Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Nautilus Shell in Minecraft: How to Get It and Uses
A nautilus shell is an ocean item used with a heart of the sea to craft a conduit, which needs 8 shells. Drowned holding one always drop it, and you can fish them up as treasure or buy them from wandering traders.
How do you get a nautilus shell?
Kill drowned holding a shell in their off-hand (3% spawn with one on Java, 8% on Bedrock), fish (0.8% per catch without Luck of the Sea), or buy one for 5 emeralds from a wandering trader.
What is it used for?
- Crafting conduits (8 shells and a heart of the sea)
- Collecting as fishing treasure
- A drowned farm by-product
- Off-hand display on Bedrock
More about it
Luck of the Sea raises the fishing chance. A drowned farm slowly collects shells along with tridents and copper. Wandering traders sell them, so emeralds can replace hunting drowned. Drowned holding tridents are a separate rare spawn.
Tip
Kill drowned carrying shells with a sword rather than letting them escape into deep water.
Items and recipes
Most items stack to 64 in one inventory slot; tools, armor, potions and a few others do not stack at all. The recipe book in your crafting screen shows every recipe you have unlocked, and picking up a new item unlocks the recipes that use it. In Creative mode every item is in the creative inventory, and with cheats on the /give command hands you any item by its ID. Items you drop disappear after 5 minutes on the ground, so pick up rare drops quickly. See crafting and drowned.
Does ArtemisPvP have custom items?
Frequently asked questions
How many nautilus shells make a conduit?
8, plus a heart of the sea.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.