This is really interesting: (the audio bit)
http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2009/02/what-do-we-real.html

Very interesting, cheers! Hot water, that's one to remember..

Did you hear the bit where he says that they can tack upwind in light breezes, and they can reef/unreef their sail!

I've been stungy by these in Miami, Florida and it hurt like hell! Any tips on how to protect yourself apart from avoiding them? I've heard that there are creams that help prevent a reaction, and that some people wear stocking?

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breathe said...

I've been stungy by these in Miami, Florida and it hurt like hell! Any tips on how to protect yourself apart from avoiding them? I've heard that there are creams that help prevent a reaction, and that some people wear stocking?

well you could HTFU for starters

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milko said...

breathe said...

I've been stungy by these in Miami, Florida and it hurt like hell! Any tips on how to protect yourself apart from avoiding them? I've heard that there are creams that help prevent a reaction, and that some people wear stocking?

well you could HTFU for starters

HTFU is the best solution, otherwise you could wear one of these trendy stinger suits:


They don't hurt for very long really, the only real problem is you look like a junkie for a few days with red lines along your arms.

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dutchy1985 said...

Did you hear the bit where he says that they can tack upwind in light breezes, and they can reef/unreef their sail!

Yeh, i've never given them enough credit for their sailing ability! I hope I don't go smack into a smack of jellyfish this summer!

I get pretty bad reactions, including blisters.

Funny thing is that there is another thread about sun tan lotion stinging people's eyes that everyone is happy to discuss, but when it comes to some nasty jelly's the advice is htfu...

Good point Beathe

U think we would be more helpful

The type of cream we use, i would prescribe a good dose of htfu aswell for this (thats why I haven't even read the thread)

But at the end of the day the amount of times we get stung by these things is not very often, I kite around Newcastle and the NE sea breeze brings them in and may only get stung once or twice in a season (and only once in 4 yrs above the knees), so they don't really bother most people that much, so we just grin and bare it when it does happen.

Which is a lot different scenario that up north during there stinger season where it can be a mater of life and death.

The sun kills you, blueys don't. I think the sunscreen convo is much more legit and doesn't have its kite at 12 and is more wakestyle with boots on

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milko said...

breathe said...

I've been stungy by these in Miami, Florida and it hurt like hell! Any tips on how to protect yourself apart from avoiding them? I've heard that there are creams that help prevent a reaction, and that some people wear stocking?

well you could HTFU for starters

I have a nasty reaction to these buggers, especially if I end up flying the next day (found that out by accident)...
But in the end I just decided to heed the advice of Milko !!!
That, and don't fall off in the middle of a 'Smack' of blueys !!!

Dutchy, why so aggro mate? We're talking about jellies... it's not like we are picking on the Lion King or something!

Not to get all technical - but, Blue bottles are actually several different hydroids all working together (one to sail, one to kill, one to digest etc..)...and being a hydroid, the more you get stung the worse the reaction!

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SMG said...

Not to get all technical - but, Blue bottles are actually several different hydroids all working together (one to sail, one to kill, one to digest etc..)...and being a hydroid, the more you get stung the worse the reaction!

One more time for the dummies

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SMG said...

Not to get all technical - but, Blue bottles are actually several different hydroids all working together (one to sail, one to kill, one to digest etc..)...and being a hydroid, the more you get stung the worse the reaction!

One more time for the dummies

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theDoctor said...

that's fun-ny !

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milko said...

SMG said...

Not to get all technical - but, Blue bottles are actually several different hydroids all working together (one to sail, one to kill, one to digest etc..)...and being a hydroid, the more you get stung the worse the reaction!

One more time for the dummies

Ha...Which part? If you're genuinely interested, read on - if not, ignore the next bit!

- Bluebottles aren't just a single organism, it's a combination of many individual zooids working together in symbiosis to act as one critter.. Some Zooids make up the stinging tentacles, some make-up the sailing apparatus and some act in the feeding role..etc..

- Zoids are (as per the ever helpful Dictionary):

A) An organic cell or organized body that has independent movement within a living organism, especially a motile gamete such as a spermatozoon.
B) An independent animal like organism produced asexually, as by budding or fission.
C) One of the distinct individuals forming a colonial animal such as a bryozoan or hydrozoan.

- With Hydroid toxin, it builds up in your system. So the more you get stung, the worse the effect each time!

- Oh, and one other cool fact about the little blue fellas - There's left handed and right handed sails!! So some sail better one direction the the other...

