BetterVannilaFishes
by mlus
BetterVannilaFishes replaces the vanilla fish of the ocean with a larger and more varied set of species, changing what players find while exploring the sea.
What it does
The mod removes the default Cod, Salmon, Pufferfish and Tropical Fish from world generation and places a roster of 44 new species in their stead, including colorful reef dwellers and apex ocean predators with their own behaviors. Several of the species are modeled on real fish, among them the Atlantic Cod, Pacific Cod, Haddock and Pacific Salmon, and the animations are driven by GeckoLib.
Male and female salmon differ in coloration, and the puffers are split into distinct kinds such as the Yellow Fin Puffer and the Obscure Puffer. The aim is a livelier and more varied ocean for players who spend time underwater. Because the mod changes world generation, it affects new chunks, and it needs Forge or NeoForge with the same build on both sides for the new species to load. The mod is open source under the MIT License and is published for 1.20.1 and 1.21.1, with the latest Forge and NeoForge files both dated 2026-07-13.
Key features
44 new species
Realistic and colorful species replace the vanilla ocean fish during world generation.
Real-world models
Cod, haddock and salmon variants are modeled on their real counterparts from the North Atlantic and Pacific.
Distinct salmon and puffers
Male and female salmon have different coloration, and the puffers come in several named kinds.
Predators with unique behaviors
Apex predators in the ocean act differently from the passive fish of vanilla, and their animations use GeckoLib.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Ocean exploration
Players who dive for resources or wander the seas meet a wider range of creatures than the vanilla four.
Aquarium-style builds
Colorful reef species and named puffers can be spotted while building underwater structures or habitats.
Who it’s for: Players who want a more varied ocean in survival or exploration worlds, and server owners who want the same fish across a multiplayer world.
Questions
Does BetterVannilaFishes need to be installed on the server?
Which loaders does BetterVannilaFishes support?
Do the fish replace the vanilla ones in existing worlds?
In the catalog
BetterVannilaFishes is one of 6,151 Food mods on ModsFinder, and one of 3,337 Food mods for Forge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
More from mlus
Similar mods
What the author says
Tired of the same old generic fish swimming in Minecraft's oceans? Better Vannila Fishes is a complete overhaul of aquatic life, designed to bring a new level of realism, depth, and excitement to your underwater explorations. This mod removes the default vanilla fish (Cod, Salmon, Pufferfish, Tropical Fish) from…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/bettervannilafishes
- Owner
- mlus
- Published
- 2026-01-23
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-07-13
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15