Jellyfish are well-known sea creatures recognized around the world for their bell-shaped bodies.Jellyfish have hanging arms or tentacles which help them feed on their food. Sea turtles and humans eat jellyfish, while jellyfish eat many other marine sea creatures.A jellyfish species was discovered in the 80s by German students Christian Sommer and Giorgio Bavestrello. Turritopsis nutricula is thought to be the oldest jellyfish species. The oral arms and tentacles of the jellyfish help them to bring food close to their mouths like an opening hole. They are one of the primitive species on earth that has continuously evolved and thrived through difficult situations. Jellyfish eat small fish, fish eggs, crabs, planktons, and shrimp, among other things. Some of the time, they even feed on species of their own kind. There are approximately over 2000 species of jellyfish, and the jellyfish conservation status is of least concern. Jellyfish tentacles have venom that can be life-threatening to humans, too. Jellyfish can be eaten by sea anemones, sharks, tunas, penguins, and swordfish. A jellyfish’s life cycle goes through different stages. Jellyfish can survive for a maximum of one year, and immortal jellyfish species are known to survive forever. Immortal jellyfish are rare and are mostly found along the coast of Japan.If you enjoy reading this article about jellyfish’s diet, then do read some interesting and surprising fun facts about what is a group of jellyfish called and how long do jellyfish live.How do jellyfish hunt?Jellyfish use their rudimentary nervous system and do not have a brain. Jellyfish use their stinging cells in their tentacles, which contain venom, to hunt down their prey.Jellyfish are bell-shaped sea creatures that use their sting cells for hunting down prey. Jellyfish are carnivorous and use their tentacles to paralyze marine animals. They are very opportunistic predators, and their tentacles consist of venom. The mouth of the jellyfish is in the center of their bell-shaped body, which is like an opening. The hanging tentacles of the jellyfish help to catch prey, and they use their mouths to feed on fish eggs, larvae, plankton such as zooplankton, algae, mollusks, crustaceans, and shrimp such as brine. Every species of jellyfish varies, and very few feed on jellies of their own kind.What do baby jellyfish (ephyrae) eat?Baby jellyfish, ephyrae, eat food such as small fish eggs, larvae, and other small food particles from the ocean.Baby jellyfish, ephyrae, are often confused as being marine jellies. However, the jelly is actually a stage before an adult-grown jellyfish. Larvae grow into a polyp, then into ephyrae. Jellyfish and ephyrae bodies do not have bones and eat anything which is found floating around them. An ephyrae diet consists of small food particles, ephyrae species of their own kind, larvae, and small eggs. Though they are small in size in comparison to adult jellyfish species, they are also opportunistic predators but cannot eat any food which settles down on the ground because their swimming is driven by the flow of the ocean current.How do jellyfish digest their prey?Jellyfish digest their food with the help of digestive enzymes, which are broken down by the inner lining of their digestive cavity. They only have one mouth, one stomach, and an anus-like opening in the middle of their bell-shaped body that they use to digest the animals they prey on.If you have even seen many jellyfish floating together in a group, then it is called a bloom. These blooms of jellyfish are very deadly for other marine or sea animals. Sea animals that float around them include smaller jellyfish of their own kind, which are stung by the jellyfish using the stinging cells in their tentacles. The tentacles work as arms of the bell-shaped mouth opening. Jellyfish swallow sea animals or their prey, and after eating, they discard the waste of the animals. In the wild of the oceans, the main parts of sea animals such as shrimp, plankton, and small fish species are utilized in their eating process. The coelenteron of the jellyfish works like the stomach function does in humans.How often should I feed my jellyfish?Generally, jellyfish should only be fed once a day. A jellyfish’s eating and digestion vary according to the size of each jellyfish. The amount of food these ocean animals consume and discard via their mouths settles down on the surface of the tank, which will help to determine the amount of diet food these ocean animals need to be fed if kept in a tank.If you keep jellyfish as a pet, then you need to be very careful, as these sea animal creatures’ tentacles have venom and sting cells in them, which can paralyze anything around them, from small ocean invertebrates to plants, and fish. So, it is advised that, whenever you feed a jellyfish, never feed it with your bare hands or arms. They should be covered. Frozen shrimp, rotifers, and mysis are all types of food that are fed to these jelly-like ocean animals. The amount of food that they want to eat can be known from the amount of food they discard which settles down on the tank surface.Do jellyfish eat crabs?Yes, large jellyfish eat crab, shrimp, fish, and species of jellyfish of their own kind.The jellyfish is carnivorous. Jellyfish eat crabs, but the exception is the larger species of jellyfish. The diet food of jellyfish majorly depends on their size. Throughout their life cycle, from larvae, ephyra and polyp, to adult jellyfish, their food diet varies from sea plants to sea animals that float around them. The blooms are very dangerous and a problem for other sea creatures as well as humans.Can jellyfish eat humans?Jellyfish are carnivorous, but they do not eat or sting humans knowingly. Jellyfish sting, especially when their blooms can be very life-threatening to humans.The jellyfish diet is only for sea creatures that do not eat other species, including humans. However, if they are interrupted or any humans come close to them, then, as a conditioned response, they sting the humans. For example, a box jellyfish sting can be very life-threatening. Even if you step on dead jellyfish tentacles, you might get hurt due to their sting.Conserving JellyfishThe conservation status of jellyfish is of ’least concern’ and does not require any conservation steps. Apart from this, overfishing, water pollution, and many other things can be a cause of concern for a few species of jellyfish.Jellyfish have existed on earth since millions of years ago and existed even during the dinosaur era. They are deadly and carnivorous animals. Jellyfish eat many other marine animals, which float around them, but, apart from wondering what jellyfish eat, it is also interesting to know what animals eat jellyfish. Sea turtles and humans eat jellyfish. Sea turtles are known to have papillae which enable them to be resilient enough against the venom of the tentacles of a jellyfish. On the other hand, humans remove or discard the venomous parts and enjoy eating jellyfish in their cuisines.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘What do jellyfish eat?’ then why not take a look at ‘How do jellyfish reproduce?’ or ‘Jellyfish fun facts for kids’?

Jellyfish are well-known sea creatures recognized around the world for their bell-shaped bodies.