Jelly nematocyst, image of whole jelly added

Linden.g · Post by **Linden.g** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:10 pm

I've recently had a bloom of tiny jellyfish like organisms in my marine tank system. I posted an image of one of the organisms a while ago.
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... ght=linden. The DIC images below show the nematocyst before and after ejection.

Linden

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 4:22 am

I would say your tank is really healthy if you had a bloom of jellies in it.

And excellent pictures. Did you find them just by chance, or was the bloom big enough to "see"?

Linden.g · Post by **Linden.g** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:20 pm

Hi Mitch
I no longer have the full marine display tank and have kept just a refugium to grow diatoms etc. I've found them in the past in ones and twos but this time there are 1000's. They seem to be growing larger but I'm not sure how big they will get.
Linden

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:34 pm

Well, good luck, but just keep in mind the movie with Steve McQueen, "The Blob". You don't want to wake up one night with that in the room. LOL

Linden.g · Post by **Linden.g** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 4:45 pm

Here is the full view. If you look carefully you can see an ejected stinging cell in the low mid right under the fifth tenticle from the left

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 4:56 pm

A very dramatic shot. More interesting to me than the others.

I see the stinger, but the parts hanging down around the umbrella look like Hydra. And what are the red dots? Light organs?

Linden.g · Post by **Linden.g** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 4:58 pm

They do look like Hydra, I'm not even sure if it is a jellyfish but it does swim like one. I assume the red dots are eyes of some form

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 11:00 pm

Linden,

That is the first thing I though as well... these nematocysts are remarkably similar looking to the ones on hydra!

Linden.g · Post by **Linden.g** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 2:28 pm

Charles and Mitch, you gave me an idea it may be the free swimming stage of a colonial marine hydra like Obelia http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/i ... &va=Obelia
Linden