Jellyfish - what's the story??

Chancer3001

Out on salthill beach for a swim yesterday. Place was covered in jellyfish washed up on the beach.

Lifeguards were doing a training course so the water had about 30 people swimming in it. On my paddle around I must have spotted about 20 jellyfish in the water.

How was nobody getting stung?

This got me thinking...

Does a jellyfish have to consciously sting you like a wasp or is it like a nettle?

How / what do they eat? How do they reproduce? Do they have a brain or a mouth or eyes or anything?

I'm usually fairly knowledgeable on animals....but I never got a handle on the oul jellyfish at all.

The One Who Knocks

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=jellyfish&l=1

Captain Chaos

Why not just google jellyfish instead of asking here. It's far quicker.

Lapin

Jellyfish are neither jelly or fish.



Misleading little buggers.

dodderangler

Those whack invertebrates will sting you......OLD SCHOOL

Chucken

Salthill eh? Sure they told us they had a tornado last week! I call shenanigans

Bipolar Joe

The ones you were most likely seeing were Aurelia Aurita. They only have a mild sting. You'll feel it, but more of a "The fuck was that? What just happened there? That was really weird, you guys." How they sting is actually kind of interesting (No it's not really but here we go), the neurotoxin is shot from a kind of pore witch has a tiny little push button switch on it. Something touches that switch, the bit inside the pore turns inside out and gives you a poke. Think about it like when you touch something hot, you automatically pull away. That's kind of what's happening here, it's an involuntary reaction, but instead of thinking "This thing is really hot let's get out of here" the jellyfish doesn't really think anything because it's pretty much just a blob that sometimes has christmas lights on it.

I love jellyfish, they're the prettiest most mysterious animals on the planet.

Chancer3001

I'm interested by them, but they freak me out a bit too. Always a bit wary when I'm in the sea.

Bipolar Joe

Chancer3001 wrote: »

I'm interested by them, but they freak me out a bit too. Always a bit wary when I'm in the sea.

A lot of jellyfish don't sting. The Beroe SP Ctenophora, for example. It doesn't have tentacles, and has glowing LED boy-racer stripes going down it's body. They eat Pleurobrachia Pileus, which are real tiny and only have a couple of tentacles which also don't sting. I think you'll recognise one that'll fuck your day up, not just because you'll have seen pictures of them, but because they LOOK terrifying. Dudes like Cyanea Capillata and Physalia Physalis*, despite looking beautiful, just scream on an instinctual level "This will kill me." They're all amazing creatures, they're brains aren't like how you would imagine, more like a bizarre array, sort of like a LAN.

*I'm using Latin names because I spent ages learning them so fuck you.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Jamez735 wrote: »

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=jellyfish&l=1

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Why not just google jellyfish instead of asking here. It's far quicker.

So witty and unique... :rolleyes:

Most threads could be answered by investigating using Google. The whole point of a discussion board is to discuss topics. Asking questions like what's in the OP is one way of starting a discussion.

Voodoomelon

I went coastering in Mayo last weekend, the coast was crawling with them and limited where we could jump into the sea.

We ended up in a dark cave system with the water up to our chests with no jellyfish around that we could see. Just as we were leaving the cave, one of the lads roared at me "watch out, in front of you!". It was so close I couldn't even see it, about 12 inches from my face was a jellyfish bigger than my head. How I didn't get stung i'll never know.

Bipolar Joe

Can you remember what it looked like?

mickrock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3eu6CPjFEE

April O Neill

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Out on salthill beach for a swim yesterday. Place was covered in jellyfish washed up on the beach.

Lifeguards were doing a training course so the water had about 30 people swimming in it. On my paddle around I must have spotted about 20 jellyfish in the water.

How was nobody getting stung?

Are the ones you saw clear, with four purple segments? If so, they're moon jellyfish, and are totally harmless.

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Does a jellyfish have to consciously sting you like a wasp or is it like a nettle?

Jellyfish are very primitive animals, but have probably one of the most complicated cell types of any animal - the cnidocyte. This is the cell they use to sting.

Have a read here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidocyte

But the sting would vary in harmfulness from species to species.

Bipolar Joe

April O Neill wrote: »

Are the ones you saw clear, with four purple segments? If so, they're moon jellyfish, and are totally harmless.



Jellyfish are very primitive animals, but have probably one of the most complicated cell types of any animal - the cnidocyte. This is the cell they use to sting.

Have a read here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnidocyte

But the sting would vary in harmfulness from species to species.

