Jellyfish - what's the story??

Chancer3001 · 05-08-2013 01:39PM #1

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 · 05-08-2013 01:40PM

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

Captain Chaos · 05-08-2013 01:41PM

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

Lapin · 05-08-2013 01:43PM

Jellyfish are neither jelly or fish.

Misleading little buggers.

dodderangler · 05-08-2013 01:43PM

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

Chucken · 05-08-2013 01:45PM

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

Bipolar Joe · 05-08-2013 01:52PM

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 · 05-08-2013 01:59PM

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 · 05-08-2013 02:16PM

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 · 05-08-2013 02:26PM

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 · 05-08-2013 02:36PM

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 · 05-08-2013 02:47PM

Can you remember what it looked like?

mickrock · 05-08-2013 02:53PM

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

April O Neill · 05-08-2013 03:11PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:16PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:17PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:20PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:29PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:32PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:35PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:38PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:40PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:43PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:44PM

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

seosamh1980 · 05-08-2013 03:49PM

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 · 05-08-2013 03:58PM

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 · 05-08-2013 04:13PM

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 · 05-08-2013 04:49PM

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 · 05-08-2013 04:54PM

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 · 05-08-2013 05:08PM

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

It was on Friends years ago.

Tonyandthewhale · 05-08-2013 05:08PM

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

Jellyfish - what's the story??

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