Six healthy baby Moon Jellyfish have been born at Kelly Tarlon's Sea Life Aquarium - the first to be bred in an aquarium environment in New Zealand.
Meagan Ranapia, Senior Aquarist and jellyfish breeding expert said the new additions were a "huge breakthrough" for New Zealand because of the difficultnature of jellyfish keeping and breeding.
"Transporting adult jellyfish to the aquarium is extremely challenging. Jellyfish are very delicate creatures and require minimal handling. If the transfer is successful, then the challenge is making sure we have the right tank design and food to support them.
"We began our breeding project under the SEA LIFE 'Breed, Rescue, Protect' initiative late last year as a way of eliminating these transport risks and the results have been fantastic. We now have the knowledge to replicate our breeding programme on a larger scale, which will mean more jellyfish for visitors to Kelly Tarlton's SEA LIFE Aquarium to enjoy."
While Moon Jellyfish are one of the most abundant jellyfish families found across the world's oceans and most common in New Zealand waters, they are also some of the most mysterious and fascinating animals in our oceans.
Despite their name, jellyfish are not actually fish. Jellyfish are planktons that have no bones, brain, or heart. In fact, their bodies are 98 per cent water. They have existed for over 650 million years and there are thousands of different species worldwide.
These school holidays kids can learn more about the six new jellyfish residents and other sea creatures at Kelly Tarlton's SEA LIFE Aquarium through the new interactive experience, Ocean Quest. Simply pick up a special Ocean Quest game board and get involved in the great interactive stations set up across the aquarium. On this adventure kids can search for amazing facts, join in Quest challenges and be rewarded with treasure coins along their journey. Everyone wins a prize upon completion of the Ocean Quest!
Ocean Quest will run from 28 September - 13 October.