On July 3rd, 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Nintendo Switch was updated with new swimming, diving and catching sea creatures features!
A total of 40 sea creatures can be found at different times of the year. They have their own Critterpedia page, and you can donate them to Blathers just like fish, bugs, fossils and art in order to fill the Museum's collection.
Sea creatures can also be sold for Bells at Nook's Cranny. They are pretty profitable as their sale price starts at 500 Bells (sea anemone, sea cucumber, sea star) and can go as high as 15000 Bells (gigas giant clam). Refrain from using the store's drop-off box where every item in the game sells for 20% less.
Also, the fact that they're found continuously in the sea and that you can stay in the water as long as you want (unlike tools that break, your wet suit won't), makes them a constant source of income.
Scroll down to check all sea creatures' prices in a sortable list!
You need to wear a wet suit to swim and catch sea creatures. Note that you can get a snorkel mask too, but it's not required to swim. Wet suits and snorkel masks come in a variety of colors and styles. You can buy a blue, red, yellow or black horizontal-striped wet suit at Nook's Cranny for 3000 Bells, redeem a green/grey Nook wet suit at Nook Stop for 800 Nook Miles or purchase a blue, green, pink or yellow leaf-print wet suit in the Special Goods section of Nook Shopping, also at the Nook Stop.
Then, wearing the wet suit (without holding any tool), stand by the seashore and press "A" to enter the water. To jump into the water, press "A" while standing on a pier or rock.
Now, to get a sea creature, look for air bubbles in the water as they indicate a sea creature (or a pearl) can be found below! Approach the bubbles then swim underwater (read the instructions here above) until you reach the sea creature's shadow. You'll automatically come back up with a catch.
You can also first start swimming (with your head above the water) and only dive the moment you're above the sea creature, but we find this is slightly less effective.
Slowly swim above water, using the directional left stick only, until you're on top of the fast sea creature shadow (it sounds impossible, but swimming slowly is the only way to reach the fast creature when you're both going in the same direction), then dive and swim quickly until you catch it (press "Y" once then "A" repeatedly). That's it!
If you missed the catch, get back to the water surface and start following the sea creature slowly again.
Follow the fast sea creature until it makes a u-turn — it does so when reaching the shore or the nautical netting. Dive right around this moment and swim quickly under water to catch it.
I found a pearl!
— ACNH.co (@ACNHquotes) July 16, 2020
Could today get any more pearl-fect?#acnhscreenshots #acnhquotes #AnimalCrossing #ACNH #NintendoSwitch #pearl pic.twitter.com/VEq3gfCTwW
Click on the up & down arrows in the table to sort the sea creatures by price (Nook's Cranny regular prices and lesser drop-off box prices) or alphabetically (by name, subcategory or particularity).
Clicking once sorts the chosen column in ascending order — from the lowest to the highest price or from A to Z. The second click sorts its items in descending order — from the most expensive to the cheapest or from Z to A.
Please note: All prices are in Bells.
Item | Category | Subcategory | Particularity | Sales Price | Drop-Off Box |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abalone | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Large Shadow | 2000 | 1600 |
Acorn Barnacle | Sea Creatures | Doesn't move | Tiny Shadow | 600 | 480 |
Chambered Nautilus | Sea Creatures | Slow | Medium Shadow | 1800 | 1440 |
Dungeness Crab | Sea Creatures | Slow | Large Shadow | 1900 | 1520 |
Firefly Squid | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Small Shadow | 1400 | 1120 |
Flatworm | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Tiny Shadow | 700 | 560 |
Gazami Crab | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Medium Shadow | 2200 | 1760 |
Giant Isopod | Sea Creatures | Fast | Large Shadow | 12000 | 9600 |
Gigas Giant Clam | Sea Creatures | Fast | Large Shadow | 15000 | 12000 |
Horseshoe Crab | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Medium Shadow | 2500 | 2000 |
Lobster | Sea Creatures | Fast | Large Shadow | 4500 | 3600 |
Mantis Shrimp | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Medium Shadow | 2500 | 2000 |
Moon Jellyfish | Sea Creatures | Slow | Medium Shadow | 600 | 480 |
Mussel | Sea Creatures | Doesn't move | Medium Shadow | 1500 | 1200 |
Octopus | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Medium Shadow | 1200 | 960 |
Oyster | Sea Creatures | Slow | Medium Shadow | 1100 | 880 |
Pearl Oyster | Sea Creatures | Fast | Medium Shadow | 2800 | 2240 |
Red King Crab | Sea Creatures | Fast | Large Shadow | 8000 | 6400 |
Scallop | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Medium Shadow | 1200 | 960 |
Sea Anemone | Sea Creatures | Doesn't move | Large Shadow | 500 | 400 |
Sea Cucumber | Sea Creatures | Slow | Large Shadow | 500 | 400 |
Sea Grapes | Sea Creatures | Doesn't move | Medium Shadow | 900 | 720 |
Sea Pig | Sea Creatures | Fast | Medium Shadow | 10000 | 8000 |
Sea Pineapple | Sea Creatures | Doesn't move | Small Shadow | 1500 | 1200 |
Sea Slug | Sea Creatures | Slow | Tiny Shadow | 600 | 480 |
Sea Star | Sea Creatures | Doesn't move | Medium Shadow | 500 | 400 |
Sea Urchin | Sea Creatures | Doesn't move | Medium Shadow | 1700 | 1360 |
Seaweed | Sea Creatures | Doesn't move | Small Shadow | 600 | 480 |
Slate Pencil Urchin | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Medium Shadow | 2000 | 1600 |
Snow Crab | Sea Creatures | Fast | Large Shadow | 6000 | 4800 |
Spider Crab | Sea Creatures | Fast | Large Shadow | 12000 | 9600 |
Spiny Lobster | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Medium Shadow | 5000 | 4000 |
Spotted Garden Eel | Sea Creatures | Slow | Medium Shadow | 1100 | 880 |
Sweet Shrimp | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Small Shadow | 1400 | 1120 |
Tiger Prawn | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Medium Shadow | 3000 | 2400 |
Turban Shell | Sea Creatures | Slow | Small Shadow | 1000 | 800 |
Umbrella Octopus | Sea Creatures | Regular Speed | Small Shadow | 6000 | 4800 |
Vampire Squid | Sea Creatures | Fast | Large Shadow | 10000 | 8000 |
Venus' Flower Basket | Sea Creatures | Fast | Large Shadow | 5000 | 4000 |
Whelk | Sea Creatures | Slow | Medium Shadow | 1000 | 800 |
Total number of sea creatures: 40