A suctorian is a protozoa from the order Suctoria, which includes both saltwater and freshwater organisms. Suctoria are widely distributed in nature and occasionally compete in biological wastewater treatment processes. Young suctoria are free swimming, and as they mature, they become immobile and use tentacles (rather than a mouth) for feeding purposes. When feeding, suctoria become attached to their prey, which are often paralyzed immediately upon impact and suck the contents out of other ciliates or rotifers through their tentacles.
Most protozoa reproduce through binary fission, while suctoria are recognized to reproduce either through budding (asexual reproduction) and/or conjugation (sexual reproduction). Budding
