Best Filter Feeder

The reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) is a large manta species reaching disc widths of approximately 3 to 5 meters, smaller than the giant oceanic manta ray. It inhabits coastal waters throughout the Indo-Pacific and is frequently observed at coral reef cleaning stations, where small fish remove paras...

The whale shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. Found in tropical and warm-temperate ocean waters worldwide, it can reach lengths of approximately 18 meters. The species feeds primarily on plankton and small nekton by filtering water through i...

The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living fish after the whale shark, reaching lengths of up to about 10 meters. It is found in temperate coastal and pelagic waters worldwide and feeds by swimming slowly with its mouth open, filtering zooplankton through modified gill raker...

The megamouth shark, Megachasma pelagios, is a rare deepwater shark and one of three living shark species known to feed by filtering plankton from the water. It has a broad, rounded head, a very large protrusible mouth, and relatively small teeth. The species became known to science after a specimen...

Bamboo shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis) are freshwater shrimp native to Southeast Asia. These unique crustaceans are notable for their broad, flattened appendages which they use as paddles to filter feed in flowing water. They consume algae and microorganisms, making them valuable additions to aquarium...

The vampire shrimp *Atya gabonensis* is a striking ornamental freshwater shrimp originating from equatorial Africa and South America. It’s notable for its large size, reaching up to fifteen centimeters, and unique dark coloration, resembling a miniature bat. As a filter-feeder, it plays a beneficial...

Singapore Bamboo Shrimp (Atyopsis spinipes) are freshwater shrimp native to Southeast Asia. These filter-feeding crustaceans rely on flowing water for food, consuming algae and particulate matter. They are notable as a popular ornamental species in aquariums and provide insight into aquatic ecosyste...

Aquilolamna milarcae is an extinct Cretaceous elasmobranch known from a fossil discovered in northeastern Mexico and formally described in 2021. It had an elongated body and exceptionally broad, wing-like pectoral fins, producing a body plan that has been compared with modern manta rays despite its...

The barrel jellyfish, Rhizostoma pulmo, is a large scyphozoan jellyfish found in the Mediterranean Sea and the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Its firm, dome-shaped bell can reach about 90 centimeters in diameter, although most individuals are smaller, and its eight thick oral arms lack the long margin...

A filter-feeding freshwater shrimp of the family Atyidae, notable for fan-like appendages used to capture suspended organic particles directly from the water current.

Rhizostoma luteum is a giant barrel jellyfish found primarily in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, with bells that can exceed 90 cm, and is one of the least studied large medusae in European waters.

The Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus) is a distinct waterfowl species endemic to Australia, frequently inhabiting temporary wetlands and heavily vegetated swamps. It is notable for its uniquely shaped spatula bill, which is lined with fine, comb-like structures specialized for filter-fee...

The Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) is a widespread dabbling duck found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is distinguished by its uniquely large, spatula-shaped bill, which contains comb-like structures called lamellae used to filter small invertebrates and seeds from the water. Males exhibit...

The spotted jellyfish, Phyllorhiza punctata, is a large scyphozoan jellyfish native to the western Pacific, recognizable by the pale spots scattered across its rounded bell. It contains symbiotic algae in its tissues and also filter-feeds on zooplankton, using multiple oral arms rather than long mar...

Rhizostoma octopus is a large scyphozoan jellyfish found in northeastern Atlantic waters and adjacent seas. As a rhizostome jellyfish, it lacks the long marginal tentacles associated with many familiar jellyfish and instead has fused, branching oral arms used in feeding. Its thick, dome-shaped bell...

A large rhizostome scyphozoan found in the Mediterranean Sea and northeastern Atlantic, reaching bell diameters of up to 60 cm and lacking marginal tentacles.

The Red Shoveler (Spatula platalea) is a dabbling duck native to the southern half of South America, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands. It is easily recognized by the male's bright reddish plumage and the prominent, spatula-shaped bill shared by both sexes. Inhabiting shallow lake...

The mole crab is a small marine crustacean belonging to the genus Emerita, commonly found in the swash zone of sandy beaches worldwide. It is distinguished by its barrel-shaped body and its ability to rapidly burrow backward into the sand to evade crashing ocean waves. Mole crabs are filter feeders,...

A hydromedusa that lives commensally on the tubes of polychaete worms in tropical and subtropical seas, making it one of the few hydromedusae with such a lifestyle.

A large scyphozoan jellyfish native to the western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, reaching bell diameters of up to roughly 50 cm.

A rhizostome jellyfish found in the Tagus estuary of Portugal and adjacent Atlantic coastal waters, one of the few scyphozoans closely associated with a specific Iberian estuarine system.

Versuriga anadyomene is a rhizostome jellyfish of the Indo-Pacific, named for Aphrodite Anadyomene in reference to its ornate, broadly spreading bell margin.

The Porcelain Crab is a small crustacean of the family Porcellanidae, notable for its remarkable ability to intentionally shed its limbs to escape predators, a survival process known as autotomy.

Crambione mastigophora is a rhizostome jellyfish of the Indo-Pacific, recognized by whip-like filaments extending from its elaborate oral arms, reflected in the species name.

A rhizostome jellyfish endemic to Australian coastal and estuarine waters, one of several Catostylus species commercially harvested for food in Asia.

Pseudorhiza haeckeli is a rhizostome jellyfish of Australian and Indo-Pacific coastal waters, named in honor of the influential German biologist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919).

Acromitus flagellatus is a rhizostome jellyfish of the Indo-Pacific, identified by numerous thin filiform appendages that hang beneath its bell.

A freshwater shrimp inhabiting cool, well-oxygenated highland streams, requiring stable low temperatures that make it challenging to maintain in most home aquaria.

Lobonemoides gracilis is a rhizostome jellyfish of the Indo-Pacific, distinguished from the closely related genus Lobonema by its comparatively slender oral arm structure.