Upside Down Jelly

[subman]

I just saw some at a local store and was wondering if anyone has any experience or opinions of them.
Thanks

[noirsphynx]

I know where you saw those, lol. They're pretty cool. Don't know anything about them though except low flow, these guys don't need the special tank setup like others & they're poisonous.

[Jeff_]

Saw quite a few of them when I was down in Florida, they are photosynthetic. I was told they move around to adjust their lighting. Really neat creatures.

[justinl]

they have a mild sting compared to other jellies... not really that poisonous at all really. they are really cool animals but not many keep them in home aquaria for some reason; probably just because they aren't shipped often although they are really easy to collect and are abundant where they occur. They don't ship well because they're fragile though, so make sure the one(s) you buy are healthy. I've actually been meaning to try my hand at these guys one day.

I talked to the Vera Cruz aquarium curator and they actually keep these in brackish water; they'll do fine in full salt though. just a thought if you want to save on the cost of salt. you would have to acclimate for over a month to change tank salinity though... the slower the better. The guy says they're super easy to keep given the right conditions (see below) and actually has them reproducing quite often.

Set ups don't have to be super specialized but upside down jellies are soft bodied and mobile so cover any grates/intakes with filter floss or sponge to avoid ending up with sushi. low flow. mobility+stinging cells = non-reef safe; no corals, but they can co exist fine with others of the same species (if your store has multiple specimens). You *might* get away with the most peaceful of corals like green star polyps or zoos though. photosynthetic so halides are a MUST; the brighter the better since they'll be on the bottom of the tank most of the time but get most of their nutrition through photosynthesis. they do appreciate occasional feedings though. Needs a fairly large open soft (oolitic) sandy bottom; no crushed coral.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by justinl

they have a mild sting compared to other jellies... not really that poisonous at all really. they are really cool animals but not many keep them in home aquaria for some reason; probably just because they aren't shipped often although they are really easy to collect and are abundant where they occur. They don't ship well because they're fragile though, so make sure the one(s) you buy are healthy. I've actually been meaning to try my hand at these guys one day.

I talked to the Vera Cruz aquarium curator and they actually keep these in brackish water; they'll do fine in full salt though. just a thought if you want to save on the cost of salt. you would have to acclimate for over a month to change tank salinity though... the slower the better. The guy says they're super easy to keep given the right conditions (see below) and actually has them reproducing quite often.

Set ups don't have to be super specialized but upside down jellies are soft bodied and mobile so cover any grates/intakes with filter floss or sponge to avoid ending up with sushi. low flow. mobility+stinging cells = non-reef safe; no corals, but they can co exist fine with others of the same species (if your store has multiple specimens). You *might* get away with the most peaceful of corals like green star polyps or zoos though. photosynthetic so halides are a MUST; the brighter the better since they'll be on the bottom of the tank most of the time but get most of their nutrition through photosynthesis. they do appreciate occasional feedings though. Needs a fairly large open soft (oolitic) sandy bottom; no crushed coral.

Great info.

I would think they would need their own tank, or would they be ok with other fish? Just curious.

[reeferious]

i have kept one alive for close to 4 months in a gallon size icecream bucket under t5s. outlet pipe waterflow from display tank would flow over bucket top to create a somewhat gentle flow, enough to stir up its tentacles. i belief using cornerless container is what allowed me to keep it alive and undamaged for as long as i did. anyway quite a fascinating oddity.

[justinl]

reeferious, got any pictures of said set up and animal? The method sounds a bit ghetto, but obviously it gets the job done right.

For pelagic jellies, cornerless tanks like kreisels are necessary because corners tend to be dead spots. If a pelagic jelly gets stuck in a corner, it has a hard time getting out and ends up abrading itself on the tank wall/bottom. My belief is that upside down jellies, being benthic by nature, should have a much tougher and more resistant bell. They live top down on the sand after all. I would imagine they'd be fine in a standard tank... mind you I have little real experience with jellies. this is mostly just theory on my part.

fishoholic, i have no idea. certainly no big fish like tangs, nothing that bites out of curiosity like angels triggers and puffers, no big swimmers like tangs, nothing that sleeps in the sand like big wrasses (small ones under 4 inches might be okay), nothing aggressive like damsels, nothing that would try to host the thing like a clown... mind you I am very conservative. Here, I encourage experimentation considering this is a bit of an unknown field. As far as I know, upside down jellies are not piscivorous; i just worry on behalf of the jelly... the jelly is the fragile one, not the fish. Im certain it would be fine with small peaceful column dewlling fish like firefish or anthias. then I might try gobies or blennies which i suspect would be fine too. im not sure if i would venture beyond that level... or what direction i would go if I did.

on a related note, I might also be careful with my invert selection... nothing with pincers (crabs/hermits), big spikes (all urchins, some stars), nothing known to eat cnidarians (some shrimp, stars and fish). Im sure snails would be fine, even the sand dwellers like nassarius.