You'll feel the sting from one of those, like I said, but yeah it's pretty harmless. If there's a smack of them, it's time to get the Hell out of there, though.

April O Neill

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

You'll feel the sting from one of those, like I said, but yeah it's pretty harmless. If there's a smack of them, it's time to get the Hell out of there, though.

Well yeah, that's what I mean. You'll feel something but you won't be harmed.

seosamh1980

I am absolutely terrified of jellyfish, which mostly comes from the fact that I have never been stung by one, despite growing up by the beach and spending so much time swimming, so the unknown fear of what a sting feels like makes me sh!t scared of them. I ran from one of the tiny ones that I now know doesn't hurt you very much a few weeks ago

They are gorgeous though, I saw the most amazing collection of lighty-up ones in Boston Aquarium.

Edit: Looking at photos of those big ones you mentioned actually makes me feel sick, they're so tentacle-y and scary. It's like Finding Nemo all over again!!

Pai Mei

Aren't there like three times as many Jellyfish as there are humans or something? Something like twenty billion in the sea? Or am I wrong?

Bipolar Joe

April O Neill wrote: »

Well yeah, that's what I mean. You'll feel something but you won't be harmed.

Honestly, this is the only time I'm ever gonna look smart so I'm milking it.

seosamh1980

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

Honestly, this is the only time I'm ever gonna look smart so I'm milking it.

Tell me more things about jellyfishes!

Bipolar Joe

seosamh1980 wrote: »

Tell me more things about jellyfishes!

There's a lake in Palau which has thousands of jellyfish in it you can swim in! I have to get the bus in a bit, but once I get Internet again, I have TONS of jellyfish stuff to talk about!

con___manx1

in the early 90s when i was a kid, some of the beaches in county wicklow were literally covered with hundreds of big jellyfish getting washed into shore on various beaches. we used to jump on top of them as its just the tenticles that carry poison. i dont think i have ever seen another one washed up on the shore since then : )

SeaFields

i got stung last week. swam straight into one and it got me all down one side. fairly uncomfortable. ive been stung beford but this guy really got me. like a bad nettle sting and lasted a few hours.

i was snorkling along side one recently too. they are some sight in the water pulsating along.

dont know the name but it was very large, brown with very avery long trail (6foot or more)

longshanks

I want to go for a pint with Bipolar Joe and listen to him tell me all the things about the jellyfish.

seosamh1980

longshanks wrote: »

I want to go for a pint with Bipolar Joe and listen to him tell me all the things about the jellyfish.

Me too, imagine if anyone overheard :P

Is it like a burn, the feeling of the sting? I burnt my hand a few days ago, the tingling itchy sting stayed for a few hours, is it like that?

averagejoesgym

Check out http://www.jellyfish.ie/irish_sea_jellyfish.asp

I have seen the compass jellyfish in the sea where I swim they look nasty and their tentacles are so long. :eek:

Don't think I ever have been stung, however I did step on something at the waters edge on the beach in Fanore in Clare one day and it was seriously painfull had to get someone else to drive home my foot was too sore.

Chancer3001

The ones in salthill were clear, kind of blue tint, and had 4 purply rings in the middle.

How "harmless" are they bipolar joe?

Harmless like a nettle or harmless like proper harmless!!?

If I picked one up n the beach would I get stung? Or more importantly, if I accidentally stood on one?

Last question - are the ones on the sand dead? Or if they got washed back into the sea are they ok?

Bipolar Joe

Chancer3001 wrote: »

The ones in salthill were clear, kind of blue tint, and had 4 purply rings in the middle.

How "harmless" are they bipolar joe?

Harmless like a nettle or harmless like proper harmless!!?

If I picked one up n the beach would I get stung? Or more importantly, if I accidentally stood on one?

Last question - are the ones on the sand dead? Or if they got washed back into the sea are they ok?

You saw Aurelia Aurita, most likely. Their sting is kind of like a very light nettle. The bell (Body) doesn't sting, but the tentacles do. The ones on the beach may still be alive. I recommend carving out the piece of sand the jellyfish is on, lifting it up and placing it in water. This way, you don't run the risk of being stung so much.

Jellyfish stings can vary WILDLY, and even really pretty ones will hurt a lot. It ranges from the light sting to feeling like someone is chopping off your limb. A very bad one, like from Cyanea Capillata, will make you wish you were dead. I've been stung a few times from smaller fellas, and I could brush some off, other times I was worried I might drown in shock trying to get away. I see swimming in the sea like going to the forest for an extended period. It pays to know what berries you can and can't eat in the forest, and you should know which jellyfish you should stay well away from. I got stung by a Chrysaora Hysoscella once and it did feel like a burn almost, that really uncomfortable tingling feeling.

