Article

How to Make a Water Breathing Potion in Minecraft

9 October 2026

To make a Water Breathing potion, brew nether wart into water bottles, then add a pufferfish to the resulting Awkward Potions. It lasts three minutes; redstone dust extends it to eight. The recipe is the same in Java and Bedrock Edition.

Ingredients

• A brewing stand, water, one to three glass bottles, one nether wart, and blaze powder for fuel.
• One pufferfish item, not cod, salmon, a tropical fish, or a bucket containing a live fish.
• Optional redstone dust for the longer version, or gunpowder for a splash version.

You can get the pufferfish item through fishing or by killing a pufferfish mob. Keep it for brewing: eating a pufferfish causes harmful effects. One ingredient brews up to three bottles when all bottom slots are filled.

Step-by-step brewing

1. Fill your glass bottles with water and place them in the bottom brewing slots.
2. Put blaze powder in the fuel slot on the left.
3. Put nether wart in the top slot and wait until each bottle becomes an Awkward Potion.
4. Add the pufferfish in the top slot and wait for Potion of Water Breathing.
5. For eight minutes, brew the finished potions with redstone dust. Drink one before diving.

Duration and upgrades

Water Breathing has no level II version; glowstone dust cannot make it stronger. To share the effect, add gunpowder to make a splash potion. These times describe drinkable potions: splash duration depends on edition and distance from the impact. Drink a regular potion when you need the predictable full duration.

Java and Bedrock notes

Both editions use the same ingredients and drinkable durations. Water Breathing stops your air supply from running out underwater; it does not improve swimming speed, underwater mining speed, or visibility. Bedrock players can also interact with potions through cauldrons, but the brewing-stand sequence above works in both editions.

Common mistakes and a useful dive plan

Adding the fish directly to a water bottle skips the required Awkward Potion base. If the label is wrong, refill bottles and start with nether wart.

A potion is not protection from drowned, guardians, or other attacks. Mark an exit before entering a wreck and check your effect timer before swimming into another room. Leave enough time to reach the surface rather than waiting for the final seconds. Drinking milk clears the effect along with other status effects.

For a wreck or ocean-floor trip, pair Water Breathing with Night Vision. One keeps your air safe; the other helps you see. A longer potion is especially useful when you need time to collect blocks and retrace your route.

Mojang’s Taking Inventory: Pufferfish confirms its brewing use.

Related potion guides

Keep the printable Minecraft Potion Brewing Chart beside your brewing stand for ingredients, upgrades and timers for all 19 Survival potions.

• Night Vision potion
• Fire Resistance potion
• Invisibility potion
• Strength potion

See the Minecraft potion brewing guide for the recipe table, or return to Minecraft guides and videos.