• 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.

Cuttle cut...

Joined
Jun 10, 2003
Messages
16
my cuttle fish jetted under a small cave in my live rock. it now has a 2cm long cut on its back on its back near the rear end. Im worried that it might get infected. is there aniway to prevent this from happening :?:
 
Due to in-fighting my cuttles received several scars... they do fade with time and i never had a problem with fungus. Remember that fungi are a secondary infection and that as long as the tank and cuttle are in good nick that it shouldn't be a problem.

Also, I'd rearrange/remove the offending item as it will no doubt happen again.
 
I can say that I seen a cuttle 'get over' butt burn but i wouldn't say it healed. it was always very visible, and this was the first of mine that got cannbalised when they got a bit more territorial. basicly, it didnt look so bad after a while but was still quite visible.

Also, I think that one of the problems with cuttles is that they can get stressed and show it more visibly than octopus do. Especially in higher water temperatures and sudden movements/noises.

This is why i wont get any more cuttle (S. officinalis) until i have a plastic/fibreglass pond for them with a diameter of about 6 feet and depth of at least 3 feet. They need lots of room and cool water.

Just keep the lights dim and make sure there are no external bumps etc

good luck

C
 
Delurk...

A friend of mine has a reef tank and is very well acquainted with the owner of the best LFS in town. The LFS owner recently got a shipment of this magnetic tube that tank water flows through and has gotten terrific results with it. I'm not sure how it works, but it definitely has helped speed up the healing process in her hospital tank. The supplier of said magnetic tubes asked her to do an experiment with it & had her promise not to do any water changes on that tank. There is a tang in there that got a good chunk bitten out of it, and should've died, but a month later, you can't even tell where he got bit. :o The LFS owner said that the tank water is in great shape and hasn't needed to do a water change in months.

If anyone is interested in brand name, what it's called, etc., I can ask my friend.

Shannen
 
Hi Shannen,

Hmm....magnetic tube....sounds like those magnetic bracelets that claim to cure all ills! But the tang testimony sounded good. Ya pray tell more on that please.

LS
 
Cephalopod wounds and infections have been successfully treated in my lab and the NRCC by injecting food items with a few ccs of chloromycetin HCL. Some vets have a form of Chloromycetin for cats, but the kind you need to get comes in an injection vial as a powder that you add purified water to. Trouble is, this stuff isn't easy to come by. You will have to convince a veterinarian to write a prescription (or possibly order it for you) and then the trick is finding a pharmacy that can get it- the only one in my area (Suburban Washington DC) was a hospital. I found working the Jedi Mind Trick on my Veterinarian was easy- she was more than delighted to add an octopus to her dossier of patients.

For butt burn it worked like a charm. The gaping gash never healed up, but the infection was halted and the cuttle lived out a reasonably normal life. Cuttlfish in captivity are also prone to a cateract-like infection of the eye, which eventually leads to blindness. Cholormycetin will slow the advance of the infection, but can't seem to stop it. I had a cuttle lose sight in one eye, which severely affected it's depth perception. For the last couple month of it's life, that particular cuttlefish had to be handed it's food. It couldn't target even a dead, frozen shrimp lying on the sand.

At the NRCC, I understand that often important project animals are commonly prophylactically protected against infection with this medication.

Good Luck! Jimbo
 
Thanks, Jimbo, you've provided us with some very useful information. This is the first time I've heard of this medication being used, and I'll try to find out more about it's use at the NRCC and report back.

Nancy
 
Okay, the magnetic tube thingy is called an eco aqualizer. It's pretty new, here's the link:

ecoaqualizer.com - Registered at Namecheap.com

The guy marketing them has had mixed reviews, but a couple of the folks I have talked with think they work.

One thing tho, if you install it, you need to monitor your water quality pretty closely, because it increases the efficacy of additives. My friend with a reef tank had a pH spike because he forgot to adjust his calcium reactor when he installed the ecoaqualizer.

Here is a link to reefcentral's discussion on it:

Reef Central Online Community

Hope this helps,
Shannen
 

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