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OHMYGODSOCOOL!!! I think cuttlefish are among the coolest of the cool.
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Righty, did I tell you that we actually breed those things here? You wouldn't believe how much mysid those babies can go through.
What are they being fed now? Dead shrimp?
What temp is the tank at?
Which species is that? Hard to tell from the photo... looks like juvie S. officinalis.
Watch out if they start to mate. When the males fertilize, the females bolt backwards and almost inevitably run into the tank sides, which can give them a nasty bacterial infection at the tip of the mantle.
What are they being fed now? Dead shrimp?
What temp is the tank at?
Which species is that? Hard to tell from the photo... looks like juvie S. officinalis.
Watch out if they start to mate. When the males fertilize, the females bolt backwards and almost inevitably run into the tank sides, which can give them a nasty bacterial infection at the tip of the mantle.
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You breed them you bastard! When these die you will be getting a PM from me!
I think its either sepia bandensis or officinalis. I think officinalis, but I cant find any pics.
They ate a couple of goldfish at the LFS, and tomorrow I am gonna try some ghost shrimp. The tank is 78.
I am not sure if I have two males or one of each. I may be seperating them. I would really like to breed them at some point.
Any tips?
I think its either sepia bandensis or officinalis. I think officinalis, but I cant find any pics.
They ate a couple of goldfish at the LFS, and tomorrow I am gonna try some ghost shrimp. The tank is 78.
I am not sure if I have two males or one of each. I may be seperating them. I would really like to breed them at some point.
Any tips?
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I think if they are 2-4" they could be either. Out of the two, S. officinalis is the only one being commercially cultured. However, if its imported, my guess would be S. bandensis, because I think its the only species really imported in the US (from Bali, with a horrible record I might add).
Surefire ways to tell: If they are S. officinalis, they will grow quickly (and to about 12-14") and both sexes will develop brown/umber zebra stripes that will generally show when they are relaxed. The mantle will be smooth almost all the time. If they are S. bandensis, they are adult size at 4-6" and will retain a generally mottled patterning, with fleshy spines covering the mantle.
There isn't a way to tell sexes apart in either species that I know of. If they are male and female, you'll know when they become sexually active; they will always be all over the place. Thats when you should separate them unless you want to try to deal with a clutch (feeding them is $$$$$$).
To be honest, I hope it turns out that they are S. bandensis, and you get them to do well: this is quite a rare feat. My gut is telling me they are S. bandensis simply because you got them from an LFS, they haven't yet developed striping, and they are active and eating at 78 F.
Regarding temps, if it is S. officinalis, its natural range is European waters, with the high end of its temp tolerance in mid 70s F. Remember: cooler end of their tolerance = longer lifespan.
78 sounds perfect for S. bandensis.
They should grab ghost shrimp without any hesitation, and I mean really nail them with conviction. Remember, Cephalopods have a lot of muscle, a fast metabolism, and a closed circulatory system with three extremely muscular hearts: they eat a lot. 1-2 shrimp a day (one in the morning, one at night) each at least.
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I'll try to take some pics of our four week old S. officinalis when I'm at the lab on Saturday. :wink:
Very, very, very cool, Righty. I want to come see next time I'm in the BA!
You might ask Dr. James Wood for an ID. He can be reached at [email protected]
Check out this article too http://www.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/cuttle4.html
Have you seen the group of cuttles at the Monterey Bay Aquarium?
You might ask Dr. James Wood for an ID. He can be reached at [email protected]
Check out this article too http://www.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/cuttle4.html
Have you seen the group of cuttles at the Monterey Bay Aquarium?
Thanks!
Dr Wood wrote me back and wasn't much help, he admits that. He would need to cut one up to id it. Super nice guy, though.
One of them ate tonight. Fuzzbutt and I collected some crabs from the bay nearby, and one of the exploded into action. Really. Cant even discribe it. Hopefully, both of them will start eating regularly, and I will get some video of them.
I think they are badensis. I am so freakin thrilled.
Dr Wood wrote me back and wasn't much help, he admits that. He would need to cut one up to id it. Super nice guy, though.
One of them ate tonight. Fuzzbutt and I collected some crabs from the bay nearby, and one of the exploded into action. Really. Cant even discribe it. Hopefully, both of them will start eating regularly, and I will get some video of them.
I think they are badensis. I am so freakin thrilled.
Righty":zpdxtikh said:
How about an update? Everyone eating yet?
Isn't their strike otherworldly? One of the fastest body motions in the Animal kingdom.
Jim is definitely enthusiastic about trying to help when it comes to this, he knows his stuff for sure and was essential in helping us get started.
The update is mixed.
They displayed at each other constantly, never really comming to blows, but close. By thier displays I think they are both males.
I fed them ghost shrimp yesterday morning. Only the smaller one ate.
I collected some crabs for them last nigt, and only the smaller one ate. The attack was unbelievable. It involved a flip and at turn and a sighting from above and a strike ALL SO FAST.
I didn't feed them this morning.
