2 Nautilus for sale in DC Metro Area

[rcl]

I was at a pet store yesterday which had an insanely huge stock of SW fish/inverts/corals, although it almost looked like a wholesaler given the bad conditions for most of the specimens....

However, they had a separate several hundred gallon pond which had 2 nautilus in it. They were selling for $200 each, and were probably 60-75% the size of a soccer ball? They were moving around and seemed to be doing really well, and guy working said they were 'really big'

I know absolutely nothing about nautilus, but I don't think they are very common, and somebody here might be interested in obtaining some. If this is the case, the place to visit (or call first perhaps!) is

http://roozens.com

A direct link I just found which shows them is here --

http://roozens.com/aquaticspecials.htm

Apparantly he meant the 2 would go for $200 total? Because here it lists them for $100

The place is a nursery which also has a very large aquatics section (sw only) If you are going to make the trip you'll want to be very sure of your directions, after you get off the beltway it becomes somewhat confusing with mapquest directions


Hope this helps someone!

Robert

 

[Jean]

hmmmmmm, that's a bit of a worry, nautilus usually require specialist care!

J

 

[chrono_war01]

o..I would love to keep one..I wonder how big the tank needs to be?

 

[Infusoria]

I wonder how they got them? I really don't think the collection of Nautilus spp. for the aquarium trade should be allowed.

To me, it just seems wrong.

 

[joel_ang]

I would love to keep one too but like Matt I don't think its right for nautilus to be in the commercial aquarium trade, most people (I included) wouldn't be able to care for their needs (tank size and depth, temp...etc).

 

[rickil]

Nautilus Care

I came across a Nautilus about 8 months ago in a pet store in Milwaukee. I was there to see a baseball game, and I stumbled across a fish store. They received a Nautilus with a recent fish shipment and knew very little about them and how to care for them. (They had it living in a brightly lite, warm tank and were feeding it goldfish.) Since I usually have a spare tank set-up, I decided to purchase it. I've had great luck with it! I keep mine in a 75 gallon tank with no heater (kept in the basement at an average temp. of about 68 degrees). The tank is bare bottom for easy clean-up. The lighting consists of 1 actinic blue bulb (no bright lights). I've spoken to several people at public aquaria, and they all agree (as do I) they should be feed 3 times a week. I feed mine cut up king crab legs, and whole jumbo shrimp. Every 3rd feeding or so I leave the shell on the food (in the wind they eat the shells of lobsters as part of their diet), as well as soaking the food in vitamin supplements. On occasion I place several live ghost shrimp in the tank for it to eat. As far as the concerns of depth, Nautilus venture to the reef in the evening to feed. They are quite easily able to adjust to the shallow waters. They will 'float' in a shallow tank, but they are fully capable of controlling their swimming in a tank (as much control as a creature with one 'jet' for propulsion can have). I only have 3 cool water snails living with my Nautilus as anything else would be quickly eaten. They are not for everyone; however I think that for the right person who can provide the requirements, they make fascinating pets. I have grown quite fond of mine, and he gets very excited when I stand in front of his tank to observe him.

 

[corw314]

Wow!!! Do you have any pics of your nautilus? Our local aquarium has one and I have noticed when he knows someone is watching him more that just the quick glance, he will follow me from one end of the 55 to the other! They fascinate me!

Carol

 

[cthulhu77]

Neat...they pop up here from time to time, but are usually fairly small...maybe a bit bigger than a ping pong ball...and seem to do quite well in a cold tank. One friend kept them successfully for quite a long time.
greg

 

[Colin]

Again, they pop up here from time to time too.... But I dont have any reliable reords of longevity... expensive too.

anyone any ideas how long they can live in the wild?

 

[cthulhu77]

The ones for sale here seem to come from the Sri Lanka area (probably none this year!) and run about 50 dollars...Christian kept his for over a year, not sure exactly how many months though...
They don't interest me as much as octopus do, for some odd reason, so I have never tried...that, and Shanlyn would flip if I bought a chiller !!!
g

 

[Adiver]

thats awesome! nautilus are really cool creatures!

 

[chrono_war01]

The ones for sale here seem to come from the Sri Lanka area (probably none this year!) and run about 50 dollars...Christian kept his for over a year, not sure exactly how many months though...
They don't interest me as much as octopus do, for some odd reason, so I have never tried...that, and Shanlyn would flip if I bought a chiller !!!
g

Ah..my friend, they would've 'felt' the wave and went to deeper water before the thing came. The only main loss was the fish farms according to my dad's freinds who was there at that time. The only big "aqua' news was that a shark got washed up into a hotel's swimming pool . Dunno which country though.

By the way is anyone interested in Humbolt squid videos from National Geographic? I taped some with my digi camera last night. I don't think the NG poeple would mind if I taped it and put it up here, would they?

 

[Infusoria]

Ah..my friend, they would've 'felt' the wave and went to deeper water before the thing came. The only main loss was the fish farms according to my dad's freinds who was there at that time. The only big "aqua' news was that a shark got washed up into a hotel's swimming pool . Dunno which country though.

By the way is anyone interested in Humbolt squid videos from National Geographic? I taped some with my digi camera last night. I don't think the NG poeple would mind if I taped it and put it up here, would they?

I think National Geographic might mind... That whole pesky copyright thing. Still, I won't tell if you won't.

 

[TPOTH]

I would love to keep one too but like Matt I don't think its right for nautilus to be in the commercial aquarium trade

Same usually goes for tropical/seawater fishes and corals available in shops. IMHO the only acceptable buy is of animals bred and raised in captivity. It's common for "prospectors" to misinform the locals into depleting their reefs of exotic (read: with high commercial value) species, knowing that they pay them peanuts and of a batch of 20+ fishes perhaps 3 will survive long enough to be sold to enthusiastic aquarists. As much as bomb fishing is used by locals to get fish to eat/sell, cyanide fishing (almost as deadly to the reef as dynamite) is specifically designed for the export of live reef fishes. As much as I love "Finding Nemo", i cringe when i see that every SW tank in shops have a Nemo and a Dory... and it works!

Mmmmm... here i go again... better stop before i alienate even more people than my weekly quota allows

TPOTH

 

[DHyslop]

From my casual observations of the nautilus threads--that is, my opinion without actually investigating--it seems like success keeping them in captivity depends more upon the hardiness of the individual nautilus rather than most particulars of the aquarium environment.

Dan