In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, players are tasked with completing their Critterpedia, a collection of all insects and fish in the game. However, there are several critters that are rare and difficult to obtain, due to only appearing at certain times of the year, certain times of the day, certain areas, or they are just plain difficult to obtain due to low chance percentage. One of these rare critters is the Coelacanth. In this guide, I will be showing you how to catch the Coelacanth in New Horizons and everything else you need to know about this rare fish.
What Is The Coelacanth?
The Coelacanth is a fish of extreme rarity in real life and in New Horizons. In real life, there are only two species of Coelacanth still alive today. In New Horizons, however, there is one form. The Coelacanth has been a staple fish of Animal Crossing, with its first in-game appearance deriving from the original title on the Gamecube in 2001, Animal Crossing. In New Horizons Blathers’ gives the following description of the Coelacanth – “The coelacanth is a deep-sea fish that has been around since the age of the dinosaurs. They were long thought extinct, so when living specimens were discovered, it was quite a shock! Now I’ll just have to figure out where in the museum to display it— fish or fossils!”
How To Find And Catch A Coelacanth
If you are rushing to find a Coelacanth, then luckily for you, time is on your side. The Coelacanth has no time constraints on when it spawns in New Horizons, however, it does have certain conditions to spawn.
Coelacanth only spawn when it is raining on your island. On top of this, the shadow you will be looking for lurking in the waters is the largest shadow possible. However, even having both these conditions met will not guarantee you a Coelacanth encounter. You could obtain this rare fish first try, if so, great job! However, chances are you will most likely catch dozens of common fish such as the dreaded Sea Bass before you even see a glimmer of hope in catching the Coelacanth. The only advice to give if you fall into the latter category is… keep trying!
How To Make This Process A Whole Lot Smoother
If running up and down the coastlines in search of a large shadow in the water is not your cup of tea, then craft tonnes of bait! Bait will allow you to just consistently keep spawning fish right in front of you until you get a large shadow. Once again, this does not guarantee a Coelacanth, but it is the fastest way to obtain one. To craft bait, all you need to do is dig up manila clams from the sand and craft them into bait using a crafting table. Next, just keep spamming the bait in the oceans and catching every large shadow you see until one of them is a Coelacanth.
The added benefit of using fishing bait is that you don’t have to wait for it to rain! That’s right, if you use fishing bait you can catch the Coelacanth when rain or shine. It may take some time even with fishing bait, but it’s easier to sit in one spot and fish than run around looking for shadows!
What to do with the Coelacanth Once You Catch It
To reward your patience or potential luck, you can show off your fancy new ancient fish in your museum by giving it to Blathers, home or just keep it around your town to brag to your friends. However, if your urges are more monetary, you can sell any Coelacanth you find for a whopping 15,000 bells per coelacanth to Timmy and Tommy at Nook’s Cranny. You can also sell it to CJ for 22,500 bells instead!
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