How do jellyfish feed on small animals?

Jellyfish are carnivorous invertebrates that capture small animals, such as zooplankton and fish larvae, primarily using specialized stinging cells called nematocysts located on their tentacles.123

When a jellyfish contacts prey, these cnidae discharge a hollow, often barbed tubule that can penetrate, entangle, or adhere to the victim. Many nematocysts also inject toxins that paralyze the prey. Once the prey is immobilized, the jellyfish transports the food to its mouth, either by bending its tentacles or passing the item to tentacles located closer to the mouth.4513

While most jellyfish actively capture prey with tentacles, some species are suspension feeders that extract minute organisms from the water. Others, such as certain scyphomedusae, utilize frilly oral arms to gather food or possess specialized pores and ciliated gutters to collect particulate material. Once ingested, food enters a central cavity for digestion.216