I, like many Aquarists today, started breeding fresh water fish at the grammar school stage. I slowly progressed into breeding salt water fish. I guess this means that I turned my hobby into my profession. I began to manage a Pet Store while I was attending college. Again, I progressed and began my career as an Aquarist. During my tenure as an Aquarist I had the opportunity to study, care and participate in the cold, temperate and tropical salt water fish of the world. This included an octopus and a pair of harbor seals. I received my degree and continued my career. In addition to my continued husbandry, I also taught basic and advanced filtration system classes at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, IL. I love my job, especially when it takes me to exotic and exciting places. I was fortunate to have participated in several collecting trips, one of which took me to the Amazon for a month where we collected fresh water fish deep in the Amazon Tributaries with indigenous people.

For the last six years I have been in charge of the marine invertebrates and have a successful breeding program of the moon jellyfish. You can say that I breed well. I was the first individual to breed jellyfish in the Chicagoland area. In between my Aquarist profession, I managed to own a Pet Store and work as a Mammal Trainer for seven years. I became a workaholic and decided to give up the Pet Store.

The majority of my vacations are always near a body of water where I could dive, snorkel or simply beach comb. Beach combing is one of my favorite hobbies as I seem to attract a crowd. I love explaining and teaching the crowd on whatever I happened to find on the beach that day. I have been Consulting for the last fifteen years. I specialize in science centers (learning institutions) and commercial corporations.

ABSTRACT: The Challenges Involved in the Propagation and Maintenance of Moon Jellyfish ( Aurelia aurita )

Historically the Brookfield Zoo has focused on the exhibition and propagation of land dwelling animals. In 1977, however, the zoo opened to the public its first marine exhibit. Moon Jellyfish, Aurelia aurita, were selected as a species to be exhibited in a 6,000 gallon tank of synthetic seawater. In additon to housing adult jellyfish, a second 100 gallon tank was designed to exhibit the ephyrea of the moon jellyies.

In this presentation I will explore the challenges involved in propagating and maintaining jellyfish. Specifically, I will discuss tank and filtration design, water flow, strobilation, raising ephyrea and use of synthetic seawater in addition to several other important topics.