Animal Crossing New Horizons: How to Catch a Coelacanth

Animal Crossing New Horizons: How to Catch a Coelacanth

We show you how to catch one of the game's rarer and older fish.

Even after catching numerous other rare creatures in Animal Crossing New Horizons, there's still something prehistoric waiting for you. Here we'll show you how to catch a coelacanth, not to mention how to pronounce it.

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How to Catch a Coelacanth in Animal Crossing New Horizons

A coelacanth is a huge, stony-looking fish that can be caught on your island or others. Though you just fish as normally to catch it, the conditions that make it appear or more specific.

Where to Fish for Coelacanths

If you want to find a Coelacanth specifically, these are some useful facts to keep in mind:

  • Coelacanths only spawn in the sea, not in rivers.
  • It can be any month or time of day, they're always out there.
  • It must be raining! They won't spawn when it's not.
  • They have the largest shadows available, so don't bother fishing for anything that isn't huge.

Fastest Way to Catch a Coelacanth

The fastest way to start farming for coelacanths is to dig up a lot of manilla clams from the beach and convert them into fish bait while it's still sunny, stockpiling them for the next rainstorm. Then, when it does start pouring, head to the beach and just start throwing bait into the water until a big shadow comes up. Coelacanths are very rare, so you could still be there a while, but it's the best way to increase your odds.

How Much Does a Coelacanth Sell For?

You can sell a Coelacanth to the Nooks for a phenomenal 15,000 bells, making it one of the most valuable fish in the game. Hold out to sell one to CJ when he shows up, and the price will rise to 22,500 (though make sure you donate to Blathers first).

How to Pronounce Coelacanth

If you don't know, you won't guess - it's actually pronounced "see-luh-kanth".

If that was a help to you, all you need to do for thanks is enjoy some more of our Animal Crossing content! Caty's review for New Horizons is waiting for you here, or you can see our ode to the Cherry Blossoms here.

Jake Green

Guides Editor

Jake is a former freelance writer who now heads up guides for USG. He spends his days dreaming of an X-Files dating-sim and will play literally any game with monkeys in it. He has an unhealthy obsession with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and would pretty much trade a kidney for Skate 4 at this point.

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