 The members of this genus are known to be carnivorous sand-sifters; to eat, they simply engulf entire mouthfuls of sand which they expel through their gills.Specialized structures in their gills filter small crustaceans and worms as the sand is expelled.It is this specific trait that makes some members of the genus attractive to the marine aquarist, and they are often introduced into a marine aquarium for sand-sifting.