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PASSIVE Present since 1.14 or earlier

Squid mob in Minecraft

The Squid is a harmless sea creature that drifts through oceans and rivers. When hurt, it squirts a cloud of black ink and flees. Its only real use is the Ink Sac it drops, the source of black dye and of every Book and Quill.

Health: 105 hearts
Behavior: Passive
Main drop: Ink Sac
Found in: 11 biomes

Squid stats

Health: 10 5 hearts
Behavior: Passive
Main drop: Ink Sac
Spawns in: 11 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 Squid

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

Spawning

Group size: 1 to 41 to 4 · depends on the biome

Squid drops

Squid dropsFrom the loot table · chance per kill

Ink Sac+1 per Looting level1–3

Health compared

Health vs other passive mobshealth points

Mooshroom10

Ocelot10

Pig10

Squid10

Sheep8

Sulfur Cube8

Bat6

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 Squid

Spawns as a baby 5% of those spawned in groups All baby mobs →

Command

Summon a Squid/summon →

/summon minecraft:squid ~ ~ ~

Where to find Squid

Squid swim in almost every ocean, from frozen to warm, and in rivers too. They drift slowly with their tentacles pulsing, often in small groups, and never leave the water on their own. A Squid that ends up on land cannot move and slowly suffocates, like a fish.

How a Squid reacts

A Squid never attacks. When it takes damage, it releases a cloud of black ink around itself and darts away. The ink is only a visual effect: it hides the Squid for a moment but does not blind you. In the water, a sword hit or two is enough to kill one, and a Trident with Impaling deals extra damage to it.

Squid have several enemies. Axolotls hunt them, and Guardians target them with their lasers. If you see a beam near an Ocean Monument with no player around, there is probably a Squid at the other end.

What Ink Sacs are for

Black dye: one Ink Sac crafts into black dye, for wool, glass, concrete, beds and banners.
Writing: an Ink Sac, a book and a feather make a Book and Quill, the only way to write books in survival.
Signs: use an Ink Sac on a sign to remove the glow from its text after you used a Glow Ink Sac on it.

Looting raises the number of sacs per kill. For glowing text and Glow Item Frames, you need its cave cousin, the Glow Squid.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026