Each individual had 20 tentacles, but only 50% of all tentacles (10) were in contact with the sediment and actively feeding at any one time. There was no specific order in which tentacles were to stretch out or draw back. It was generally the tentacles on either side of shrinking tentacles that would stretch. The total time taken for a tentacle to be placed onto the sediment, collect food, pass to the mouth, and feed again was 47.07 ± 1.51 s, 45.16 ± 1.48 s, and 42.41 ± 1.85 s for the small, medium, and large sea cucumbers, respectively. Tentacle insertion rates by the large size group were significantly faster than those by the small and medium-sized groups (P b 0.05). However, no significant difference in the feeding rates was observed between the smallsized and the medium-sized groups of sea cucumbers (P N 0.05; Table 1). The length of time for a tentacle to be in contact with the sediment surface was 11.37 s ± 0.45 s, 11.05 ± 0.10 s, and 9.30 ± 0.39 s for the small, medium, and large-sized sea cucumbers, respectively. The length of time that the tentacle was left in contact with the sediment in the large-sized group was significantly shorter than that for the