Is there Jellyfish in Belize??

[kittykatt07]

Hi there! My boyfriend and I would like to do discover scuba in Belize. His only concern is that he is quite terrified of jellyfish :eek: Does anyone happen to know if there is any or alot there??? Thanks!

 

Katrina

[scubaran]

Hi there! My boyfriend and I would like to do discover scuba in Belize. His only concern is that he is quite terrified of jellyfish :eek: Does anyone happen to know if there is any or alot there??? Thanks!

 

Katrina

 

Hi,

 

Yes, it's the ocean, there are jellies. But they're friendly "Caribbean jellies". No seriously, you "may" encounter some swimming by but you'll have scuba equipment on which will allow you to easily bypass them (When I've encountered them they were in onesies/twoesies, no schools). The two most common are the moon jellies. They're about the size of a plate and have a four leaf clover pattern in the middle of their body (their sex organs). They swim very slowly and are totally, easily avoided (I've taken series of pictures of one and kept it at distance with no problem). The others are thimble jellies. These are the size of a thimble (who'd guess) and are nearly impossible to see because of their translucence.

 

I don't know where your boyfriend encountered jellies but I know the one's in the caribbean aren't anything like the stinging jellies I used to encounter along the gulf coast. I had one of those once wrap around my arm as I was surface swimming (they have foot long tentacels (Caribbean jellies don't)).

 

Don't know if I helped, just telling it like it is.

 

Randall

[kittykatt07]

Ok thanks so much for the info!

[TheVegasMan]

Jellyfish come and go with the currents. In Cozumel in April I have seen walls of them, they are usually near the surface, I have seen them while snorkeling, I have never seen any while diving.

[w&k]

Don't worry about jellies - they are typically not a big deal in the Caribbean, EXCEPT for the Man 'O War, and those you can see coming on the surface. A good rule of thumb in the Caribbean is to watch out for the ones with long tentacles. (That doesn't work in the Pacific where there are box jellies)

 

All jellyfish sting, but most of them don't have a sting strong enough for a human to feel.

 

Wear a skin or a wetsuit, and you will be fine. Moon jellies are not very potent, unless you are allergic. Sort of like a little shock when it hits a sensitive area (like face or neck), and a few mosquito bites worth of itch later.

 

The last time I didn't wear a dive skin was in Ft. Lauderdale, many years ago, when the moon jellies were out in the late summer.

 

I was diving in the middle, with my DH to my right, and another diver to the left, fanning them to either side, which meant I had 3x as many. I went down to get under a particularly big one, and didn't get quite far enough down. It very nicely slid down between the back of my head and my regulator, and settled into the top of my BC, stinger-side to my neck and upper back. I wish I had a video of me trying to get it back out again - I'm told it was quite entertaining!

 

Another time, my DH started pointing and shaking his head at a safety stop. Of course, I turned my head to see what he was looking at, and turned face first smack into a moon jelly.

 

Oh well, it's always good to be entertaining for others.

 

Worry about the sun - it's the real enemy out there.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Wendy