Tonight the bigger one was draging a tentacle - not an are, one of the striking tentacles that is like a chamelon tongue (that is a lot of tricky words to spell, hope I got 'em) - which looked chewed up. I dropped in some ghost shrimp and the smaller on was all over it. The larger one was uninterested.
So, I seperated them with a divider of eggcrate, and we will see how it goes. The positive side of me hopes they are male and female and the female was injured during mating. The negitive side of me thinks I am gonna lose one any day, but remains hopeful the smaller one will hang around for a while.
But hey, I knew the perils of trying to keep a poorly shippable, short lived animals in the first place.
Whatever happens, I think it is worth it to have these guys around. Coolest thing ever. Makes my angler look like a puss.
:mrgreen:
They displayed at each other constantly, never really comming to blows, but close. By thier displays I think they are both males.
I fed them ghost shrimp yesterday morning. Only the smaller one ate.
I collected some crabs for them last nigt, and only the smaller one ate. The attack was unbelievable. It involved a flip and at turn and a sighting from above and a strike ALL SO FAST.
I didn't feed them this morning.
Tonight the bigger one was draging a tentacle - not an are, one of the striking tentacles that is like a chamelon tongue (that is a lot of tricky words to spell, hope I got 'em) - which looked chewed up. I dropped in some ghost shrimp and the smaller on was all over it. The larger one was uninterested.
So, I seperated them with a divider of eggcrate, and we will see how it goes. The positive side of me hopes they are male and female and the female was injured during mating. The negitive side of me thinks I am gonna lose one any day, but remains hopeful the smaller one will hang around for a while.
But hey, I knew the perils of trying to keep a poorly shippable, short lived animals in the first place.
Whatever happens, I think it is worth it to have these guys around. Coolest thing ever. Makes my angler look like a puss.
:mrgreen:
This is a pretty bad sign. I think separating was the best thing you could have done. Sounds like aggresion more than mating, but its still a possibility. How long are they (overall length)?
The only time I have ever seen them fail to eat in a mating situation is when they are ready to lay. They will usually eat even after mating or during periods where pre-mating aggression is present, but I imagine if she did get beat up, it is possible.
If it was mating, watch out for the tip of the mantle to become infected with what looks like a cottony mass. This is from running into tank walls during fertilization, and is moderately common.
If the "female" pulls through and starts to lay, you'll have to be in touch so I can walk you through rearing them.
Good luck
wow cool Righty!
IMO it looks like S. officinalis but i wish i m wrong because they get huge and they need a huge tank. If bigger one dont eat, you can try hermits because i guess shrimp or other crabs will hide immediately but a hermit will always be around so hermits are more attractive. I sometimes see officinalis when i dive and they dont like rocks very much but very fine sand to burrow themselfs and sea grass to hide in.
IMO it looks like S. officinalis but i wish i m wrong because they get huge and they need a huge tank. If bigger one dont eat, you can try hermits because i guess shrimp or other crabs will hide immediately but a hermit will always be around so hermits are more attractive. I sometimes see officinalis when i dive and they dont like rocks very much but very fine sand to burrow themselfs and sea grass to hide in.
Another mixed update.
Woke up this morning to an inky tank. Not too bad, but once you have see ink you know it. Did a 50% waterchange (giant benifit to having another system that is large - aged water change water always ready to go!), and they took it well. The smaller one ate a ghost shrimp, the larger one didn't. Came home from a frag swap 5 hours later, and the larger one didn't look too good, his arms weren't closed and they looked dangly. The smaller one at a crab - shockingly fast - and did the two top arms up hunting behaviour. Freakin' cool. About an hour later, I went in to check on them and damn, another inking. Small one looks good (still eying the leftover crab legs). Large one, cant find him. Ah, there he is, laying listless against the teeth of the overflow. I tap him, and swims slowly and crazily around the tank. I reach in, pick him up, and he just lays there. I euthenized him. Sad.
Took out the divider, did another 50% water change, and I feel ok, because the small one seems to be doing well.
Woke up this morning to an inky tank. Not too bad, but once you have see ink you know it. Did a 50% waterchange (giant benifit to having another system that is large - aged water change water always ready to go!), and they took it well. The smaller one ate a ghost shrimp, the larger one didn't. Came home from a frag swap 5 hours later, and the larger one didn't look too good, his arms weren't closed and they looked dangly. The smaller one at a crab - shockingly fast - and did the two top arms up hunting behaviour. Freakin' cool. About an hour later, I went in to check on them and damn, another inking. Small one looks good (still eying the leftover crab legs). Large one, cant find him. Ah, there he is, laying listless against the teeth of the overflow. I tap him, and swims slowly and crazily around the tank. I reach in, pick him up, and he just lays there. I euthenized him. Sad.
Took out the divider, did another 50% water change, and I feel ok, because the small one seems to be doing well.
Righty":53jukjqu said:
Sorry about the big one, but it's fantastic to hear the little guy/gal is doing so well. They will imprint like crazy, and may even start putting up the top arms and crossing them when you come around. This is generally seen as a recognizing signal.
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