Well, if you’ve been wondering what that ‘thing’ is in the deep sea video floating around the web lately, here is a better view provided by our friends at MBARI...
Chrysaora pacifica polyps discovered in wild, published…
Last year Masaya Toyokawa published the first formal account of naturally occurring polyps of Chrysaora pacifica, the Japanese sea nettle. I believe this is only the second Chrysaora species where the wild polyps have been found, the first being C. quinquecirrha. These discoveries allow in situ monitoring of the asexual polyp population that will give rise to the sexual, and stinging, population – that has the potential to bother beach goers or maybe clog up a nuclear power-plant. Understanding this phase of the life cycle is critical for predicting jellyfish blooms, constant observation could tell us when and where to expect the stinging medusae. More effort needs to be put into finding these benthic jellyfish populations! Be sure to read the article in Plankton & Benthos Research.
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Jellyfish becoming more popular as art and pets…
Check out this SF Gate article that I was interviewed for, explaining how jellyfish are becoming more popular with the public via art and as household pets despite the stinging menace they may be at beaches….
Photo: Jillian Welsh / The Chronicle
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Another desktop jellyfish aquarium coming soon…
Check out this video of the final testing for the new Cubic Jellyfish Aquarium, I really like the overall look of the tank. Has plenty of space for your jellies to grow (nice and wide) and the light seems to spread well over the white cube interior. Can’t wait to try one out!
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Animal Planet’s TANKED is casting for season 2…
TANKED is Looking for Fish Tank Fanatics!
Have you always dreamed of having a customized fish tank in your home or business?
Would you like to upgrade your tank or make it incredibly unique?
You could get your dream tank made by one of the best aquarium builders in the nation — and share your dream tank story on Animal Planet’s hit new show TANKED! In order to qualify, you must already be looking to buy and install a tank between November 2011 and March 2012. Brett and Wayde will help turn an ordinary design into a spectacular creation. If you live in Las Vegas, that’s a plus, but all submissions welcome!
To check out a clip of Tanked go to: http://animal.discovery.com/
To apply, visit: http://www.
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DIY Jellyfish tank!
Here I’m going to show you how to make a quick and cheap jellyfish tank that is great for catching your ephyrae from your polyp bank and even growing the ephyrae up. Obviously this isn’t a display tank, but it’s great for holding and growing your jellies until they are big enough to display. If you build several of these you can distribute your ephyrae between them to achieve greater size before going into the display tank…
You are going to need a few things before we get started:
- Some type of rectangular or square container, a Critter Keeper, acrylic tank or even a Tupperware storage bin which is what I have chosen to use for this project.
- Painter’s tape
- Scissors
- Nylon screening, I used a 150 micron sized mesh for this, found here at Aquatic Eco-Systems.
- Silicone, I prefer Dow Corning 999-A, but you can use almost any silicone. Just make sure its not for roofing or concrete work. I find it easiest to work with clear silicone so I can see bubbles.
- Bulkhead/PVC tank adapter, 3/4″ is going to work for most of you. For larger applications you may want to use 1″.
- A cup of ice cubes
- Disposable gloves, even though I didn’t wear any for this project, I recommend wearing them.
- A well ventilated space if you do not enjoy the smell of silicone
Posted in DIY
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Strobilation video…
Check out this awesome strobilation video by Alvaro Migotto of the Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil. This video shows us the life cycle of Nausithoe aurea, a coronate jellyfish, a little different from its cousins. Coronate jellyfish have polyps that live in tubes, much more sedentary than regular scyphistomae. Some species have solitary polyp tubes, but others can form a colony from just a single tube. A common coronate you may be more familiar with is Linuche sp. or the “thimble jelly”. These guys are responsible for swimmers itch, their planulae larvae can get into your skin and cause a nice rash!
Be sure to check out Alvaro’s other cool jelly videos too…
O ciclo de vida de Nausithoe aurea from Alvaro Migotto on Vimeo.
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Egg-Yolk Jellyfish Invade Monterey Bay
For almost a month now we have been inundated with the egg-yolk jellyfish here in Monterey Bay. I had the opportunity to dive Pt. Lobos State Park this past week and a lot of the egg-yolks were caught up in the kelp, making for some great underwater photos. Check out the gallery below…
Also known as Phacellophora camtschatica, the egg-yolk jelly grows quite large, the average size is usually around 20-50 cm diameter, but they can reach up to one meter in diameter! Egg-yolks will eat just about any other jellyfish that gets caught in its super sticky tentacles. Moon jellies, sea nettles and ctenophores are all on the menu. (We commonly refer to jellies that eat other jellies as “medusivores”) In fact, you can tell what they are eating just by looking at their color! When you see a nice solid white and yellow egg-yolk, you know that guy has been munching on mostly moon jellies, but if they are a nice orange egg-yolk color then they may also be eating sea nettles! And if you’re really lucky, on very rare occasions, you may see black/purple/pink egg-yolk jellies because they have been eating black sea nettles!
If you encounter an egg-yolk jelly in the wild, know that their tentacles do not really sting too much, they are just really sticky (for capturing prey) and can be easily removed without stinging. The part to watch out for is the underside of the jelly where the oral arms are, those hurt! While there is all sorts of debate about the best way to treat a jellyfish sting, I still use good ole hot water, as hot tap water has been shown to dissociate the venom from the stinging cells.
Posted in Blooms n Smacks, Sightings/Strandings
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More photos of the Giant Lion’s Mane Jellyfish…
The Pike family has been kind enough to share more photos and video of their incredible find. You can check out the slideshow of hi-res images by clicking on the image below…
You can see a lot of bright orange in the folds of the oral arms, that is most likely planulae larvae being brooded. It is very easy to get polyps of lion’s manes jellies because of their ability to brood so much. The planulae literally crumble off the oral arms and can be slurped off using a pipette or turkey baster. Cyanea belongs to the order Semaeostomeae of the class Scyphozoa, many other jellies in this order such as Aurelia and Phacellophora also brood their young.
The video below really gives you an idea of the size of this animal.
Posted in Blooms n Smacks, Sightings/Strandings
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EcoJel, Jellyfish in the Irish Sea
Check out the EcoJel project website for sightings, science and identification of jellyfish from the waters surrounding Ireland. There is an interactive google map showing the latest sightings and a great ID card pdf.
(in Japanese)