Do starfish lay eggs?

Starfish do lay eggs. As starfish spawn, thousands of male and female sex cells, or eggs and sperm, are released into the water. The fertilized eggs become zygotes, and the starfish sits over the eggs or holds them in a special sac called a brooding basket.

As the eggs hatch, the young are released into the ocean to drift and find food. Starfish are not actually fish. They are echinoderms, like a sea urchin. Starfish house all their vital organs in their arms. They can regenerate lost limbs or sometimes their entire body. Some starfish have 10, 20 or up to 40 arms.