

SF man selling jellyfish as household pets - aandon
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7638602

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duck
I hate jellyfish, but still have to say this is a great idea. Actual site -
<http://www.jellyfishart.com/>

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moultano
Wow. Those tanks seem super expensive. What's the advantage over buying a
stock fishtank and ordering the jellyfish on their own?

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wtracy
I'm not associated with the company in the story, but I'm a long-time aquarium
hobbyist and had to create an account here just to comment on this.

Jellyfish are not active swimmers--they ride whatever current is in the water.
In square tanks, this causes many species to get stuck in the corners where
the water is stagnant.

Also, this means that they can't fight the current and generally get sucked
into the filter intake. At the same time, they need strong current (see the
comment about them getting stuck in stagnant areas) so you need a filter with
a strong intake.

Some species, like moon jellies, all you need to do is diffuse the intake. You
can see a section in the video where in the background they demonstrate a
filter with the intake buried under a layer of marbles.

For other species, you need a specially-shaped tank called a 'kriesel'. (Do an
image search for 'kriesel jellyfish' for some examples.) These tanks are
shaped like a hockey puck standing on its edge, and move the water in a
circle, so that no area is stagnant. Also, a water current blows _across_ the
filter intake, so the jellies get pushed aside instead of being sucked in.

Fun fact: The big jellyfish display tanks in Monterey Bay aquarium are
actually oval-shaped kriesels with current blowing down both sides, and back
up the center. That's why the jellies always seem to be upside-down--they're
facing into the current in the center of the tank. :-)

I'd also disagree with the claim that jellies don't need any "exotic care":
They're physically very fragile, and you have to be very careful to avoid
damaging them when you clean the tank. They also require special food (notice
that you're supposed to order special food from this guy) and high water
quality, not to mention the special tanks already mentioned.

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chadmalik
Great post. I don't understand why people have to trap animals like jellyfish
and put them in prisons / tanks. Just let them live where they are meant to,
the ocean.

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kijuhyujk
To be fair jellyfish are about the least 'animal', animal you can have, it's a
little like imprisoning a house plant.

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sliverstorm
To expound upon this, we have no reason to believe the jellyfish even knows
what's going on, let alone cares. They don't even have a central nervous
system- WORMS and FLEAS are more likely to have an opinion on the matter than
a jellyfish.

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JacobAldridge
Proof that there is no local news story that can't be 'improved' with a
meaningless vox pop. How does this quote add to an otherwise interesting story
in any way? _"I'm kind of a furry animal guy - dogs and cats and what not,"
said [man on a street] Hunter Hoffman._

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nandemo
The full quote is:

 _"Never gave any thought to having a jellyfish as a pet. I'm kind of a furry
animal guy - dogs and cats and what not"_

This isn't meaningless. People who had never thought of having a jellyfish
might read this and become curious. In fact it sounds like pretty good PR,
considering it's just a news story.

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JacobAldridge
It's meaningless in terms of providing news - asking random people on the
street their opinion of a topic is not newsworthy, and does not add meaning to
the story.

It does sound like pretty good PR (which is great thing for Alex and his
company), but pretty poor news.

Imagine if they'd interviewed a marine biologist about this species of
jellyfish instead? It would have been even better PR (expert confirms they
don't sting, are abundant etc), but it didn't happen because it's always
easier to ask two people in front of the ABC building what they think.

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patrickgzill
There are species of jellyfish that are edible:
<http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/jellyfish>

Perhaps a combination of those "AeroGarden" devices that let you grow fresh
veggies and herbs, and one of these jellyfish setups with edible jellies, and
you could have your own fresh sushi source (just add rice)!

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delano
It's an interesting story, but it's not news:

[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/technology/start-
ups/14sta...](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/technology/start-
ups/14startup.html?_r=1&hp)

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=515526>

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jarin
Definitely ordering one of these! Just goes to show that non-tech businesses
can still be cool :)

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pingou
That is so cool I just mailed them to check if they can ship in Europe,
according to their FAQ it seems possible.

I'm wondering how long these marvellous creatures will survive in your tank if
you treat them well.

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gcheong
Glad to see your business is still afloat.

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SkyMarshal
If I didn't know better I'd think you were fishing for a pun thread.

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gcheong
And it seems to be tanking pretty fast.

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panic
I know it's fun, but please don't do this. Pun threads are malignant growths.
They're easy to reply to, since each individual pun doesn't take a lot of
thought. Most upvotes are given out sparingly, for interesting or insightful
comments, but everyone involved in a pun thread votes up the rest of the
comments in the thread. This leads to a self-perpetuating cancer with no real
meaning or value to anyone but its contributors.

