The ocean is the biggest body of water in the world. Animals as well as people benefit from it. As a lot of creatures live in the sea, some are harmful to humans while some are not. A jellyfish for instance is treated as a harmful animal for people because of its stinging capacity that leaves red marks on human skin. Some types of jellyfish can be seen in deep sea while others are found on the Great Barrier Reef. Some types of jellyfish such as the Atlantic sea nettle and the blue jellyfish are already in captivity because of man’s intention to save them from extinction. In order for man to provide them with a safe sea to live in, they invented the jellyfish aquarium.
Below is a step-by-step procedure on how to set up a jellyfish aquarium:
Materials – You will need one of the three types of jellyfish tanks: the Pseudokreisel or the rectangular shaped tank, Kreisel or the circular shaped tank, or the cylinder tank. These jellyfish tanks are specially made for jellyfishes and engineered to have the proper airflow for the creatures. You will also need a filter, bubble tube, gravel, glass marbles, airline tube, heater, 1 teaspoon dechlorinator, 3 and a half cups of salt, stress coat, stress zyme, ammonia test kit, one bottle of cycle starter, and a thermometer.
Procedure – After gathering all the materials, you are now ready to assemble your jellyfish tank:
- The tank should be placed away from direct sunlight, heat sources and electrical equipment.
- Rinse the filter using fresh water and lock it into the bubble tube.
- Wash half of the gravel and set aside the rest. After washing, put it in the tank.
- Lock the filter into the bottom of the tank and add glass marbles to completely cover the filter cartridge and the gravel.
- Plug an airline tube into the pump then set the heater to 77. The heater should be placed inside the tank completely submerged in the water.
- The tank should be filled with tap water. It must be filled to 2 inches above the bubble tube. However, the water should not touch the light when the cover is on the tank.
- Add 1 teaspoon of dechlorinator and 3.5 cups of salt in the tank.
- Plug in the light, pump combo and the heater then add the stress coat, stress zyme and cycle starter.
- Run the tank for 7 days and then check for the ammonia level using the ammonia test kit. If the ammonia level is below 1ppm, check it everyday until it is correct. Then get the temperature of the water using a thermometer. Add salt or tap water with dechlorinator as necessary to add salinity within green band, after which, verify if the temperature is within 2 degrees of 77. You may adjust the heater if necessary.
- If the ammonia, temperature and salinity of the water are at the right levels, then your tank is ready to contain jellyfishes.
Storing jellyfishes in aquariums can be beneficial to their health if the tank is clean and doesn’t have sea pests like sea lice.