jellyfish
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I have captured wild freshwater jellyfish in indiana. They are very hard to spot and only come out every few random years. They look like someones contact in the water. Also they are not even considered real jellyfish because they have something dangling from the undermidcenter that jellyfish don't have.
I found them around the northwestern part of Indiana by LaPorte. (Thats the closest geographical word people would recognize) But a lake about a half an hour away from there.
I work at mote marine and we have several species like moon jellies, seanettle, and upsidedown. you would have to have a decent size tank with a powerhead or somthin to keep the water movin or they would be on big clump in the corner. We feed them baby brine.
FW Jellyfish Site
General Information
Where: commonly found in man-made reservoirs, dams, ornamental fish ponds, shallow pools, and slow-flowing waterways. Strictly found in freshwater, i.e., water in which naturally occurring salts cannot be tasted (though it is not typically a good idea to test it this way!).
Nature of the animal: about the size of a 5- or 10-cent piece, delicate and lacy-looking, colourless to whitish, typically in relatively large numbers when they occur.
Seasonality: Typically found in the summer months, but may be found all year long in the tropics throughout the world. However, each sub-population blooms and disappears in a number weeks to months, not appearing again at that location for perhaps 5-10 years.
Natural history notes: scientists think they are transported from pond to pond on the feet of waterbirds. They eat small aquatic invertebrates and larvae, including mosquito larvae. Probably an important part of the food chain, because despite their small size, they are thought to have no natural predators.
Sting: mild to non-existent. It is possible to swim with them without harm, although people with sensitive skin (such as young children and the elderly) may feel some irritation. Those with known allergies to stings of any kind should not swim with them.
They may benefit us as they eat mosquito larvae!
Technical Information
Life cycle: they have a complex life cycle, wherein the medusa (= the jellyfish phase of the life cycle) is budded off from a hydroid (= a tiny creature which looks like a sea anemone, only fractions of a centimetre tall).
Distribution: found worldwide in tropical and temperate areas.
Species and meaning of names: there are thought to be at least 10 species within two genera, Craspedacusta and Limnocnida. Craspedacusta translates to ?border guard?, in reference to the stinging tentacles along the border of the body (from the Greek ?craspedo?, meaning border, and the Latin ?custos?, meaning guard. Limnocnida translates to ?marsh stinger?, from the Greek ?limno?, meaning marsh, lake or pool, and the Greek ?cnido?, meaning nettle.
General Information
Where: commonly found in man-made reservoirs, dams, ornamental fish ponds, shallow pools, and slow-flowing waterways. Strictly found in freshwater, i.e., water in which naturally occurring salts cannot be tasted (though it is not typically a good idea to test it this way!).
Nature of the animal: about the size of a 5- or 10-cent piece, delicate and lacy-looking, colourless to whitish, typically in relatively large numbers when they occur.
Seasonality: Typically found in the summer months, but may be found all year long in the tropics throughout the world. However, each sub-population blooms and disappears in a number weeks to months, not appearing again at that location for perhaps 5-10 years.
Natural history notes: scientists think they are transported from pond to pond on the feet of waterbirds. They eat small aquatic invertebrates and larvae, including mosquito larvae. Probably an important part of the food chain, because despite their small size, they are thought to have no natural predators.
Sting: mild to non-existent. It is possible to swim with them without harm, although people with sensitive skin (such as young children and the elderly) may feel some irritation. Those with known allergies to stings of any kind should not swim with them.
They may benefit us as they eat mosquito larvae!
Technical Information
Life cycle: they have a complex life cycle, wherein the medusa (= the jellyfish phase of the life cycle) is budded off from a hydroid (= a tiny creature which looks like a sea anemone, only fractions of a centimetre tall).
Distribution: found worldwide in tropical and temperate areas.
Species and meaning of names: there are thought to be at least 10 species within two genera, Craspedacusta and Limnocnida. Craspedacusta translates to ?border guard?, in reference to the stinging tentacles along the border of the body (from the Greek ?craspedo?, meaning border, and the Latin ?custos?, meaning guard. Limnocnida translates to ?marsh stinger?, from the Greek ?limno?, meaning marsh, lake or pool, and the Greek ?cnido?, meaning nettle.