As suspension or deposit feeders holothurians trap particles and plankton on mucus-covered tentacles. The tentacles are pushed into the mouth to ingest food. Secretory cells from papillae of the tentacles and gland cells of the foregut secrete mucus.

In sedentary forms, holothurians hold out extended tentacles to trap particles and plankton. Motile species crawl across the substrate and use tentacles to capture sediment and organic detritus. Sediment feeders are highly selective deposit feeders, generally consuming highly organic sediments. Members of the subclass Apodacea ingest sediments as they burrow through the substrate.

Branched buccal tentacles surround the mouth. From the   mouth, the esophogus leads to the foregut and then intestine, where digestion and absorbtion occur.

Primary Diet: planktivore ; detritivore