There are herbivores, carnivores, or filter feeders, as well as a few species of detritus feeders and parasites. Many mollusks use a tongue-shaped structure called a radula for feeding. Carnivorous mollusks use sharp teeth to eat their food. They use posions strong enough to kill humans to capture their food. Most mollusks of the class Bivalvia use their gills to filter the water for food.
Most mollusks use gills for breathing.
Aquatic mollusks use gills located in their mantle cavities. However, mollusks that live on land use an adapted mantle cavity lined with blood vessels to breathe. This surface must be kept moist so the mollusk can breathe. Mollusks have a simple heart, which pumps the blood throughout the body. Mollusks of lower complexity have an open circulatory system, which means that blood does not always travel through blood vessels.