and its family

Mobs built on the same base in the game code, compared on their game values.

Mob	Health	XP	Speed
Glow Squid	10	1–3	—
Squid	10	1–3	—

Traits

Properties set in the game files.

AquaticImpaling deals extra damage to it.

Hunted by axolotlsAxolotls attack it.

Breathes underwaterDoes not drown.

Ignored by pufferfishPufferfish do not puff up near it.

Weak to ImpalingImpaling deals extra damage to it.

Baby Glow Squid

Spawn egg on an adult All baby mobs →

Command

Summon a Glow Squid/summon →

/summon minecraft:glow_squid ~ ~ ~

Where to find Glow Squid

Glow Squid live in water deep underground, where no light reaches. That is why they can turn up under almost any Overworld biome: what matters is the flooded cave below, not the surface. Large underwater caves and the pools of Lush Caves and Dripstone Caves are good spots. Their turquoise shimmer makes them easy to spot in the dark.

Does a Glow Squid give off light?

No. Its glow is only a texture effect: it lights up itself, not the blocks around it. You cannot use one as a lamp, and mobs can still spawn right next to it. When it gets hurt, it dims for a while, squirts a cloud of glowing ink and swims off.

Behavior and enemies

Like the Squid, it never attacks and cannot survive on land, where it slowly suffocates. Axolotls hunt it, which is common in Lush Caves where both share the same water. If you keep axolotls nearby, expect your Glow Squid population to shrink.

What Glow Ink Sacs are for

Glow Item Frames: combine a Glow Ink Sac with an Item Frame to get a Glow Item Frame. The item inside stays fully lit, even in a dark room.
Glowing signs: use a Glow Ink Sac on a sign to make its text glow and stay readable at night. A regular Ink Sac removes the effect.

Looting raises the number of sacs per kill. Since Glow Squid keep spawning in dark underground water, a flooded cave near your base is a reliable source.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026