{"id":8279,"date":"2026-05-20T22:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T22:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=8279"},"modified":"2026-05-20T22:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T22:32:23","slug":"get-a-sneak-peak-inside-aquarium-of-the-pacifics-new-sea-jelly-exhibit-opening-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=8279","title":{"rendered":"Get a sneak peak inside Aquarium of the Pacific\u2019s new sea jelly exhibit, opening this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever wanted to get up close and personal with sea jellies, the Aquarium of the Pacific is the place for you.<\/p>

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The Long Beach institution is set to open a new exhibit on Saturday, May 23, that is dubbed \u201cJelly Dreamscapes\u201d and features one of the most diverse collections of the ancient, gelatinous creatures in North America.<\/p>\n

Sea jellies have lived on Earth for more than 500 million years, predating even dinosaurs, and occupy every ocean on the planet. Though often misidentified as jelly fish, the creatures aren\u2019t fish at all. Rather, they\u2019re invertebrates with no heart, brains or lungs, and there are more than 2,000 species of them across the world, according to the aquarium.<\/p>\n

Jelly species boast incredible diversity. They come in myriad colors and vary vastly in size. While some jellies measure no more than the size of a pencil eraser, some, like the lion\u2019s mane jellyfish, grow longer than blue whales \u2014 the largest animals on Earth.<\/p>\n

At \u201cJelly Dreamscapes,\u201d Aquarium of the Pacific visitors will be able to see more than 40 sea jelly species, thanks to the efforts of the facility\u2019s staffers, who have spent the past 2.5 years propagating, raising and caring for the collection of jellies in preparation for the exhibit\u2019s opening.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Exhibit) construction has been going on for about a half a year,\u201d Jeff Flocken, the aquarium\u2019s CEO and president, said in a Wednesday, May 20, interview. \u201c(But) it\u2019s been in the works for almost two years \u2014 planning it and preparing, raising the jellyfish, making sure that they have the right food sources, making sure we have the right animal welfare to care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sea jellies, given their extremely delicate forms, have specific needs, including the right water flow, temperature and salinity, alongside other factors like lighting and PH balance. Aquarium staffers monitor the jellies\u2019 health daily, cultivate and grow the food they need to thrive, and ensure their habitats are up to snuff every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cSea jellies have a kind of unique life cycle,\u201d Nate Jaros, the aquarium\u2019s vice president of animal care for fish and invertebrates, said on Wednesday. \u201cThey have an adult medusa stage, male and female, and then they have the polyp stage, which is kind of like a little sea anemone, and those sea anemones can persist for extended periods.<\/p>

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\u201cThe medusa will really only live a short time,\u201d Jaros added. \u201cTheir purpose is to reproduce and produce more of these polyps.\u201d<\/p>\n