What Type of Fish Eat Shrimp?

Shrimp are small crustaceans that live on plankton, algae and any decaying matter; unluckily for them, they are extremely tasty to most types of fish. As they are small and plentiful, fish make them a staple part of their diets throughout the oceans of the world. While larger types of fish feed on shrimp, a few fish stand out that consider shrimp as their main source of food.

  1. Giant Squid

    • The giant squid (Architeuthis dux) is still a largely unknown ocean dweller due to its inhospitable deep-sea habitat that makes it extremely difficult to study in any great detail. However, the feeding habits of giant squid are known, with shrimp high on the list of preferred snacks, alongside small fish and in some cases small whales. With the largest of these squids weighing in at nearly a ton, they are thought to consume large quantities of shrimp to satisfy their appetite.

    Cuttlefish

    • Despite the name, cuttlefish (Sepioidea) are, in fact, not a fish, but a mollusk and a part of the same family as squids and octopuses. Found throughout areas such as the waters off the Australian coast and western Europe, cuttlefish use their camouflage to hunt food that commonly includes deep sea shrimp and other types of fish. They have been known to survive in depths as low as 500 meters.

    Octopus

    • The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is a fascinating fish that loves to feed on shrimp and other small fish, using its ink to first disorient them and then attack them. They can grow to a little more than 4 feet in length and weigh up to 22 pounds, although averages are much smaller. As fast swimmers they have no problem catching food that can move much more quickly than the average shrimp.

    Spotted Sea Trout

    • Texas Parks and Wildlife describes the spotted sea trout (Cynoscion nebulosus) as "one of the most popular sport fish along the Texas coast" that loves to feed on shrimp, with medium-size trout feeding on shrimp and small fish for the most part. Larger trout feed primarily on other fish rather than shrimp, tending to swim near the sea grass beds of shallow bays and estuaries during spring and summer looking for prey.