Minecraft’s latest Snapshot 26.1 has sparked a wave of reactions across social media, with players focusing on the introduction of new aquatic baby mobs and a craftable item that allows users to halt mob growth.
Screenshots and videos of young axolotls, dolphins, turtles, squids, and glow squids started to circulate on websites like X, Reddit, and Discord shortly after Mojang made the snapshot available for testing. Many users highlighted the Golden Dandelion, a new in-game item that can stop baby mobs from aging, calling it one of the more unusual mechanics added in recent snapshots.
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In an official post announcing the update, Minecraft said the snapshot brings features planned for an upcoming game drop and encouraged players to test the changes. “Don’t want them to grow up? Feed your favorite baby mobs a Golden Dandelion to keep them young forever,” the company noted.
What’s driving the online buzz
Players reacting online pointed to the visual updates for baby mobs, with several posts comparing old and new models. Reels showcasing baby dolphins quickly gained traction, while others focused on the gameplay implications of the freezing mob growth.
Some users described the Golden Dandelion as a creative tool for builders and also for roleplay servers, while others questioned how the mechanic might affect survival gameplay if introduced into a full release.
Golden Dandelion and baby mob changes
According to details shared by Mojang, the Golden Dandelion is crafted using a regular dandelion and gold nuggets. When used on a baby mob, it stops the aging process. Using the item again on the same mob allows growth to resume. The item does not work on hostile baby mobs or villagers.
The snapshot also introduces updated models and textures for several baby mobs, including dolphins, turtles, axolotls, squids and glow squids. Mojang has adjusted bounding boxes for some mobs so they align better with the new visuals. Baby chickens now have new sounds, adding more variation to in-game audio.
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Technical and interface updates
Beyond mob-related changes, Snapshot 26.1 includes technical adjustments. The search bar now recognises gamerules based on descriptions and categories, not just names. Mojang has also updated pack versions, with the Data Pack version moving to 98 and the Resource Pack version to 79.
These features are currently available only in snapshot builds for testing and may change before being included in a future stable release.
