The Waxmoon is a large, passive fish in Subnautica 2, the giant of the moon family. It shares the crescent body plan of the Halfmoon but dwarfs every other moon fish, and smaller moon fish gather around it in sizeable schools that follow it as it swims. Unlike its small relatives it has no documented food use: it is a scan target, not a meal.
Overview
Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
Class | Fish |
Disposition | Passive |
Reported habitat | The Shallows and the North Raceway in Coral Gardens, the Observatory and Root Canyon in Karakorum, and reports from the Graveyard and the Necrolei Hills |
Notable trait | Glows in the dark; stares at light sources |
Food use | None documented |
Databank entry | Not filled in as of September 2026 |
Appearance
The black body carries lines of cyan spots that trace its contours, and its large fins are pale blue at the edge and yellow at the base. Both the spots and the fin coloring glow brightly in the dark, which makes the Waxmoon easy to pick out at night. Unique to the Waxmoon are a pair of struts connecting the outer edge of each fin to the base of the twin tails, and its vertical-pupiled eyes are large and pale pink.
Behavior
Waxmoons cruise slowly through open water, mainly around the Coral Gardens region and the waters near the Overgrown Ruins. They are sensitive to light: shine a Flashlight or the beam of a Wakemaker at one and it will turn and stare at the diver, tracking the source.
That light reaction, plus the natural glow, makes night the practical time to find one. The trailing school is the other giveaway: a knot of Bluemoons, Halfmoons and Harvestmoons moving as one unit usually has a Waxmoon at the centre of it.
Where To Look
Region | Biome | How To Get There |
|---|---|---|
Coral Gardens | Shallows | The starting water around the Lifepod, from the surface down to about 150 m |
Coral Gardens | North Raceway | East of the Welcome Center, along the path running off its right side |
Karakorum | Observatory | East from the South Raceway into open water, descending past 84 m to the sea floor; from the Lifepod, east and down to at least 130 m |
Karakorum | Root Canyon | East of the Power Plant, descending past 428 m into green, low-visibility water |
Not A Food Source
No obtain-and-eat data and no Fabricator recipe are documented for the Waxmoon, which sets it apart from the three small moon fish that anchor early cooking. Its value is the scan. Scans feed the Bioscanner totals that unlock extra passive Biomods slots, a system reworked in the 1.1 update along with a readout of how many scans each slot still needs.
Changes Since Launch
Update | Change |
|---|---|
1.1, July 2026 | Most creatures gained a proper flee reaction when struck with the Survival Multitool, and a brief dizzy state after a Sonic Resonator hit. |
1.2, August 2026 | Missing light sources added in the Shallows, which changes how a glowing Waxmoon reads at night there. |
1.2, August 2026 | The Feedback Resonator now stuns creatures instead of making them flee. |
The full change history is on Updates and Patch Notes.
Related Pages
Halfmoon
Bluemoon
Harvestmoon