 The arms form a feeding fan, the pedicellariae grasp and secure the prey, and the arms form loops that surround the food item and take it to the mouth.On the Cape Fear coral mound off North Carolina at a depth of around , the dominant macrobenthos included "N. antillensis" as well as the American conger ("Conger oceanicus"), the alfonsino ("Beryx decadactylus"), sea urchins and squat lobsters ("Eumunida picta").Each species, especially the fish, had its own favoured niche habitat, often on the southern and southwestern slopes of the mound.