• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Argonauta Argonatide Noury

Joined
Dec 3, 2008
Messages
7
I just love the paper nautilus. I walk the beaches for miles seeking these beautiful shells. I find the shells of three kinds; Noury, Cornutus, and Pacificus. Most of the shells found early in the day have live eggs.

We have encountered live animals two times while cruising in the Sea of Cortez. These two were found in a small cove at Isla Partida, near La Paz.

I have a dream of capturing and keeping a paper nautilus. I will have to learn how to care for cephalopods. The aquarium will be especially difficult as it needs to be aboard a boat.
 

Attachments

  • conv_303460.jpg
    conv_303460.jpg
    55.9 KB · Views: 14
:welcome: to TONMO!

marinebio_guy kept one for a while a few years back. I'm not sure how long he managed to keep it alive, though. He had access to a marine research lab, though.
 
amateur science aboard

The Argonauta only lived 24 hours. We fed them frozen peas. The egg mass kept on hatching for several hours. The tiny hatchlings were very active.

Our cat Orbit wanted to do a taste test while Susie was watching the eggs under the microscope. Our equipment was very makeshift with a hand held flashlight illuminator, and afocal photography. Visually we saw lots of development.
 

Attachments

  • conv_293515.jpg
    conv_293515.jpg
    82.5 KB · Views: 16
  • conv_293516.jpg
    conv_293516.jpg
    59.5 KB · Views: 18
"we fed them frozen peas"

Judging by the pics this is no joke. Could you enlighten me? I am curious :wink:

For future reference:

According to Nesis (1977), the natural diet of female argonauts consists mainly of heteropods and pteropods. Robson (1932) described Argonauta spp. preying upon small fish and crustaceans. The symbiosis of juvenile argonauts with salps may also provide a food source for the cephalopod (Banas et al. 1982). During an expedition to the Philippine archipelago, an association of a female argonaut with a scyphozoan medusa was observed on 29 January 1992.

This all according to three German scientists who definitely appear to be in the know...Thomas Heeger, Uwe Piatkowski and Heino Moller from the Institut fur Meereskunde in Kiel (MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES Vol. 88: 293-296).
 
Most places in the Sea of Cortez there is copious plankton near the surface. These can clog our water maker pre-filter in a few hours. I would be a bit concerned that some of the plankton creatures might carry disease, or damage water quality. I will not be able to have much sea water exchange in the tank as the water will need to be chilled.
 
How far down do you need to go before the plankton is minimized? It would seem that a length of hose and a decent 12 volt pump with good lift might provide water that you can use without filtering if you are out away from shore (if you stay harbored most of the time, I see your point).
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top