With the newest update to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you now have the ability to swim around your island. Deep-sea diving has introduced us to new creatures to collect. This will help you create a fully-fleshed-out museum, full of wonder and beauty. It can also help you make some extra money by selling the extra items.
There are quite a few different sea creatures available to players. However, catching these sea animals can be difficult. They show up during different times of the day and in different months, and they can be tough to catch. Luckily, we put together a list of all the sea creatures you can find.
Further reading
- How to swim in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Every Mermaid set DIY recipe Pascal the otter rewards in Animal Crossing
- Now you can add classic works of art to your Animal Crossing island
Sea creatures galore
There are a variety of sea creatures and, much like the bugs and fish, the sea creatures will rotate per month. This will give you an ample amount of time to try to catch those fast-moving bubbles in the sea. It also gives you more opportunities to find scallops. You can trade one scallop per day with Pascal, the adorable otter who will trade you one scallop for one mermaid DIY. Occasionally, he’ll give you elusive pearls as well, which can help you build the mermaid DIYs.
Unlike the fish and insects, there is no NPC that will pay double for your sea catches. Unfortunately, as of right now, you’re only able to sell these sea creatures to Nook’s Cranny — there isn’t a higher price for the creatures. However, because Animal Crossing is constantly updating and changing, this may change. Someday, we may get an NPC that is willing to pay as much for sea creatures as CJ does for fish or Flick does for bugs.
Before going swimming, you’ll need to purchase a wetsuit. You can find a striped suit of varying colors in Nook’s Cranny. Additionally, the Nook Stop also will give you the option to purchase an exclusive diving suit using Nook Miles Tickets. It does not matter which version of the suit you buy, but one is required in order to dive.
It’s also worth noting that you don’t have to jump into the ocean from the rocks along the beach. Players can also dive into the ocean from the pier or simply walk in from the beach. Although it seems pointless to mention, it’s worth knowing that you can enter the water from virtually anywhere on your island.
Here are the sea creatures that you can find.
Northern hemisphere
- Acorn barnacle: All day (600 bells)
- Vampire squid: 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (10,000 bells)
- Gazami crab: All day (2,200 bells)
- Giant isopod: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m and 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. (12,000 bells)
- Tiger prawn: 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (3,000 bells)
- Sea urchin: All day (1,700 bells)
- Slate pencil urchin: 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (2,000 bells)
- Sea anemone: All day (500 bells)
- Moon jellyfish: All day (600 bells)
- Sea slug: All day (600 bells)
- Sea star: All day (500 bells)
- Seaweed: All day (600 bells)
- Sea grapes: All day (900 bells)
- Scallop: All day (1,200 bells)
- Whelk: All day (1,000 bells)
- Pearl oyster: All day (2,800 bells)
- Octopus: All day (1,200 bells)
- Gigas giant clam: All day (15,000 bells)
- Abalone: 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (2,000 bells)
- Mussel: All day (1,500 bells)
- Sea pineapple: All day (1,500 bells)
- Mantis shrimp: 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (2,500 bells)
- Horseshoe crab: 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. (2,500 bells)
- Spotted garden eel: 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. (1,100 bells)
Southern hemisphere
- Venus’ flower basket: All day (5,000 bells)
- Mantis shrimp: 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. (2,500 bells)
- Sweet shrimp: 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (1,400 bells)
- Lobster: All day (4,500 bells)
- Dungeness crab: All day (1,900 bells)
- Red king crab: All day (8,000 bells)
- Snow crab: All day (6,000 bells)
- Acorn barnacle: All day (600 bells)
- Sea anemone: All day (500 bells)
- Sea slug: All day (600 bells)
- Seaweed: All day (600 bells)
- Sea cucumber: All day (500 bells)
- Sea pig: 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (10,000 bells)
- Sea star: All day (500 bells)
- Whelk: All day (1,000 bells)
- Scallop: All day (1,200 bells)
- Oyster: All day (1,100 bells)
- Pearl oyster: All day (2,800 bells)
- Abalone: 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. (2,000 bells)
- Octopus: All day (1,200 bells)