biorb=jellyfish tank?

[Bamato]

I have to respect anyone that can keep jellies in a home aquarium successfully. However, I have to agree with Lani, it would get dreadfully boring.

 

And round tanks make my eyes hurt with all the distortion and stuff....

[Lalani]

And round tanks make my eyes hurt with all the distortion and stuff....

^ The reason I tore down my Biorb reef!

[r3dph03n1x]

Why would you buy one in the first place Lalani?

[Lalani]

A biorb? Because they are neat. I loved my biorb reef, besides the viewing and cleaning difficulties. It was an xmas present I had on my wishlist a few years ago. My first tank.

[FrankenReef]

I am just about set on getting a BioUbe and throwin' some jelliciousness in there. It just seems weird. The bio tanks use 20-year old technology--undergravel filters run by aerators-- to keep arguably one the hardest animals to keep.. jellyfishart.com suggests 20% water changes every 2 weeks! And filter changes every 6 weeks. Thats easier than my nanoreef.

Somebody tell me how this is not a disaster waiting to happen so I can get one!

[Bongo Shrimp]

Somebody tell me how this is not a disaster waiting to happen so I can get one!

 

+1

[Synnz22]

I really want to try this idea but at the same time... is it really that easy? I wish someone on here had one just to hear it's coming along.

[Fishfreak218]

IMO it would most definitely take more water changes than that, there's not a whole lot of biological filtration (or water) in that tank. You'd also probably need to feed them at least 1 or twice a day, and all of that waste with just a sponge filter and a water change every 2 weeks? doubt it.

 

(not that i've kept jellyfish but just a general assumption. idk maybe since they don't have a lot of body mass (being like 95-98% water) they don't require much food/ don't produce a ton of waste? idk

[r3dph03n1x]

Well I seriously doubt that Jellyfish produce a large amount of waste. If you spot feed them like what is shown in the website's videos, there will be practically no waste to speak of...

 

Okay, I see now Lalani.

[clownfish617]

Mental list for me.

 

1. Moon jellies tank

2. Black tip reef shark tank.

3. Monkey breeding facilty.

4. To live with the Clownfish !

 

 

 

to far?

[j5c077]

Bleh. I imagine watching them bounce off the walls constantly would get real old real fast.

 

agreed

the size just looks painfully small for them

[jellyfish521]

this jelly fish live just one year

jellyfish lifespawn

[Rockfish]

just a question but what are those tanks made from?? in theory couldn't you just drill a hole in the bottom of the tank and do a sump with low flow so they don't get sucked up if they get too close???

 

just asking.......have not a clue what i'm talking about when it comes to jellies

[FrankenReef]

this jelly fish live just one year

jellyfish lifespawn

They also offer moon jellies that are supposed to live longer than that.

[r3dph03n1x]

I wouldn't suggest Moon jellies in something that small. Now some comb jellies would be small enough I think. They're also the prettiest imo (besides maybe sea nettles). I don't know how long they live though.

[johnmaloney]

let us know if it works out. i always wanted to keep comb jellies, i like how those lights run up and down their side

[r3dph03n1x]

let us know if it works out. i always wanted to keep comb jellies, i like how those lights run up and down their side

+1

[blizzardscout2]

Pretty cool idea! It reminds me of the Jelly tank at the Seattle Aquarium, but it is a big circle tube with constant flow and cool colored LEDs that change color of the jellies.

[wombat]

Sigh. I'd suggest anyone really interested in doing this starts by keeping Mastigias jellies in a much larger tank for a year first, and then moves on to doing it in a tiny sphere.

 

This video is the equivalent of sticking a Magnificent anemone with 6 clownfish in a 10 gallon tank for a photoshoot. Technically possible? Sure. For any length of time? Maybe, with a hell of a lot of support equipment and labor that you don't see. But, if you're investing in all that, you may as well stick them in a nice large cylinder or larger tank.

 

They need MH light, daily feedings of baby brine shrimp (and adequate filtration to handle that waste), and you need to culture the polyps and ephyra (no easy task) somewhere unless you want to buy new jellies on a regular basis.

[johnmaloney]

you are a buzzkill wombat. I see what you mean though, technically you can keep them in a bucket for enough time to take photos. It would still look cool though. There isn't much info on the jellyfish art site about keeping them, does anyone have a tank thread?

