Silverfish

What Is Silverfish in Minecraft?

The Silverfish is a small hostile mob that hides inside Infested Blocks and swarms out when disturbed. One hit on a wall block can set off a whole room of them at once.

What Can Silverfish Do in Minecraft?

• Hitting a Silverfish calls every other Silverfish nearby out of its Infested Block, so a small fight can turn into a swarm fast.
• It can sense and path toward players even through walls, so hiding behind stone won't always keep you safe.
• Left alone, a Silverfish slowly turns nearby stone-type blocks into Infested Blocks, spreading the problem over time.
• Its bite gives you Slowness, making it harder to run away once it catches you.
• Bane of Arthropods enchanted weapons deal extra damage to Silverfish.

How to Fight Silverfish

• Killing a Silverfish in one hit stops it from calling in reinforcements, so a strong weapon is worth bringing into Strongholds.
• Fight in open rooms rather than tight tunnels so a swarm can't surround you from every side.
• Mining Infested Blocks with Silk Touch picks them up without releasing the Silverfish inside.

How to Stay Safe from Silverfish

• Avoid mining suspicious-looking stone in Mountain Caves or Strongholds unless you're ready for a fight.
• In a Stronghold, clear Silverfish away from the End Portal room before you start building up Eyes of Ender there.
• Sealing off infested walls with non-infestable blocks, like Mossy Cobblestone, stops the infestation from spreading further.