Important Flora and Fauna
Welcome to IGN's Subnautica: Below Zero guide. In this section we'll cover notable flora and fauna throughout the game, although this is not a complete list of all the plants and animals in it—just the ones most important to your survival and progress.
While story progress and survival can seem straightforward, not every fish or coral is important to your success. These flora and fauna are located in various Subnautica Biomes, and many include descriptions of where and how to find them.
Important Flora and Fauna
First, let's cover edible fish you'll encounter most often and can easily use to survive. You can also find more information about early-game survival on our Collecting Supplies portion of the Walkthrough.
While all are plentiful around the Drop Pod, we recommend creating a Grav Trap that will trap them and keep them nearby, making for easy harvest between trips.
Bladderfish
The Bladderfish is a small passive fauna species that can be used to create water in the Fabricator or cooked to eat. It is easy to catch by hand.
Hoop Fish
The Hoopfish is a common, passive fauna species that can be found in many biomes.
The Hoopfish is fairly easy to catch by hand.
Boomerang
A passive fauna species that makes "good eating around the gills."
Unusually, this species' two fins are a cartilaginous extension of its skeleton. The bright blue tips are in fact the ends of its digestive tract, where the luminescence of the corals it consumes is most focused.
Arctic Peeper
This gray fish has a large eye and can be cooked to eat. It's easy to catch like the others and described as "cold and spongey."
Usable Plants
We should also cover common plants you'll use in recipes and to make progress in the game.
Table Coral
Table Coral is an orange and bioluminescent plant most easily harvested in the Twisty Bridges biome. It grows on walls and can be cut with a knife.
It's used in making Computer Chips, among other recipes.
Spiral Plant
The Spiral Plant is harder to get and grows inside the bells of Adult Vent Gardens, located just to the right of the Mercury II wreck. To learn how to find the wreck, visit the Finding the Mercury II Wreck portion of our How To Guides section.
We recommend taking several samples and using an Exterior Growbed to grow more after the first harvest. You can learn more about Exterior Growbeds and farming plants on our How to Farm Plants and Resources portion of the How To Guides section.
Ribbon Plant
The Ribbon Plant is crucial for creating Batteries and can be harvest in the Twisty Bridges, Purple Vents and many other biomes. It is quite common and easy to pick up by hand.
Bullseye Shroom
The Bullseye Shroom grows plentifully around the Drop Pod and in the surrounding shallow waters. It can be cut with a knife and eaten raw, saving you cook time.
Creepvine
Creepvine is a very important plant as it yields both Creepvine samples, when cut, and Creepvine Seed Clusters. Creepvine is located near the Twisty Bridges and most commonly in the Arctic Kelp Caves biome.
The seeds are crucial in many recipes, and the Creepvine samples are used to make Fiber Mesh, which is then turned into machinery, beds and first aid kits.