Cnidarians are carnivorous animals with stinging tentacles around their mouths that have two life cycle stages - a polyp with arm-like tentacles and a motile medusa with a bell-shaped body. They capture prey with their stinging cells, pull it into their gastrovascular cavity for digestion, and transport nutrients through diffusion. Cnidarians detect stimuli through a nerve net and move using circular and longitudinal muscles that control water in their gastrovascular cavity. They reproduce both asexually and sexually through external fertilization.