cuttlefish questions

[Thales]

no one really knows for sure, but from what I have read here on tonmo, cephs dont like bright light that much, so just to play it safe, if you are going to get corals, get ones that dont need any special lighting.

Yep, that is the party line, but you cant really generalize all cephs, even more so than you can't generalize cuttles. It depends on species and where they come from. Any diurnal, warm water ceph should be able to take any light that is on wild reefs and our bulbs don't really come close to matching that.
In other words, its best to figure out the ceph you want, and build a tank, including lighting, for that animal. This really goes for any marine ornamental. This problem is people want to put everything in one tank, so they kindo look the other way at the whole issue.

 

[jamest0o0]

well I've only heard of three types of cuttlefish and the only one that doesn't take a 200g+ tank seems to be the bandesis, so that is what I was planning on.... and I don't want to add anything that will harm the cuttle....

 

[Thales]

Excellent! We are at a step change in the size of the ceph keeping population and I am hopeful that we can quelch many of the easy answer quasi generalizations that have plagued the reefing community for the past 10 years.

 

[jamest0o0]

lol okay

 

[shipposhack]

PCs will be fine. Cuttles can adapt to bright lights and will live with corals just fine. You will want to stay away from stinging LPS corals. A 75 will work for a group of Bandensis or a medium octopus.

 

[jamest0o0]

does anyone keep SPS/clams with their cuttles? supposedly they are safe to keep together, but the problem is that cuttles can be too messy of eaters for the more sensitive corals/clams to handle?

 

[Thales]

Some people do. The problem will prolly be nitrates. If you can take care of that you should be fine.

 

[jamest0o0]

well, I can always get PC lighting, get some zoas and see how it goes from there

 

[jamest0o0]

alright very stupid question ahead so be prepared.....

I plan on calling my LFS one of these days to order a tank to get started.... anyway what should I exactly ask them I want done with the tank.....by this I mean like overflows and drilling or w/e it may be, I don't know too much about "reef-ready" tanks because I rushed into my reef and never actually set up a sump or refugium, which just makes it extra work for me to clean, but besides that yeah can anyone help me with this?

 

[shipposhack]

Tell them you want a tank with built-in overflows. You will probably have to have them drill a sump for you.

 

[jamest0o0]

I plan to have my sump go skimmer-LR-pump, but how should I set up a refugium with that?

 

[jamest0o0]

also some more questions....

My plan is to get the 3month old cuttles, how often do these guys need fed?

and.... where does everyone put their powerheads in the tank? I'd imagine cuttles could easily get sucked in?

 

[Illithid]

well, I can always get PC lighting, get some zoas and see how it goes from there

I have kept Zoas, shrooms, and clams in a 30 gallon hex with a single bandensis on two seperate occasions and they have all been fine. The only problem is that I have a small metal halide, and the cuttle only comes out when only the LEDs are on, otherwise he hides in the rockwork due to the brightness.

 

[jamest0o0]

ahhh cool thanks for info....

do cuttles eat bristleworms/starfish/urchins/hermits/snails or any other parts of the CuC?

 

[shipposhack]

No. They will eat crabs that aren't hermits, shrimp, and fish. All echinoderms are safe from the cuttles; you will need to worry about things like long-spine urchins poking the cuttles though.