What Do Lobsters Eat

Photo Courtesy of Cliff

What do lobsters eat? Lobsters eat a wide variety of food...

Alot of people think that lobsters are scavengers. That's not actually true. Though they will eat food that they find that is dead (part of why lobster traps work so well), they actually prefer fresh food.

They will eat plankton, krill, shrimp, prawns, sea urchins, shellfish like mussels and crabs. They will occasionally eat seaweed, and they also eat their own shells after they have molted. They will even eat other lobsters - that's part of why fishermen put rubber bands on their claws when they are caught, so that they don't eat the other lobsters that are in the tank with them. Also so they don't hurt the people handling them! Those claws are strong.

Lobsters find their food by smelling it using their antannae. Their eat it using the teeth that are in their stomach.

Lobsters are nocturnal. Their hunting is done at night, as they don't like sunlight. During the day, they hide from the sun under rocks. This is part of why the best time to fish for lobster (for diving, not traps) is at dawn and dusk, since night fishing is illegal. They are just leaving their lairs to go find some food, or returning to their favourite rock after a feast.