cuttlefish from octopets..........?

[serty]

well now that octopets has cuttles i am very interested in keeping one.The article that there was a link for said that they can live in at least a 40 gallon tank.I have a 40 gallon tank with nothing in it and was hoping to get one.What do they eat? guppies?ghost shrimp? tell me antthing you can about these awsome creatures ,thanks!

 

[Nancy]

I'm sorry about that link - the Octopets cuttlefish are grow large and produce a lot of waste, they need a much larger tank than 40 gallons. Please read Colin's article (and Colin has kept this species of cuttlefish):

Cephalopod Care

Nancy

 

[Mike Bauer]

octo pets cuttlefish

Everyone, the cuttlefish from octpets are tanks raied from eggs they are a month or so old and in good health. They also ship them in a solution that sedates them so they don't ink in shipping. They offer live arrive shipping for this reason. They are going for $60.00 each plus shipping. They have been raised on guppies and crabs. www.octopets.com

 

[Andy Lister]

They may be but they still get to over 40cm in length!

They cannot be kept in a 40G tank, they ink whenever you look at them and you will need something considerably larger if you intend to keep them.

~Andy

 

[Nancy]

I didn't mean to be negative about the cuttlefish from Octopets - If you have a big tank and have a food source lined up, they can be very interesting to keep (Colin mentions this in his article, too). As yet, we've had no one keep them successfully.

This seems to be the first time they've been readily available in the U.S. I hope Octopets raises a smaller species someday.

Nancy

 

[Mike Bauer]

After 2 years of looking i found some

I am stating that the big problem that most articles state is that they wild and you don't know how old they are. I think you can get away with a 40 gal tank to start with and grow with the cuttlefish. If they start getting to big for the tank then get a bigger one. I have been looking for cuttle fish for over 2 years and they can't be found so I am going to start my 2 inch babies in a 30 gal tank and get a bigger tank when needed. Plus they are smart, they are not wild but tank raised and are willing to train their owner. If they know you they are less likely to ink unless you upset them. Big thing is OR water is a must, no copper at all in the water. If you have copper pipes you have copper in the water. DON'T use that water. I talked with octo pets today and mine will be here at 10:00 am. They are planning on having them next year also. Plus they are going at pet stores fast.

 

[Colin]

Hi all

just want to make a couple of points

When i got my cuttlefish they were from the same source as where you are getting yours from, they are from the English Channel and are NOT captive bred... you could maybe use the terminology 'captive reared' but these cuttles were shipped to the USA as eggs. And these eggs were laid by wild cuttles onto objects like lobster pots in the sea where they were collected. So they are not captve bred and that wouldnt have any affect on their smartness or their wilingness to respond.

I originally took seven newly hatched cuttles and I started them off in 30 gal tank BUT the 30 was the sump for their big tank which had already cycled and was 72x30x24 inches or approx 200gals. They were in the 30 for only about 6 weeks!!!!! Thats how fast they grow.

Fish is not the ideal diet for them, i prefer to give them crustaceans liek crabs as this is their main diet in the wild.

Keep an eye on the temperature, dont let it get much above 72 as they get stressed and ink much easier...

 

[tjohnson]

Back to the main topic off this tread, a 100-120 g tank is required for this species of cuttles; I got that info directly from Jim at Octopets.com

 

[Nancy]

We are still having discussions (and Jim and I had one today) about the size tank needed for a cuttlefish. I was taking with Jim today, and we were talking about a tank around 180 gallons.

If your cuttlefish does will, it will need a large tank like this.

Nancy

 

[Mike Bauer]

Thanks all for the information.

Sorry, I meant hatched in a tank and not in the ocean. My two are doing fine. They are starting to eat fish, shrimp and crabs. They are very shy but fun to watch. They have picked out a spot for a home and blend to match it perfectly. All you see is eyes. They come out to play from time to time. One will watch while the other plays, sometimes the go out together but they are never far apart. I have dropped $500.00 in a tanks set up for them and the Octopus and will expand when they need it. How long do you think it will take them to outgrow a 30 gal tank? I am interested in keeping track of growth and space requirements of by babies.

 

[brett]

so no one has been able to keep a cuttlefish succesfullt huh?

 

[Cephkid]

What gave you that idea? They just need a really big tank.

 

[Colin]

I had mine from 1/2" hatchlings right up to 10 - 12" adults

 

[cthulhu77]

yeah, it seems the big tank is what you need...Colin, are you able to collect seawater for water changes, or do you have to mix it?

 

[oscar]

as collin said, his outgrew the smaller tank in 6 weeks

they grow very fast especially after hatching so there is no point in buying lots of various sized tanks

many people have been successfull in raising cuttlefish and even breedingthem - talk to righty and watch his videos