Mariasofia

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

You saw Aurelia Aurita, most likely. Their sting is kind of like a very light nettle. The bell (Body) doesn't sting, but the tentacles do. The ones on the beach may still be alive. I recommend carving out the piece of sand the jellyfish is on, lifting it up and placing it in water. This way, you don't run the risk of being stung so much.

Jellyfish stings can vary WILDLY, and even really pretty ones will hurt a lot. It ranges from the light sting to feeling like someone is chopping off your limb. A very bad one, like from Cyanea Capillata, will make you wish you were dead. I've been stung a few times from smaller fellas, and I could brush some off, other times I was worried I might drown in shock trying to get away. I see swimming in the sea like going to the forest for an extended period. It pays to know what berries you can and can't eat in the forest, and you should know which jellyfish you should stay well away from. I got stung by a Chrysaora Hysoscella once and it did feel like a burn almost, that really uncomfortable tingling feeling.

Swoon......keep talking Joe.;)

Mrs Garth Brooks

If you got stung by a jellyfish, are you meant to pee on the sting?

It was on Friends years ago.

Tonyandthewhale

They should start a jellyfish forum on boards. It'd be great for bipolar Joe's self-esteem.

Kirby

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

They should start a jellyfish forum on boards. It'd be great for bipolar Joe's self-esteem.

Surely, he'd have threads about how great they are one day and threads about how terrible they are the next.

crazygeryy

stupid question ahead!

can you eat jelly fish?

Bipolar Joe

Mariasofia wrote: »

Swoon......keep talking Joe.;)

OK! More about their brains, because it is awesome. I guess it depends on what you consider a brain, or sentience, but I do believe that the neural net counts as a type of brain. They have a bunch of nerves which can feel, and this lets them know and do certain things, like travelling. A lot of them don't swim in the conventional sense, sort of like a controlled floating. They can detect salinity, and the flow of the tide. Every tentacle sends messages to the bell, and this tells them which direction food or rocks might be. Some of them even see! They have little things ocelli, which detects light, and that's how they know what way is up. Then you have the Cubozoa, which really do have eyes! They have 24, some of them can see points of light, some of them can even see colour! If that wasn't cool enough, they pretty much have a 360 degree view. They might have the closest thing to a brain as they're usually understood. They're pretty dumb, but they can learn through conditioning, like "This looks like this, feels like this, can not go through or eat." which can turn into "This looks like this, can not go through or eat." when it sees a rock. Unfortunately, they're also vicious, and maybe because of their intelligence, evolved to be able to swim towards prey and deliver a really, really nasty sting, which can kill you. You don't get them around Ireland a whole lot (Basically almost never.)

Rubecula

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

If you got stung by a jellyfish, are you meant to pee on the sting?

It was on Friends years ago.

Common misconception that one. In reality it does you no good. But it is fun to watch someone trying to pee on their own back.

"The Mane. The lion's mane" *gasps and falls over.

The worst jellyfish to be stung by are not really around these shores. Portugese Man'o'War is a nasty bugger but not as bad as the Box Jellyfish. It is hard to see in water and if stung it will almost certainly be lethal without medical aid. But they are not found around here.

Bipolar Joe

Don't pee on a jellyfish sting, you're actually better off just swishing the bit that was stung around in the sea, or pouring salt water over it. Vinegar is even better. Better still is probably going to the hospital for a heavy grade pain killer and proper treatment.

Some jellyfish are totally edible. The first one that springs to mind is the Stomolophus Meleagris. I'll give you one guess where they get eaten the most. I don't think I could ever eat one, they're too pretty to me.

I feel so popular!

Mrs Garth Brooks

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

Don't pee on a jellyfish sting, you're actually better off just swishing the bit that was stung around in the sea, or pouring salt water over it. Vinegar is even better. Better still is probably going to the hospital for a heavy grade pain killer and proper treatment.

Some jellyfish are totally edible. The first one that springs to mind is the Stomolophus Meleagris. I'll give you one guess where they get eaten the most. I don't think I could ever eat one, they're too pretty to me.

I feel so popular!

How do you know so much? Are you copying and pasting from wikipedia?

Bipolar Joe

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

How do you know so much? Are you copying and pasting from wikipedia?

The same way some people know everything about birds or cars or Johnny Depp. I think they're great and awesome fascinating and learning about them isn't hard to me because I enjoy knowing everything I can about how they work! I'm actually not very clever, but jellyfish are the one thing I can talk about.

