I rounded a corner in the Factory and a small, panicked ray was a drunken torpedo across the tiles. You hear the wet slap, and then your view becomes a curtain of sickly green. For a beat you can’t tell if the next step is a shortcut or a death sentence.
I’ve spent enough nights on Steam chat and Reddit threads to know how these moments feel, so I’ll tell you how to keep your runs intact and your crew alive.
Where to find the Backwater Gunkfish in Lethal Company
On my third run through Adamance the Gunkfish waited behind a stack of scrap.
The Backwater Gunkfish shows up most on forest moons — Adamance, March, and Vow — and it lives inside facilities. It isn’t limited to one interior; I see it most often in the Factory and Mineshaft. Frequency-wise, it’s as common as Hoarding Bugs in v80. You’ll spot its green-and-yellow scales and gill edges before you realize it moves like anything but a fish.
Where does the Backwater Gunkfish spawn?
Inside facility rooms on forest moons, not outside. Expect groups, and expect them in corridors, storage rooms, and sometimes perched on scrap or mines.
Backwater Gunkfish behavior
I first learned it wasn’t hostile when it spat instead of charging me.
The Gunkfish cannot kill you and doesn’t deal HP damage. Disturb it — by stepping on it, bumping it, or swinging a Shovel — and it ejects a glob of green goo that blinds your vision for roughly five seconds and leaves slick residue on the floor. That residue sticks to tiles and beams. You can’t hire the Butler to clean it, and there’s no in-game tool that removes the slick.
Listen for a wet slapping noise against the tiles — that’s your cue the Gunkfish is nearby. They can open doors, spawn in groups, and will freeze when you look directly at them, sometimes sitting on top of items or mines. They often move only when you aren’t watching, which makes them sneaky obstacles more than predators.
Can the Backwater Gunkfish kill you?
No — the danger is indirect. Blindness removes visual information and the slick changes movement physics, which can lead to stepping on mines, falling to death pits, or missing jumps. Use your ears during the five-second blind window.
Solutions when dealing with Backwater Gunkfish in Lethal Company
On runs when I wanted clean floors, I learned a simple rule: don’t touch it.
The single best tactic is avoidance. If you leave the Gunkfish alone it won’t spray you. Scan corners slowly before you step; if you see its tail, you can safely jump over it or sidestep around it because it freezes when watched. Hitting it with a Shovel only guarantees green goo and a mess.
Be careful where the slick accumulates: metal beams between platforms can become a trap and make jumps nearly impossible. Sliding can occasionally save you from a Thumper, but it’s a gamble — you might instead slide off a ledge or into a turret. Rely on sound cues for tracking danger while blinded.
How do I remove the green residue?
There is no in-game method to clean the goo. Community discussion on Discord and Reddit confirms the Butler or any tool won’t clear it. Your only options are prevention (don’t disturb the fish) and route planning to avoid contaminated tiles.
Want faster answers? Check the Steam community hub and Lethal Company Discord; players post clips and map notes, and Moyens I/O’s coverage has solid screenshots you can reference.
If you could change one thing about the Gunkfish’s mechanics, what would it be?