Floater

Floaters are passive, interactive life forms belonging to the fauna category.

Floaters can be found in Safe Shallows and Grassy Plateaus. They are catchable and can be attached to items and props, but not all of them will provide buoyancy after attachment. There are two types of Floaters: smalls and giants. The small Floaters are the kinds you hold in your hand, and can be attached to items. Giant Floaters, on the other hand, are found on the Floater Island. They are huge relatives of the small, portable Floaters. They hold the Floater Island up, where it is not connected with any landform. Their life cycle is unknown.

Floaters can be loaded into the Repulsion Cannon using the 'F' key.

They can also be used to move rocks that occasionally block cave entrances.

Gigantic Floaters can be found attached underneath the Floater Island and the Underwater Islands, keeping them floating.

They can also attempt to attach themselves to the player. This will result in the player's 10% health loss and the Floaters  death.

Appearance
Floaters distinguish themselves by their transparent, gelatinous, blue-colored surface and a pink core, or body. The life forms have strange bumps on their blue masses with five small, white circles in the center. They have multiple small tentacle-like arms near a mouth with which they attach themselves to objects.

Behavior
Floaters are usually found attached to rocks, rendering them buoyant.

If released in open water, they will quickly float to the surface.

If released close to another creature, the Floater will home in on the creature and attach itself to it, making the creature partly or completely immobile and dragging it towards the surface. In some cases, this will kill the creature after a short while. For other instances, with large creatures, like Reefbacks, the Floaters will greatly hinder the latters' movements.

Hazards to Vehicles
Despite it's small size, the Floater's ability to stick to any surface and its high buoyancy makes it a trouble for both the Seamoth and the Cyclops.

Touching a Floater with the Seamoth will make it stick to it, rendering the player unable to exit the vehicle.

A single Floater attached to a Cyclops can tilt it to the point of complete loss of control of the vehicle.

Although they are mostly considered as hazards, it can be considered a last resort to attach Floaters to a sinking Cyclops to prevent it falling past crush depth, so you can repair and save it. The Floaters will have to be removed after the repair of the Cyclops, in order to use it again.

NOTE: If you release one in your seabase, it will float through the ceiling and cause severe damage.

Data Bank Entry
Evolutionary abnormality. Further research required.


 * 1) Dominant lifeform: Structural analysis reveals that this entity is made up of two separate species. The pink main body and inner jaws are the dominant creature.
 * 2) Microorganism membrane: The outer, gel-like substance is a mesh of microorganisms capable of forming a sealed vacuum around the creature's jaws.
 * 3) Air buffer: A thin layer of helium is stored within the outer membrane, providing buoyancy.

Lifeform has been observed almost exclusively attaching to large boulders. Appears entirely vulnerable to artificial detachment, and indiscriminate in what it is re-attached to.

Assessment: More information needed

Gallery
For a more complete gallery, visit Floater/Gallery.

Trivia

 * Despite being one of the most peaceful life forms in the game, the Floater is also one of the most destructive, as it can severely damage your base, cause you to lose your Seamoth and Cyclops, and even kill you.
 * Floaters are currently the only life form in the game the player holds with two hands.