# Why can't we trade bugs and fish?



## Skandranon (Aug 14, 2020)

Wondering why they didn't make this possible. 

At first thought it was to make the 'get them all' achievements hard to get, but then I got a second character and found out only catching, not picking up, triggers the pedias.  

So can't see a good reason to not to allow this.


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## Jinglefruit (Aug 14, 2020)

Because how could you ever trade away such beloved pets? *goes and sells Raymond for millions of bells*

I believe this is done for the sake of museum completion. Only residents of the town can donate to the museum. - However still raises the question on fossils and art which is tradeable.


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## Skandranon (Aug 14, 2020)

Jinglefruit said:


> Because how could you ever trade away such beloved pets? *goes and sells Raymond for millions of bells*
> 
> I believe this is done for the sake of museum completion. Only residents of the town can donate to the museum. - However still raises the question on fossils and art which is tradeable.


yeah, the majority of my art was traded from others to complete my museum


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## tajikey (Aug 14, 2020)

Hard to say, honestly. Perhaps it has something to do with not wanting to potentially invite an invasive species to your island...


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## niconii (Aug 15, 2020)

I feel the same way! Wish they would allow us to trade bugs/fishes, especially fishes because I enjoy looking at them in the museum.


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## Alicia (Aug 15, 2020)

I'm not completely sure why, but it's always been this way. I just feel like it would be a little weird for me to go to someones island and just drop a bug or fish on it.
Sure, maybe they could make it that they could "place it" but then they have to give someone the option to place or pick up a bug or fish on someone's island. 
What if someone does this to a fish that someones displaying, like a shark just to sell it?


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## Debeers (Aug 15, 2020)

I wish they allow us to do that. I saved all the sharks for my son’s winter island and then found out you couldn’t do that! So disappointing.


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## Bilaz (Aug 15, 2020)

I don't think it's so much 'you can't trade' as it is, you can't donate and you can't drop bugs and fish. I don't know how you'd drop bugs and fish, maybe make them appear as their icons as you hand them to blathers?


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## Kurb (Aug 15, 2020)

It’s probably for the sake of realism. 
imagine getting a fish in the mail.
I know it’s a game with animals as people, but ig it’s grounded in realism


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## Pintuition (Aug 15, 2020)

I wish we could! I'm not sure how much I'd use it, but it would be a nice feature to help others out with! Maybe the answer is you can trade fish/bugs caught only while on a specific island. So you could trade what friends catch on your island/ vice versa? Kind of like the communal bug cage/ cooler during the bug off and fishing tourney events!


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## Nicole. (Aug 15, 2020)

Even if it were possible to trade them, I don't think I would because there's more joy to catching your own and donating.


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## Red Cat (Aug 15, 2020)

Technically, there is no system for "trading" items in ACNH. You can drop items on the ground for other people to pick up. Fish, bugs, and sea creatures can't be dropped because they are living animals. There are a lot of reasons what the game doesn't allow people to place or pick up placed items during multiplayer. So there is no way to transfer fish and bugs. It's less about the developers trying to be jerks and more about the technical limitations of the game. After all, you can drop fossils and art on the ground for others to pick up. They could allow people to drop fish and bugs as icons, but again that would be really weird to drop a living animal on the ground as an icon.


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## Tiffany (Aug 15, 2020)

I've only ever seen this done is ac gamecube version. You could only do it on the island which required a gameboy connected to your gamecube. My friend brought a banded dragonfly and put it in the little house(hut) you had on the island. That was the only bug i was missing and couldn't catch one to save my life. It counted for museum completion but not for bug catalog completion so you still couldn't get the reward for that. I did eventually catch one.


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## Hobowire (Aug 15, 2020)

i think it limits the spread of golden tools DIYs with bugs and fish.


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## Mikaiah (Aug 15, 2020)

are the tool diys critterpedia completion or museum?

personally i hate fishing so if i could complete my museum through trading I totally would haha.
also for some reason i thought they were droppable but it turns out hey aren't ^^;;


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## Red Cat (Aug 15, 2020)

Hobowire said:


> i think it limits the spread of golden tools DIYs with bugs and fish.





Mikaiah said:


> are the tool diys critterpedia completion or museum?
> 
> personally i hate fishing so if i could complete my museum through trading I totally would haha.
> also for some reason i thought they were droppable but it turns out hey aren't ^^;;


In order to fill your critterpedia and get the golden rod and net recipes, you have to catch them yourself. Picking them up doesn't count. It doesn't matter if you donate them or not.


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## sleepydreepy (Aug 15, 2020)

I think they made it this way so completing your encyclopedia feels genuine (personal accomplishment) and you can't "cheat" your way through. Plus when you actually do manage to catch a rare bug/fish its such a great feeling!

I like the way it is now (unable to trade creatures), but I can see how it is frustrating for others who are more casual players and perhaps don't have time to catch all the bugs and fish.


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## Insulaire (Aug 15, 2020)

I’m glad they don’t allow it. It’s good that there are portions of the game you have to earn yourself


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## loveclove (Aug 15, 2020)

I kinda like it like this.. I know myself and would feel tempted to trade. It's nice to have a challenge to complete alone


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## WalceDony (Aug 15, 2020)

Skandranon said:


> Wondering why they didn't make this possible.


I thought it was possible until I saw this thread, I have been completely banking on them being tradable to fill up my museum .-.


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## MiniPocketWorld (Aug 15, 2020)

i kinda wonder if it is because animals aren't items.
But I am so glad they allowed art to be traded because of the way they made that whole system.


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## Larsi (Aug 15, 2020)

For me it's ok they did not do this. Now I have to catch them myself and I really like that there are new fish and bugs every month. This way it can't accidentally happen that someone from another island just drop soms fish/bugs which you didn't catch


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## BigBadButterfree (Aug 15, 2020)

"you can't drop them because they're living animals"

*Drops hamster cage on ground*


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## Skandranon (Aug 15, 2020)

I thought this too, till I got a secondary character and had it leave out a vampire squid for me. Just picking one up does not register it, u have to catch it yourself to get the pedias completed


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