Aquaculture 2 Complete Tutorial: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

Welcome to the ultimate starter guide for Aquaculture 2, filmed in Minecraft version 1.21.1 but fully applicable to all versions of Minecraft. This guide covers absolutely everything in the mod — from every fish you can catch, to Neptunium gear, tackle boxes, hooks, baits, and even fish wall mounts. Whether you’re brand new to the mod or just need a refresher, this tutorial has you covered.

All the Fish Added by Aquaculture 2

Aquaculture 2 adds a large variety of fish to the game, all catchable using the standard vanilla Minecraft fishing method — just cast your rod as normal. However, you can only catch certain fish in certain biomes and water types. Here is a full breakdown by biome:

Freshwater (Rivers, Lakes)

Smallmouth Bass, Blue Gill, Brown Trout, Carp, Catfish, Garmino, Muskallunge, and Perch.

Arid (Deserts)

Bayad, Bulti, Capitan, and Synodontis.

Arctic Ocean

Atlantic Cod, Blackfish, Pacific Halibut, Atlantic Halibut, Atlantic Herring, Pink Salmon, Pollock, and Rainbow Trout.

Saltwater

Jellyfish, Red Grouper, and Tuna.

Jungle

Arapaima, Arowana, Piranha, and Tambaqui.

Swamp

Frogs, Leeches, and Box Turtles.

Mushroom Islands

Brown Shroomer and Red Shroomer.

Special / Modded Biomes

If you have the Twilight Forest mod installed, you can also catch Star Shell Turtles. Additionally, Goldfish can be caught anywhere in the world regardless of biome.

Filleting Knives and Fish Fillets

Once you’ve caught your fish, the primary thing you’ll do with them is use a Filleting Knife. There are five tiers of Filleting Knife available: Wooden, Stone, Iron, Gold, and Neptunium. The only meaningful differences between them are durability and damage. The Neptunium Filleting Knife also increases the number of fillets you receive.

When you use a Filleting Knife on a fish, you receive Raw Fish Fillet. Different fish yield different amounts — for example, a Bluegill gives you one fillet, while a Red Grouper gives you three. You can then cook the raw fillet in a furnace to get Cooked Fish Fillet for food, or combine it with Seagrass to craft Sushi.

Enabling Weight-Based Fillet Yields (Config Option)

There is an optional config setting that adds a weight system to fish, meaning the heavier the fish, the more fillets you receive. This is turned off by default. To enable it, follow these steps:

Open your mod launcher (for example, CurseForge) and click the three-dot menu for your modpack, then select Open Folder.

Navigate to the config folder.

Open the file named aquaculture-common with Notepad or any text editor.

At the top of the file, find the line enable_weight_for_fish and change false to true.

Save the file and relaunch your game.

Once enabled, fish like the Atlantic Halibut can yield as many as 14 Raw Fish Fillets in a single catch.

The Tackle Box

The Tackle Box is one of the most important items in Aquaculture 2 and the first thing you should craft. The recipe is straightforward. Place it down with a right-click, and you can pick it back up again with a Shift + Right-Click.

Right-click on a placed Tackle Box to open its interface. Inside you will find dedicated slots for your Fishing Rod, Hooks, Bait, Bobber, and Fishing Line. Place your fishing rod in the top-right slot to equip everything attached to it.

The Tackle Box also functions as a storage container for all your fishing accessories. You can keep multiple hooks, baits, and bobbers stored inside and swap them out as needed — only the items placed in their designated slots will actually be active on your rod.

Fishing Rods

Aquaculture 2 adds new fishing rod tiers: Iron, Gold, Diamond, and Neptunium. Iron, Gold, and Diamond rods simply offer increased durability over the vanilla rod. The Neptunium Rod is the exception — fish are more likely to bite when using it, making it the best rod in the mod.

Hooks

Hooks are placed in the dedicated hook slot inside the Tackle Box and provide a variety of special bonuses. Here is a breakdown of every hook type:

Iron Hook: 20% chance to not consume rod durability on use.

