Updated 23 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Silverfish and Infested Blocks: How to Spot Them
Silverfish are small 8 HP monsters that hide inside infested stone blocks in strongholds, mountains, igloo basements and woodland mansions. Breaking one releases a silverfish, and hurting it without killing it calls out every silverfish nearby. Spot infested blocks because they break faster than real stone, and mine them with Silk Touch to stop the silverfish coming out.
Where do silverfish come from?
- Infested blocks in strongholds, underground in mountains and windswept hills, in igloo basements, and in woodland mansion rooms.
- Spawners in stronghold End portal rooms; see find a stronghold.
- Trial chambers: a 25% chance for silverfish to be the small melee mob there.
- The Infested effect, which can spawn silverfish when an affected mob takes damage.
How do you tell an infested block apart?
An infested block looks exactly like stone, cobblestone, deepslate or stone bricks, but it breaks faster: half the time with a pickaxe. If a block breaks suspiciously fast, expect a silverfish. Mining it with Silk Touch stops the silverfish from appearing. See every enchantment.
How do you fight silverfish?
When a silverfish is hurt by a player or by Poison and survives, it wakes every silverfish in a 21x11x21 area, so kill each in one hit. They can see you through walls. As arthropods they take extra damage from Bane of Arthropods, which also gives them Slowness IV. They drop nothing but 5 experience. When idle they burrow into nearby stone and turn it into infested blocks.
Does ArtemisPvP have strongholds?
Frequently asked questions
How do you know if a block has a silverfish?
Infested blocks break faster than the real block, half the time with a pickaxe.
Do silverfish drop anything?
Only 5 experience.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.