22. Do crown-of-thorns starfish eat any other foods apart from corals?

Several different types of food are consumed throughout the various stages of the life cycle of the crown-of-thorns starfish (see 27). As stated previously adult starfish normally feed on corals. However, they have been observed to feed on a variety of other foods but usually only when there are very few live corals available (as at the end of an outbreak). These alternative foods include; soft corals, algae, clams, encrusting organisms, gastropods, gorgonians, hydrozoans and sea anemones. Crown-of-thorns starfish also have been observed to feed on each other (ie. cannibalism) when there is little food. This is recorded most often in aquaria.

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