What do octopuses eat?

How an Octopus Eats. While camouflaged on the ocean floor off the coast of Israel in the Red Sea, octopods use their arms to grab unsuspecting prey (3:54). Produced by: Brendan McCabe. read more

According to National Geographic, the common octopus preys on crabs, crayfish and molluscs. Bottom-dwelling octopuses feed mainly on polychaete worms, crabs, whelks and clams. Open-ocean octopuses subsist on prawns, fish and other cephalopods. read more

Octopus species that produce larger eggs – including the southern blue-ringed, Caribbean reef, California two-spot, Eledone moschata and deep sea octopuses – do not have a paralarval stage, but hatch as benthic animals similar to the adults. read more

Open-ocean (or pelagic water) octopuses eat prawns, small fish, and even other cephalopods. Large species like the giant Pacific octopus eat everything from shrimp, clams, and lobsters to big prey like sharks and birds. read more