By KO MATSUDA/ Staff Writer
June 24, 2016 at 11:05 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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YOKOHAMA--The translucent creature moves fluidly like an aqua alien in one of those underwater science fiction movies.
It darts at the 360-degree video camera and envelops it in the blink of an eye. And then it releases the camera; swimming sleekly away through the water.
About 130 moon jellies, both large and small, expand and contract their bell-shaped bodies at Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium.
A familiar creature in Tokyo Bay, moon jellies can also be found in large numbers around Hakkeijima island, just south of Tokyo, in Yokohama.
The water temperature in the tank at the Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama’s Kanazawa Ward is 18 degrees.
Because the moon jellies are delicate, extra attention must be paid to water quality and a fresh stream of seawater is constantly pumped into the tank.
Keeper Hikari Ueno says the bodies of moon jellies can change shape in poor quality water.
The moon jellies appear almost identical to each other, but there is an easy way to tell the difference between males and females. The shape of a fluttering structure called the "oral arms," located in the center of the body, is different, Ueno explains.
In recent years, the moon jelly has become popular as a “healing character,” as watching them drift along makes one feel relaxed.
“It is so beautiful that I feel like I am looking at a picture. They seem to be living a free life, and I feel relaxed (by watching them),” says Seu Hiraoka, 15, a ninth-grader from Tokyo’s Ota Ward, who was visiting the aquarium.
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