[neilep (OP)]

Dear All...yep..that means YOU too !


See my jellyfish ?

 [ Invalid Attachment ]

Nice aren't they.....the one on the left is called Harvey...and that one there is Janet...oh...and the others have all got names too.....


anyway...there they are moving and swimming and bumping into each other and just generally being busy at being Jelly Fish !


If one of them decides to ' quit the earth ' and die on me...will I still have to be careful about handling it ?......if so......for how long ?...suppose I don't notice it for a week.....will it's stings still sting ?


Thanks......


Neil
Jelly Fish Question Asker

[Carolyn]

YES!  Dead jellyfish still sting....it hurts like hell! 

I have no idea how long after they die the still sting.  Probably till they dry up and don't look like clear jello.

[another_someone]

It isn't just dead jelly fish - even a dismembered tentacle is still dangerous - which is why you have to be careful when removing the tentacles from you skin, even though they are detached from the body.

[Karen W.]

OOOOH That sounds dangerous.. they are poison aren't they..?

[another_someone]

OOOOH That sounds dangerous.. they are poison aren't they..?

They are poison.  Depending on the species of jellyfish, they may be painful, or they may be fatal (more commonly the former, but a few are the latter).

[DoctorBeaver]

The Australian Box Jellyfish is a particularly nasty little critter. And there is another now invading the seas in popular Australian holiday resorts. It has a Japanese-sounding name but I can't remember it offhand. These new ones are tiny and easily slip through the nets that keep the Boxies out.

[DoctorBeaver]

It's the Irukandji jellyfish.
 http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/practicalinfo/a/irukandji.htm

[another_someone]

It's the Irukandji jellyfish.
 http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/practicalinfo/a/irukandji.htm

I don't understand why a jelly fish (or any animal) would use such a slow acting poison.

They two common reasons for using poison is either as a deterrent, or to paralyse food.  In general, in both cases, the faster it acts the better.  A slow acting poison may be used to paralyse food when the hunter then actively stalks the prey until it dies, but is that plausible for a jellyfish?

[DoctorBeaver]

I think you'll find that doctors were treating the victims thus prolonging their lives beyond the point at which they would have died if no treatment was offered.

[another_someone]

I think you'll find that doctors were treating the victims thus prolonging their lives beyond the point at which they would have died if no treatment was offered.

http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/practicalinfo/a/irukandji.htm

The deadly Irukandji jellyfish is related to the more commonly known box jellyfish, about which visitors to the north Queensland coast are warned.

From 1883 to late 2005, the box jellyfish accounted for at least 70 recorded deaths.

A box jellyfish sting results in pain and welts forming immediately. These signs result in first aid being quickly applied and treatment begun which reduces the imminence of death and must have kept the death toll low.

A sting by the Irukandji jellyfish, on the other hand, is often felt as nothing more than a painful irritant with a rash akin to that of prickly heat. By the time more serious symptoms appear, it may be too late to save a life.

[DoctorBeaver]

GAWD!  [:0]

[neilep (OP)]

Thank you all for these wonderful answers.

Those box jellyfish are evil little buggers......well....they're not intrinsically evil but you know what I mean.

I recall a program recently about the discovery of the events that led to these unexplained nasty stings...I am positive they are the Irukandji  that George mentions. The offending item was a particularly tiny box jellyfish..The two main participants of the program  did get stung by these little critters, but they pulled through in the end........which is nice !

[DoctorBeaver]

Who mentioned them?  [!]

[neilep (OP)]

Who mentioned them?  [!]

oooops !!!!.....*bows down to receive appropriate disciplinary castigation* (NOT Castration !!)

[DoctorBeaver]

[JimBob]

Who mentioned them?  [!]

oooops !!!!.....*bows down to receive appropriate disciplinary castigation* (NOT Castration !!)

You mean Castorization, don't you?

[neilep (OP)]

I have been anointed !!....Arch Bishop Sheepy !!

[neilep (OP)]

Who mentioned them?  [!]

oooops !!!!.....*bows down to receive appropriate disciplinary castigation* (NOT Castration !!)

You mean Castorization, don't you?

Indeed.......Imagine a world filled with beavers because Eth Castorized it !....I think he could do it too !

[i am bored]

watch hout for the man of war. if your stung buy that theres no doubt about it.....your a dead man

[fishwhiz]

I was reminded of this on a southern beach recently... I kept a keen eye out.