QM Labs successfully aquacultures the Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)

Aurelia aurita is a lovely name for an intensely cool critter. The very serious aquarium geeks among you will recognize this as the scientific name (or binomial nomenclature) for one of the world's most prolific jellyfish. This Jelly has a few different monikers; they are most commonly known as the “Moon Jelly”, but they are also known as the White Jellyfish and the Common Jellyfish. The outer bell of the Moon Jelly is almost perfectly transparent, with a second bell within the first. There are visible blueish veins that loosely resemble a four-leaf clover!

Today, here at Quality Marine, we'd like to announce a breakthrough as we are now offering aquacultured Moon Jellies to our retail partners that we culture here at our state-of-the-arts QM Labs! These gorgeous invertebrates are the perfect pairing for the TMC Kreisel tanks which are also available to hobbyists through any and all Quality Marine retail partners. Size wise, both models will be ideal for the Jellyfish. The four-gallon model, known as the Kreisel 15 (a reference to the 15-liter capacity, which is actually 3.96 gallons) is great for four or five QM Labs Moon Jellyfish. The three-gallon model, known as the Kreisel 10 (a reference to the 10-liter capacity, which is actually 2.65 gallons) is great for two or three QM Labs Moon Jellyfish.

If you aren't familiar with Kreisel tanks, it is a circular display designed to display these critters without having them get sucked into filtration (with predictably disastrous consequences.) These displays utilize flow that creates a “gyre” or circular flow pattern that pushes the Jellyfish and their food into the center of the tank. We did a more in-depth article on the Kreisel tank last year and you can see that here: https://www.qualitymarine.com/news/wolf-and-the-j... These displays are very minimalist and zen; usually barren of any other décor, to prevent the Jellyfish (and their food) from getting caught up on something.

If you're like us, and you've reached the point where you know you want some aquacultured Moon Jellies, setting up your TMC Kreisel 15 or Kreisel 10 is an exercise in simplicity. They are ideal for small areas that get seen a lot like kitchen counters, bedside stands, and our favorite spot, our desktop. They have a very small footprint, so you don't need a lot of room, making the options for their placement nearly endless. Really all you need is a spot out of the sunlight that has nearby outlet. The next step is to rinse the filter media well and fill it up with quality, pre-mixed saltwater. Kreisel Tanks will need to be cycled, just like any other aquarium, and we suggest using Dr. Tim's One and Only to jump start this process.

Once your Kreisel is cycled, it's time to add your jellyfish. We recommend drip acclimation for Moon Jellies (and there's an article on drip acclimation here on the site as well). Really the only difference between acclimating Jellies and any other fish is that the jellies cannot be exposed to the air when you move them. Use a ladle or small container to scoop up the jelly and gently lower them into the tank; warm the ladle in the tank while you're acclimating so that it isn't shockingly cold. Then just turn on the flow and the lights!

Once you have your TMC Kreisel set up and cycled, it turns out the Jellies are also fairly straightforward to keep! You'll want a stable pH between 8.2 and 8.4 with a salinity at 1.025 or 1.026. This is easily achieved by using a quality salt mix like Tropic Marin and mixing it with reverse osmosis filtered water according to the instructions on the packaging. You'll want to maintain this aquarium on the cool side, so a chilly room would be the best environment for them, shoot for a temperature below 70 but above 60, if possible.

Before the advent of the Kreisel, it was very difficult to keep these invertebrates from getting caught up in the filtration of any display, and getting food close enough to them for effective feeding was an easy second on the list of challenges. The gyre flow of the TMC Kreisels takes care of both these problems. Your Moon Jellies feed by stinging and paralyzing very small prey. Food is brought into a stomach like organ via pulsing cilia located around the bell. This mechanism doesn't differentiate between live prey and a high-quality thawed food and so the myriads of choices from Gamma Foods or Nutramar Foods for your new inverts are easily accepted, nutritious options. In house, we successfully mimic their wild diet by using a mix of foods (all from Gamma and Nutramar). This mix changes over time, but includes items like Gamma Mysis, Gamma Brine Shrimp plus Omega 3s, Nutramar Live Tigrio Copepods, Nutramar Live Artemia Nauplii and Gamma Copepods. How much food is too much? Start small, ¼ to ½ a blister cube of frozen food, thawed and brought up to aquarium temperature, then poured directly into the flow of the Kreisel. Don't target feed them with a baster, as these can cause injury to the Jelly. If all the food gets eaten within 30 minutes you're doing well. If there is food left after 30 minutes, you've fed too much. If it all gets eaten in the first 10 minutes, think about feeding a little more the next day. Only feed them once a day. If you feed well every day, you can miss a day here and there without negative effect. One benefit of the live food is that they can usually live in the Kreisel for a few days to be eaten later when the Jelly “looks” for food again.

The ongoing maintenance of a TMC Kreisel is also very easy (see a theme here?) Do regular water changes and test the water regularly to ensure you aren't having nutrient spikes or large pH swings. If either of these becomes a problem, think about decreasing the amount of food and/or increasing the volume of your water change, start with about 10% - 15% weekly and go up from there if need be. Clean the glass and top off the system with de-chlorinated freshwater (not saltwater) as it evaporates from the system. That's it!

If you've never thought about keeping Jellyfish, there has never been a better time to get into this fascinating aspect of marine aquarium keeping. If you have been on the fence, the aquacultured Moon Jellies from us here at QM Labs are the perfect companion to the excellent TMC Kreisel systems that are now available. It's time to add some life to your desktop, and Aurelia aurita might be just the ticket. Go visit your Local Fish Store and ask them about getting set up today!