Diamond Hook: 50% chance to not consume rod durability on use.

Gold Hook: Increases your luck stat while fishing.

Feather Hook (Light): Casts your line further.

Heavy Hook: Casts your line shorter.

Double Hook: 10% chance to catch two things at once.

Redstone Hook: Extends the window of time you have to reel in a fish (the bobber wobbles for longer).

Noteblock Hook: Plays an audible alert when a fish is approaching your bobber.

Nether Star Hook: 50% chance to not consume durability and increases luck — the best all-around hook in the mod.

Bobbers and Fishing Lines (Cosmetics)

Aquaculture 2 also lets you customise the appearance of your fishing setup with Bobbers and Fishing Lines. Both are crafted using a Nautilus Shell and Clay Balls, and can be dyed any colour using standard dyes. Simply place a bobber and a dye together to change its colour, then slot it into the bobber slot in your Tackle Box. Your fishing rod will then visually display the coloured bobber when cast.

Baits: Worms, Minnows, and Leeches

Adding bait to the bait slot in your Tackle Box increases your chances of catching a fish. There are three types of bait: Worms, Minnows, and Leeches. Minnows and Leeches are obtained through fishing itself. Worms, however, require a dedicated crafting station.

The Worm Farm

To reliably get Worms, you need to craft and place a Worm Farm. It works similarly to a Composter — you feed it any item that can normally go into a composter (such as Potatoes, vegetables, or plant matter) and it will produce Worms over time.

To collect worms from the farm, simply right-click it with an empty hand. If you are using a mod like The One Probe, it will display when worms are available inside.

Neptunium: The Ultimate Material

Neptunium is the top-tier material added by Aquaculture 2, and obtaining it is the main long-term goal of the mod. To get Neptunium Ingots, you must fish up a rare treasure item called Neptune’s Bounty. The Luck of the Sea enchantment on your fishing rod increases the chances of reeling one in, so enchant your rod as early as possible.

Neptunium Tools

Neptunium Pickaxe: No mining speed penalty when underwater.

Neptunium Axe: Deals increased damage against enemies underwater.

Neptunium Hoe: Tilled farmland stays moist permanently.

Neptunium Sword: Deals increased damage against enemies underwater.

Neptunium Bow: Arrows travel smoothly through water without slowing down.

Neptunium Filleting Knife: Increases the number of fillets obtained from fish.

Neptunium Armour

Helmet: Improves underwater vision.

Chestplate: Allows you to breathe underwater.

Leggings: Makes you weightless underwater.

Boots: Increases swim speed.

A full set of Neptunium armour makes underwater exploration and combat extremely powerful, and because it is all obtained passively through fishing, it rewards dedicated anglers greatly.

Other Items You Can Fish Up

Beyond fish and Neptune’s Bounty, casting your line can also yield a variety of other items and junk loot, including:

Message in a Bottle

Driftwood

Tin Can

Wooden Box

Lock Box

Treasure Chest

Algae

Fish Bones

You can also find Turtles spawning in the world, and they can be used — alongside a Water Bucket and a Bowl — to craft Turtle Soup.

Fish Wall Mounts

As a fun decorative bonus, Aquaculture 2 allows you to create Fish Mounts from your catches. These can be displayed on walls as trophies, making them a great way to show off your rarest or most impressive catches.

Summary

Aquaculture 2 is a comprehensive fishing overhaul mod that adds dozens of fish across multiple biomes, tiered fishing rods and filleting knives, a fully featured tackle box system with hooks and baits, and the powerful Neptunium material as an end goal. Start by building a Worm Farm and a Tackle Box, work toward enchanting your rod with Luck of the Sea, and keep fishing until Neptune’s Bounty rewards you with Neptunium gear. Whether you’re playing version 1.21.1 or an earlier release, everything covered in this guide applies to your game.

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