Two years ago we wrote about the intriguing work Sunset Marine Labs is doing around the jellyfish industry and were excited to see the company launch its retail operations over the weekend unveiling their virtual storefront “Moon Jellyfish” at MoonJellyfish.com. Included on the site is their own version of the Eon desktop jellyfish aquarium along with the ability to purchase moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita), food and maintenance products. Click through for more details and a video of the Eon Jellyfish tank in action.
The desktop jellyfish tank has been gaining more momentum of late but many didn’t have the scientific expertise behind them besides leaving you wondering “so where do I get jellyfish and what do I feed them?” Moon Jellyfish is SML answer to that. When we last saw Sunset Marine Labs they were debuting a larger jellyfish system but have scaled it back down into a 10 gallon version. The Sunset Marine Labs Eon system comes with pump, heater and three-stage filtration (initial mechanical, biological and chemical filter media is also included) along with the color changing LED lights. The Moon Jellyfish Eon tank will run you $850 and the jellyfish range in price from $35 for a small to $45 for a large.
One major hurdle Sunset Marine Labs was able to get past was having jellyfish that could live in room-temperature conditions. Previously, jellyfish systems had to be kept between 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit which meant using an expensive chiller. Also, unlike the round kreisel tanks, the Eon desktop jellyfish tank uses a square-flow design, first introduced in the mid 1990s by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, the eon jellyfish system produces a similar environment encountered by the jellyfish in nature leading. The square flow allows the jellies to “bell” naturally, encouraging proper feeding habits. According to the website,”Proper feeding, of course, along with the up and down flow pattern creates an ideal habitat for sustaining happy and healthy jellies.”
Sunset Marine Labs has been working with all aspects of jellyfish for the last 16 years breeding jellies for zoos, public aquariums and the aquarium trade helping make the availability along with care and feeding of jellyfish possible.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5-vhNSko0g[/youtube]
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