Build an Automatic Coral Farm: Minecraft's Underwater World in Full Colour

Minecraft’s underwater world has been shining in colourful diversity since the “Aquatic Update”. The vibrant coral blocks offer countless creative possibilities – from construction projects to decorating your underwater bases. However, maintaining and harvesting these blocks can be challenging. In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about corals in Minecraft and get a step-by-step guide to building an automatic coral farm.

Discovering the Colourful Variety of Corals in Minecraft

Where to Find Corals in Minecraft: The Best Biomes and Tips

Just like in our real world, corals can be found in coral reefs. One of the most famous of these reefs can be found in Australia. In Minecraft, these clusters of corals are hard to miss, as their bright colours can be seen through the sea water.

Coral reefs are only found in warm oceans, and not everywhere within them. So, you first need to find one of these warm areas and then look for a coral reef. Their formations underwater are quite striking, and you shouldn’t miss them during your ocean exploration.

How to Use Corals Creatively in Minecraft

First, let’s take a closer look at the three different types of corals. It is important to know that you need a tool with “Silk Touch” to harvest them; otherwise, the fragile coral will break in your hand.

• Coral Block: A complete block with a specific pattern.
• Coral: A type of small bush that grows underwater.
• Coral Fan: A flat variation of a regular coral that can also be attached to walls.

Additionally, the three types of corals come in 5 different colours:

• Tube (blue)
• Brain (pink)
• Bubble (purple)
• Fire (red)
• Horn (yellow)

Unfortunately, corals need water to survive. Either the coral itself must be in water, or at least the block next to it must be completely or partially filled with water. A downside to corals that you harvest without Silk Touch or attempt to place without water is that they turn grey and die. Even these variations can be a good building block, though they are not as versatile as the colourful blocks. This limits the use of corals, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be creative!

Moreover, all three variants are exclusive, meaning you can’t craft coral blocks from regular corals or coral fans. Blocks cannot be automatically generated; you must harvest them yourself in the warm ocean. A helmet enchanted with “Respiration” and “Aqua Affinity”, along with boots with “Depth Strider”, is ideal for this task. We also have an article on this topic (Minecraft Enchantments – Your Ultimate Guide) .

Building an Automatic Coral Farm: Easy Step-by-Step Guide

For the automatic coral farm, we utilise the fact that ground in a coral reef sprinkled with bone meal will grow corals in addition to regular seagrass. This can be used to build a simple machine that continuously generates new corals for you. Just make sure to build the farm in a warm ocean biome, and that’s all you need to know.

Building Materials

• Building blocks
• Glass
• Dirt
• 2 Dispensers + several stacks of bone meal
• 6 Redstone
• 2 Rails + 2 Powered Rails + 2 Detector Rails
• 9 Walls
• 3 Hoppers + Chest
• 6 Pressure Plates
• 2 Buckets of water
• Minecart
• Shovel with Silk Touch (In Bedrock, you can also enchant shears with Silk Touch, but not in Java. Therefore, a shovel is your best option.)

Step-by-Step: How to Build an Automatic Coral Farm in Minecraft

Start the farm with a 6x2 block platform above the warm ocean, where corals can grow. Place a powered rail at each end of one row, followed by a detector rail and two regular rails in between. Place a block at each end as a stopper.

Then build two L-shaped structures one block behind and below the rails, which will activate them. You’ll need 3 Redstone dust here, and at the end, place a building block and a dispenser on top, facing upwards. When we later ride the minecart back and forth on the rails, the dispensers will be activated. Fill the dispensers with bone meal.

Surround the dispensers with a layer of dirt and then another ring of building blocks. One side should remain open. This is where we will build our collection mechanism. This arrangement is sufficient, as corals only grow in a 3x3 area around bone meal.

Place the double chest and three hoppers on the open side, which will direct the corals into the chest. Build a 3x3 high wall above it. These must not be full blocks, but should be made of Minecraft walls.

Next, surround the entire farm with a 3-block high wall – this time using full blocks. On the front side with the rails, use pressure plates on the lower row and a building block of your choice above. We opted for glass.

Lastly, you need to fill the farm with water. The first level must be completely full, so place water buckets along two sides to create full water blocks. Fill the second level with temporary blocks. On the top level, you only need to place 2 water buckets on the opposite side of the walls. This stream will cause the harvested corals to float upwards and into the hoppers. Then remove the temporary blocks from the middle level.

Your automatic coral farm is now complete! To use it, you’ll need a tool with Silk Touch and a minecart. Place the minecart on the rails, get in, and press right or left. This will move you back and forth automatically – simultaneously activating the dispensers and generating corals. Hold down the right mouse button and aim at the rows in front of you. In just a few minutes, you’ll have several stacks of corals!

Conclusion: Colourful Coral Farm for Your Underwater Worlds

Corals are beautiful and vibrant! You can use them wonderfully for construction projects in combination with water, but even dead corals can be well complemented with stone blocks and stand out thanks to their unique patterns. With the automatic farm, you can collect regular corals and coral fans in all five variations. Bring colour to your underwater worlds on your own server. Rent your Minecraft server and create vibrant oases!