5 ms·

SF man selling jellyfish as household pets

41 points by aandon 16y ago

gcheong 16y ago
Glad to see your business is still afloat.
- SkyMarshal 16y ago
  If I didn't know better I'd think you were fishing for a pun thread.
  - gcheong 16y ago
    And it seems to be tanking pretty fast.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - panic 16y ago
      I know it's fun, but please don't do this. Pun threads are malignant growths. They're easy to reply to, since each individual pun doesn't take a lot of thought. Most upvotes are given out sparingly, for interesting or insightful comments, but everyone involved in a pun thread votes up the rest of the comments in the thread. This leads to a self-perpetuating cancer with no real meaning or value to anyone but its contributors.
      - deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
        deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
duck 16y ago
I hate jellyfish, but still have to say this is a great idea. Actual site - http://www.jellyfishart.com/ http://www.jellyfishart.com/
- bkudria 16y ago
  Why do you hate jellyfish?
  - jpeterson 16y ago
    They leave behind quite an unfavorable impression when they sting you. :)
    - duck 16y ago
      Exactly. I was stung at a very early age and then again later on in high school while fishing. It isn't like a bee sting where it is just one spot, and that first one got me all over as I tried to get back to shore. I love the ocean and everything in it, but you never really forget something like that.
- moultano 16y ago
  Wow. Those tanks seem super expensive. What's the advantage over buying a stock fishtank and ordering the jellyfish on their own?
  - janzer 16y ago
    According to the article because you will quickly just have your cheaper tank and dead jellyfish.
  - gcheong 16y ago
    Apparently you can't just stick a jellyfish in any old fish tank as they tend to get liquefied in the filters.
  - jarin 16y ago
    $250 is not expensive for a saltwater tank at all.
JacobAldridge 16y ago
Proof that there is no local news story that can't be 'improved' with a meaningless vox pop. How does this quote add to an otherwise interesting story in any way? "I'm kind of a furry animal guy - dogs and cats and what not," said [man on a street] Hunter Hoffman.
- nandemo 16y ago
  The full quote is: "Never gave any thought to having a jellyfish as a pet. I'm kind of a furry animal guy - dogs and cats and what not" This isn't meaningless. People who had never thought of having a jellyfish might read this and become curious. In fact it sounds like pretty good PR, considering it's just a news story.
  - JacobAldridge 16y ago
    It's meaningless in terms of providing news - asking random people on the street their opinion of a topic is not newsworthy, and does not add meaning to the story. It does sound like pretty good PR (which is great thing for Alex and his company), but pretty poor news. Imagine if they'd interviewed a marine biologist about this species of jellyfish instead? It would have been even better PR (expert confirms they don't sting, are abundant etc), but it didn't happen because it's always easier to ask two people in front of the ABC building what they think.
  - hugh3 16y ago
    This isn't meaningless. In some strict sense it is not devoid of meaning the way colorless green ideas sleep furiously, purple monkey dishwasher is, but if you have sufficient experience with human culture to understand the article at all then it doesn't tell you anything you don't already know; people typically don't consider jellyfish as pets.
delano 16y ago
It's an interesting story, but it's not news: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/technology/start-ups/14startup.html?_r=1&hp http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/technology/start-ups/14sta... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=515526 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=515526
jarin 16y ago
Definitely ordering one of these! Just goes to show that non-tech businesses can still be cool :)
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
patrickgzill 16y ago
There are species of jellyfish that are edible: http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/jellyfish http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/jellyfish Perhaps a combination of those "AeroGarden" devices that let you grow fresh veggies and herbs, and one of these jellyfish setups with edible jellies, and you could have your own fresh sushi source (just add rice)!
pingou 16y ago
That is so cool I just mailed them to check if they can ship in Europe, according to their FAQ it seems possible. I'm wondering how long these marvellous creatures will survive in your tank if you treat them well.

41 points by aandon 16y ago

gcheong 16y ago

Glad to see your business is still afloat.

SkyMarshal 16y ago
If I didn't know better I'd think you were fishing for a pun thread.
- gcheong 16y ago
  And it seems to be tanking pretty fast.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - panic 16y ago
    I know it's fun, but please don't do this. Pun threads are malignant growths. They're easy to reply to, since each individual pun doesn't take a lot of thought. Most upvotes are given out sparingly, for interesting or insightful comments, but everyone involved in a pun thread votes up the rest of the comments in the thread. This leads to a self-perpetuating cancer with no real meaning or value to anyone but its contributors.
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
      - deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]

duck 16y ago

I hate jellyfish, but still have to say this is a great idea. Actual site - http://www.jellyfishart.com/ http://www.jellyfishart.com/

bkudria 16y ago
Why do you hate jellyfish?
- jpeterson 16y ago
  They leave behind quite an unfavorable impression when they sting you. :)
  - duck 16y ago
    Exactly. I was stung at a very early age and then again later on in high school while fishing. It isn't like a bee sting where it is just one spot, and that first one got me all over as I tried to get back to shore. I love the ocean and everything in it, but you never really forget something like that.
moultano 16y ago
Wow. Those tanks seem super expensive. What's the advantage over buying a stock fishtank and ordering the jellyfish on their own?
- janzer 16y ago
  According to the article because you will quickly just have your cheaper tank and dead jellyfish.
- gcheong 16y ago
  Apparently you can't just stick a jellyfish in any old fish tank as they tend to get liquefied in the filters.
- jarin 16y ago
  $250 is not expensive for a saltwater tank at all.

JacobAldridge 16y ago

Proof that there is no local news story that can't be 'improved' with a meaningless vox pop. How does this quote add to an otherwise interesting story in any way? "I'm kind of a furry animal guy - dogs and cats and what not," said [man on a street] Hunter Hoffman.

nandemo 16y ago
The full quote is: "Never gave any thought to having a jellyfish as a pet. I'm kind of a furry animal guy - dogs and cats and what not" This isn't meaningless. People who had never thought of having a jellyfish might read this and become curious. In fact it sounds like pretty good PR, considering it's just a news story.
- JacobAldridge 16y ago
  It's meaningless in terms of providing news - asking random people on the street their opinion of a topic is not newsworthy, and does not add meaning to the story. It does sound like pretty good PR (which is great thing for Alex and his company), but pretty poor news. Imagine if they'd interviewed a marine biologist about this species of jellyfish instead? It would have been even better PR (expert confirms they don't sting, are abundant etc), but it didn't happen because it's always easier to ask two people in front of the ABC building what they think.
- hugh3 16y ago
  This isn't meaningless. In some strict sense it is not devoid of meaning the way colorless green ideas sleep furiously, purple monkey dishwasher is, but if you have sufficient experience with human culture to understand the article at all then it doesn't tell you anything you don't already know; people typically don't consider jellyfish as pets.

delano 16y ago

It's an interesting story, but it's not news: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/technology/start-ups/14startup.html?_r=1&hp http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/14/technology/start-ups/14sta... http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=515526 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=515526

jarin 16y ago

Definitely ordering one of these! Just goes to show that non-tech businesses can still be cool :)

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

patrickgzill 16y ago

There are species of jellyfish that are edible: http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/jellyfish http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/jellyfish Perhaps a combination of those "AeroGarden" devices that let you grow fresh veggies and herbs, and one of these jellyfish setups with edible jellies, and you could have your own fresh sushi source (just add rice)!

pingou 16y ago

That is so cool I just mailed them to check if they can ship in Europe, according to their FAQ it seems possible. I'm wondering how long these marvellous creatures will survive in your tank if you treat them well.