Rubecula

I just came across this which may be of interest on this thread.

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/10583405.Stinging_wobbly_visitors_as_jellyfish_bloom_hits_beaches/

April O Neill

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

Honestly, this is the only time I'm ever gonna look smart so I'm milking it.

It's interesting! I doubt the OP expected someone with so much knowledge of jellyfish to respond.

mad m

Got stung by Lions Maine couple years back, initially sting wasn't bad as I kept swimming (doing sea race). When I got out of water this is when pain started. Arm was on fire, wound kept weeping. A mate of mine got a rough towel and dragged it down where I got stung, needless to say I screamed with pain.

Arm wept for hours after, for 36hrs I couldn't sit still, my body was jutting or as if I had a nervous tick as if I had an itch all over body I couldn't scratch. This was the venom going through body I believe. Unreal experience. Have been swimming in sea regularly since June and haven't been stung.....fingers crossed....

Archeron

averagejoesgym wrote: »

Check out http://www.jellyfish.ie/irish_sea_jellyfish.asp

I have seen the compass jellyfish in the sea where I swim they look nasty and their tentacles are so long. :eek:

Don't think I ever have been stung, however I did step on something at the waters edge on the beach in Fanore in Clare one day and it was seriously painfull had to get someone else to drive home my foot was too sore.

Very cool link. I will never enter the sea again though.

mallards

crazygeryy wrote: »

stupid question ahead!

can you eat jelly fish?

I ate one in a chinese restaurant in new york. I knew what it was when I ordered it but in my head I was thinking it might come out to me as some sort of three in one. In reality, it was placed in front of me totally covering a single white plate. Raw and cut into thick slices. It was served with a small ramikin of soy sauce and another of toasted sesame seeds. Well what was a man to do! It had the texture of set wall paper paste, cold, wet and probably tasted like it too. I threw four slices down me so the lads in the kitchen wouldn't think I was a wuss. The chinese waiter asked me did I like it when he came to collect the plate and said he was surprised I ate it as only old chinese people ordered the dish to help them with the sh1ts. I smiled politely, necked the shot of soy and left.

Teyla Emmagan

averagejoesgym wrote: »

Check out http://www.jellyfish.ie/irish_sea_jellyfish.asp

I have the heebie jeebies now.

Notorious97

These little fellas are the reason i cannot swim in the sea, just freaks me out haha

Thanks for all that info joe, always wondered about them and reading through this thread was actually useful
to learn something new!

Chancer3001

I love bipolar joe.

Poster of the month!!

I can safely-ish return to the sea!!

Hal1

From which we all once came .

seven_eleven

I always see these little (and big) white jelly fish washed up on the beach. They're semi-translucent, and just look like a blob of silicone to be honest.

greenflash

As a kid we used to pick up the harmless four ring jellyfish and throw them at each other. We'd scoop them up by flipping over the bell in the palm of our hands then fling them. They don't have tentacles as such, more a wispy fringe round the edge of the bell. Once I saw a jellyfish and went to throw it at my sister but failed to spot this one was brown and had a different pattern on the bell. I put my hand on top and scooped it over and up and a long brown tentacle flopped onto my arm, stinging me from my wrist to my armpit. The pain was so bad I got sick. The red welts on my arm lasted at least a month and kept flaring up painfully every few days.

I was in Spain last year when there was a swarm of mauve stingers all along the coast so didn't go swimming at all for a couple of days after seeing a couple of people carried out of the water with stings all over their bodies.

The most positive jellyfish story I have is of scuba diving through a swarm of thousands of tiny neon blue jellyfish while in the Carribean a few years ago. Breathtaking dive that day.

Czarcasm

I'd always wondered how jellyfish reproduce, but apparently they're not that far off from humans... sort of...


From Wikipedia:

In most cases, adults release sperm and eggs into the surrounding water, where the (unprotected) eggs are fertilized and mature into new organisms. In a few species, the sperm swim into the female's mouth fertilizing the eggs within the female's body where they remain during early development stages. In moon jellies, the eggs lodge in pits on the oral arms, which form a temporary brood chamber for the developing planula larvae.

So, the male puts his bell end in the females mouth...

Oh, and they don't need anyone else around to get pregnant either, they can reproduce sexually and asexually!

Crazy shìt :pac:

rustedtrumpet

My friend stud on a sea-urchin last year on holidays. That really put him out of business. Especially on the 2nd day of a 5 day festival. Poolside bound for the majority of it. So many spines in his foot, didn't come out until a few days after he got home.