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On the shallow reef flats one can sometimes find literal "fields" of brittle stars, their bodies flat on the bottom and their arms wriggling in the water, filtering plankton and debris. On deeper areas of the reef, these animals are less bold, and extend just an arm or two from the safety of their crevices.

Serpent stars are brittle stars smooth arms, and often very striking colors. These animals can sometimes be seen with their arms coiled in tight loops around gorgonians.

Basket stars are the most highly developed filter-feeding brittle stars. They only come out to feed at night, when they extend their branched arms to capture planktonic animals drifting past. Basket stars are beautiful creatures to watch, and they are particularly common on Indonesian reefs, where they can grow to over a meter across.

Crinoids. The crinoids or feather stars are survivors of the sea lilies, animals that once were among the most common in the seas. Although there are still some stalked crinoids extant, those seen on Indonesian reefs are unstalked. They perch on the edge of sponges or gorgonians with a set of small clasping legs, and deploy their delicate arms— of which they have 30 or more—to strain plankton from the water, Feather stars can also walk on these long arms, and if dislodged may swim with them in a beautiful but rather inefficient manner.