Just a bit of info on these awesome little creatures:
-Tentacles can reach up to 50 metres in length!!
- The Stinging cell (nematocyst) is a coil like thread and will pull the tentacle closer so that more nematocysts can fire....hence the feeling of it wrapping around you!
- Vinegar can make more nematocysts fire thus increasing the sting!!
- Turtles love them but so does a little ocean going gastropod called the Violet Snail!!

when you see them under a microscope they are beautiful. Did a bit of work with marine venoms at uni and its amazing how much heat will break down most marine venoms!! Even stingray venom!!

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SMG said...

milko said...

SMG said...

Not to get all technical - but, Blue bottles are actually several different hydroids all working together (one to sail, one to kill, one to digest etc..)...and being a hydroid, the more you get stung the worse the reaction!

One more time for the dummies

Ha...Which part? If you're genuinely interested, read on - if not, ignore the next bit!

- Bluebottles aren't just a single organism, it's a combination of many individual zooids working together in symbiosis to act as one critter.. Some Zooids make up the stinging tentacles, some make-up the sailing apparatus and some act in the feeding role..etc..

- Zoids are (as per the ever helpful Dictionary):

A) An organic cell or organized body that has independent movement within a living organism, especially a motile gamete such as a spermatozoon.
B) An independent animal like organism produced asexually, as by budding or fission.
C) One of the distinct individuals forming a colonial animal such as a bryozoan or hydrozoan.

- With Hydroid toxin, it builds up in your system. So the more you get stung, the worse the effect each time!

- Oh, and one other cool fact about the little blue fellas - There's left handed and right handed sails!! So some sail better one direction the the other...

Interesting Tom.. er SMG.

Someone told me recently that approx half of bluebottles have the sail on opposite tack as natures way of ensuring that half will survive whilst the other half get washed onto the beach during storms. True?

Sounds plausible to me... we should get Myth Busters onto it!

Thanks for the hot water method!
would be begging the wife to p155 on me if not for your help guys!

I don't know if anyone else knows or even cares about this, but we are now at a tipping-point that is about to change our oceans forever. Due date for point-of-no-return was a few years ago. Expect to see a fishless ocean by 2048 because of the following:

1. Overfishing of smaller fish (sardines, pilchards, anchovies etc)
2. Massive increases in fertilizer load causes phytoplankton and zooplankton bloom
3. Jellyfish polyps flourish in new enriched oceanic soup and their numbers aren't controlled by organisms that would normally control their numbers (yep, sardines, pilchards, anchovies etc)
4. aquaculture throws a nail in the coffin by adding more nutrients to ocean, giving the jellyfish even more food
5. Adult (i.e. the sexually reproductive rather than the clonal phase) jellyfish now consume the remainder of the fish stocks that were once part of the oceanic jellyfish management squad.



Quote:
CSIRO: Jellyfish blooms are up almost everywhere and it's going to become a menace. The reason? Over-fishing and excess nutrients from fertilizers and sewage, say researchers from The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency.

"Dense jellyfish aggregations can be a natural feature of healthy ocean ecosystems, but a clear picture is now emerging of more severe and frequent jellyfish outbreaks worldwide," says CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship and University of Queensland scientist Dr Anthony Richardson.

The new research, by Dr Richardson and colleagues at the University of Miami, Swansea University and the University of the Western Cape, has been published in the international journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution.

"In recent years, jellyfish blooms have been recorded in the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Black and Caspian Seas, the Northeast US coast, and particularly in Far East coastal waters. The most dramatic have been the outbreaks in the Sea of Japan involving the gargantuan Nomura jellyfish which can grow up to 2 m in diameter and weigh 200 kg."

Climate change may favor some jellyfish species by increasing the availability of flagellates in surface waters - a key jellyfish food source. Warmer oceans could also extend the distribution of many jellyfish species.

"Fish normally keep jellyfish in check through competition and predation but overfishing can destroy that balance," Dr Richardson says. "For example, off Namibia intense fishing has decimated sardine stocks and jellyfish have replaced them as the dominant species."

"Mounting evidence suggests that open-ocean ecosystems can flip from being dominated by fish, to being dominated by jellyfish," Dr Richardson says "This would have lasting ecological, economic and social consequences. We need to start managing the marine environment in a holistic and precautionary way to prevent more examples of what could be termed a 'jellyfish joyride'."

www.discovermagazine.com:443/planet-earth/jellyfish-taking-over-worlds-oceans-shutting-down-nuclear-power-plants



They are even sinking ships!

www.mnn.com/lifestyle/pets-animals/stories/giant-jellyfish-sink-10-ton-japanese-ship

That's a bit gay...

Not if your a turtle! yum!