Flamboyant cuttlefish aggression or mating

[Tomh]

Hi I was supposed to get 2 cuttlefish but one was back ordered. I received the second one a week later but I am seeing some odd behavior towards the new one. I had 2 of them about a year ago that were fine together for almost a year but I put them in together. Here is a video of behavior. Is this aggression? Thanks

Tom's Video

• tonmo
• Mar 4, 2019
• 1
• tom hlavac

is this mating or aggression?

 

[tonmo]

Hi Tom, can you try uploading that again? It seems it's a .mov file but it downloads as an .mp4... I can't get it to render correctly

 

[Tomh]

Trying video again

 

[tonmo]

I'm not sure what the problem is; I can't seem to get it to work. I have confirmed I can upload .MOV files myself. I'm sorry for the troubles on this -- I'd really like to see!

 

[tonmo]

Update: I was able to add it to the Photos/Videos gallery, and I embedded it to your original post.

 

[tonmo]

...looks like mating to me, FWIW. Great capture!

 

[Tomh]

Thanks lets try again

...looks like mating to me, FWIW. Great capture!

Really that would be great. If so the large one is the female that I just introduced right? Wouldn’t they be a little small for mating since males get to be 3 inches and the females grow to 5? Thanks for your help. Tom

 

[tonmo]

I'll yield to resident experts, like @Thales, but 3 and 5 respectively do seem large; I imagine they do mate at smaller sizes... I'm not sure that interaction was long enough to deliver the goods, but maybe... I don't have enough direct experience observing this to confirm, but we do have those folks in the community.

 

[Tomh]

Ok thanks

 

[Tomh]

Any experts?

 

[tonmo]

an expert's response (@mucktopus) to my tweet of this thread

https://twitter.com/x/status/1103384203167641600

 

[Tomh]

Hi could use some help!!! Possibly dealing with a pregnant flamboyant!! She has been making a small hole in sand. Eat yesterday but not today only the male ate. I read about putting a half a coconut in tank for her to lay her eggs but no coconuts in my area. They have only been together for one week is it too soon? Can anyone give some insight as to what steps I should take? Or point me in right direction. I know I need to get live mysid shrimp for if and when they hatch. I may also be getting ahead of myself just want to be prepared. Thanks

 

[tonmo]

Hey Tom, how is this going? Different species here, but excerpt from this article by @Thales:

If you have a cuttlefish that lays eggs, leave them where they are until they start to inflate. Then you can carefully remove them from whatever they have been laid on by removing the 'stalk' of the bunch of grapes from its point of attachment and move the eggs to a net breeder or other hatching container (avoid moving them close to hatching, because it can be stressful) (Image 12 and 13). It would be even safer for the eggs if you were able to move them by moving whatever it is that they are attached to, or you could suspend the eggs in the middle of the water column via monofilament or bent rigid airline tubing. Keep a gentle water flow over the eggs and remove any eggs that fail to mature. Make sure to cover any filter/pump intake with a filter sponge, or simply use an airpump for water motion.

Keeping and Breeding Dwarf Cuttlefish (Sepia Bandensis Care)

Guide to keeping Sepia bandensis cuttlefish in aquariums

www.tonmo.com