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What Does a Snailfish Eat?

Snailfish belong to the Liparidae family that fall into the class of ray-finned fish. They have elongated fatty bodies and no scales. Resembling a large tadpole with a fish-like shape, the snailfish grows to 50 cm and lives in depths of 4,000 feet in marine environments, but can dive as far as 7,000 meters. The snailfish is demersal, which means that it lives on the bottom or near the bottom of the ocean floor feeding on benthic organisms.

The Benthic Community
- Colorful plants that inhabit the ocean floor are also part of the benthic community.
  
  The community of benthic organisms exists in the benthos level of the ocean, which is the ocean floor. The organisms that frequent this part of the ocean are opportunistic feeders composed of plants, animals and bacteria that catch their prey as it floats by in the water current. The snailfish feeds on organisms that live in the sediment as well as organisms that attach to the bottom of the sediment or live on the sediment.
Macrobenthos
- Sea urchins are divided into five parts, have tube feet and are relatives to the starfish. (See References 3)
  
  Because the snailfish only grows to about 50 cm in length, the foods it eats are small. Of the snailfish's habitat there are three sizes of organisms that live on the ocean floor, macrobenthos, meiobenthos and microbenthos. These groups are categorically based on the size of the animal or plant life rather than species. The macrobenthos organisms are larger than 1 mm, and of that category the snailfish feeds on mollusks such as oysters, as well as sea urchins and shrimp.
Meiobenthos
- Sea worms and algae are barely visible among the coral and ocean plant life in which they live.
  
  Meiobenthos organisms grow to be between 1/10 to 1 mm in length and include several species of diatoms and sea worms. Diatoms are small unicellular organisms that resemble glass sticks clustered in various shapes of phytoplankton (a type of algae). Sea worms, unlike earthworms, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. One sea worm, the polychaeta, is segmented and resembles a thin ribbon and burrows in the ocean sediment.
Microbenthos
- Bacteria and most microbenthos can only be seen under a microscope.
  
  Microbenthos organisms are the smallest of the three groups measuring less than 1/10 mm. This group also includes diatoms as well as ciliates and bacteria. Ciliates are tiny unicelluar oval-shaped organisms that have hair-like paddles used for locomotion as well as feeding. Ciliates can be about the size of bacteria or as large as 3 mm. Because microbenthos organisms are so small they are most likely consumed by the snailfish as it sifts through sediment searching for larger prey.

Animals & Science