Each Bluebottle is actually a colony of individual animals. Each animal has a special role for feeding, reproduction, defence and food capture or as the float for the colony.
Common name: Bluebottle
Scientific name: Physalia physalis
Photo: W. Rudman
Bluebottle stings often need First Aid. Find out what to do for this and other marine stingers.
Beach
Bluebottle
Bluebottles have a float or bottle-shaped blue sac, which sits on the water's surface. They have many string-like tentacles hanging down from the float.
Bluebottles are often found washed up on the beach.
Bluebottles live in the oceans around Australia. They eat fish, small crabs and plankton.
Bluebottles eat using their feeding tentacles. Their mouths get big enough to surround their food. They then break their food into small bits with digestive enzymes.
Sea slugs (nudibranchs), sea turtles and violet snails eat Bluebottles.
Copyright © Australian Museum, 2003