[wombat]

you are a buzzkill wombat. I see what you mean though, technically you can keep them in a bucket for enough time to take photos. It would still look cool though. There isn't much info on the jellyfish art site about keeping them, does anyone have a tank thread?

 

Sorry John. These guys are pretty easy to keep as jellies go, not much harder than the upside down Casseiopeia jellies. They are not truly pelagic and can handle being in a tank that's not a true kreisel. The only tricky part is setting up the flow in such a way that they're not being banged into stuff.

 

If you want to try your hand at them I could guide you through all the steps from tank design to culture of polyps/ephyra.

 

Matt

 

PS The Halodule is growing like gangbusters!

[johnmaloney]

deal. show links and stuff....keep it practical though...i am cheap. skip the food portion though, just let me know what micron size, I can catch it. Too much clutter when I cultured foods.... Would like to know about upside down jellies too...I see them all the time, along with combs, and all sorts of jellies... Always wanted them, but all the research I come across sounds like: "no, wont be able to keep jellies", and all the stories I hear were about dead jellies, cleaning jellies from filters, and temporary setups....etc...

 

P.S.

glad to hear it is growing for you! that isn't the easiest thing either.

[wombat]

deal. show links and stuff....keep it practical though...i am cheap. skip the food portion though, just let me know what micron size, I can catch it. Too much clutter when I cultured foods.... Would like to know about upside down jellies too...I see them all the time, along with combs, and all sorts of jellies... Always wanted them, but all the research I come across sounds like: "no, wont be able to keep jellies", and all the stories I hear were about dead jellies, cleaning jellies from filters, and temporary setups....etc...

 

P.S.

glad to hear it is growing for you! that isn't the easiest thing either.

 

Oops, I said Halodule and I meant Halophila. That stuff is like a weed.

 

They both get fed baby brine here, so 400 microns for food. They'd probably take anywhere from 200-1000 microns.

 

The upside downs (Casseiopeia) are super tolerant of gnarly, nasty water. They probably don't do well in really low nutrient water. You can get away with fine sand, a bit of live rock in a sump or HOB refugium, maybe a bit of seagrass, Chaetomorpha, or other macroalgae for filtration. A skimmer can't hurt. I would really recommend setting it up so you can throw a filter sock on the drain for clearing up the water of food on a regular basis. Tank setup and plumbing is the part that needs special attention. You can't have any powerheads in the tank obviously, unless you have a very large sponge filter on the intake. Easy way to return the water is to just do a reverse flow undergravel filter. However you do it the water velocity and flow need to be very very slow. They are negatively buoyant and will sink to the bottom if the current is low enough. If they are floating all over the tank you've got too much flow. On the overflow box you will need to make sure you have a ton of surface area and block it off with window screen so that they can't get sucked up. You can keep them in bare bottom tanks, or on fine sand, but I would avoid rubble or sharp substrate. Feeding should be done daily with baby brine. Aiptasia and hydroids will need to be controlled. Fish can be kept with them. Oh, the most important thing...lots and lots of light! MH for sure, don't skimp on it. I'm sure you've noticed them in very shallow water.

 

The blue jellies (Mastigias) need better quality water and seem especially sensitive to phosphate. It's best to keep them in round or smooth cornered tanks, with no rock or substrate unless it's fine sand or smooth marbles or something. They also need daily feeding and MH light. They should be swimming around at all levels of the water column. If they're hanging out at the bottom all the time something may be wrong, possibly more food needed.

 

The trick to both when designing the tank is producing sufficient flow at low velocity that doesn't send them into stuff and damage their bells. You want to turnover the tank 3-4X per hour but keep velocity low. In practice this means low pressure on the outlets, big holes and many of them. For instance on our Mastigias cylinder the flow comes in from a ring at the bottom of the tank with all the outlets pointed at the center.

 

I'm sure I missed a bunch of stuff so fire away.

 

PS Oops, just realized that the jellies in the video are actually Catostylus, not Mastigias. The care is pretty much identical.

[zjharva]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

250 plus free jellies isnt too shabby.

 

but kinda small.

 

baltimore aquarium has a trick jelly setup.

 

wow thats sad how i think.

[badfinger]

those jellies looked alot like... upside down jellies