- Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia Aurita)
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Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Scyphozoa
Order: Semaeostomeae
Family: Ulmaridae
Genus: Aurelia
Species: A. aurita
Common names: moon jelly, moon jellyfish, common jellyfish, saucer jelly
Scientific name: Aurelia Aurita
Overview: There are at least 13 species in the Aurelia genus including many that have still not been formally classified. Aurelia are among best-studied groups of gelatinous zooplankton, with Aurelia aurita the best-studied species in the genus; two other species, Aurelia labiata and Aurelia limbata have also been investigated. Since most previous studies of Aurelia were done without the benefit of genetic identification, one cannot positively attribute the results of most research to the species named.Species of Aurelia can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and are common to the waters off California, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the Black Sea, Croatia, Indonesia, the East Coast of the United States as well as Europe.
Harmful to humans: No
Maximum size: Adult bell diameter between 25cm (10 inches) and 40 cm (16 inches)
Colour: Transparent
Life span: Around one year in the wild, often longer in an aquarium
Feeding: In the wild moon jellyfish feed on plankton including organisms such as mollusks, crustaceans, tunicate larvae, rotifers, young polychaetes, protozoans, diatoms, eggs, fish eggs, and other small organisms. In an aquarium moon jellyfish are often fed frozen copepods and live/dead artemia nauplii
Photosynthetic: No
Distribution: Aurelia are found throughout most of the world's oceans, from the tropics to as far north as latitude 70°N and as far south as 40°S. They are ofted found close to the shore line and can regularly be seen in estuaries and harbors.
Temperature range: 6 °C to 27 °C
Optimum aquarium temperature: 18 °C to 25 °C (this depends on exact species and collection area)
Salinity range: 6ppt to 35ppt
Optimum aquarium salinity: 34ppt to 35ppt
Optimum flow speed: Slow to medium
Other notes: Moon jellyfish are the most common jellyfish to find in local pet shops. Yet common, moon jellyfish are one of the most popular species because of their opaque white colour and the relaxing movement. This species is relatively easy to keep, and the husbandry for this species is well established. They usually come from cold to temperate waters so it is recommended that you have a chiller running on your tank (there are tropical strains of moon jellyfish and you would not need the chiller with them).
