Starfish Family Profiles Index

Starfish in the class Asteroidea are characteristically carnivorous, feeding on a wide range of invertebrates. For example, what are often referred to as "knobby" sea stars, species such as the Chocolate Chip Star (Protoreaster nodosus) and others of genera Protoreastor, Pentaster and Pentaceastor, along with some species such as Choriaster granulatus (Doughboy Sea Star) and those of genus Culcita (Cushion Stars) are less desirable because of their predatory nature towards sessile mollusks and all forms of soft and stony corals.

With more than 2,000 described species found in tropical waters worldwide, Brittle and Serpent Stars are keenly sensitive to light and will immediately seek shelter when exposed to it. Being nocturnal scavengers that feed on detritus and debris at night, they can usually be seen sticking partially out of their hiding places inside or under rocks, corals and other living organisms. These animals hunt by their keen sense of smell and touch. From our experience when food is dropped into the aquarium, the arms of the many baby starfish hiding in our live rock start protruding out and begin to excitedly wiggle around. We once had a full grown Spiny/Black Brittle Star...

Feather Star species such as Florometra serratissima and Himerometra palmata, like all crinoids, are passive suspension feeders that live on a variety of microscopic organisms (i.e. diatoms and other unicellular algae, foraminiferans and actinopods), invertebrate larvae, small crustaceans, and detrital particles. They rely on ambient water movement to bring food to them where they use their featherlike arms to collect suspended particles drifting by, envelope it in a mucus coating and then transport the captured food to their mouth by means of cilitray tracts.