Squid Farm (Ink Sacs)
Beginner Different design per edition
Produces: Ink sacs for black dye, book and quills, and darkening sign text
Quick answer: Squid spawn in rivers and oceans - on Java between Y=50 and Y=63 with water above and below. Fence off a river section, flush the squid onto a dry floor, and collect 1-3 ink sacs each.
How it works
- Java spawning: 2-4 squid in river or ocean biomes from Y=50 to Y=63, needing water (or a waterlogged block) at the spawn block and below, and water above.
- Bedrock: 2-4 in oceans, 2 in rivers, and only on the surface - no solid block above the spawn spot.
- Squid drop ink sacs; see the wiki for exact Looting amounts.
- Squid cannot breed: babies only appear naturally and take 20 minutes to grow up.
- They suffocate after 15 seconds out of water - a dry collection floor is the kill mechanism, no sword needed.
- The glow squid is the deep-water cousin, with its own farm.
Materials
- A river or shallow ocean section (Java: the Y=50-63 band is perfect at sea level)
- Building blocks to wall and floor the section
- Water channels or bubble columns for the flush
- Hoppers and chests on a dry floor
- Torches for the surrounding caves so fish do not steal the mob cap... light does not stop squid, but clearing helps
Build steps
- Pick a river: the Y band is built-in, the banks are natural walls, and villages often sit nearby.
- Dam both ends of a section and lay a sloped floor so currents push squid toward one corner.
- Place a drop chute at that corner over a dry room - squid wash in, fall out of the water, suffocate in 15 seconds.
- Hoppers under the dry floor feed a chest.
- On Bedrock keep the water surface open to the sky: a solid block above stops spawns.
- AFK nearby and empty the chest between other projects.
Rates
Output depends on the design, the version and how much of it you build, so we do not quote an hourly figure. Build the layout below, time it for a few minutes in your own world and scale from there.
Tips
- Do not confuse rivers with the deep: regular squid spawn high (Y 50-63 on Java).
- Squid out of water suffocate in 15 seconds and are very resistant to knockback.
- Source: minecraft.wiki Squid.