Hello from California!

[cuttlefishlabs]

I'm bad at introductions, but might as well say hello! I've been enchanted by cephalopods for my entire life, spurred on by frequent visits to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and tide-pooling excursions with my father as a child. Now I'm a student studying biological systems engineering, and I've been spending my free time building systems to house increasingly finicky living things in my apartment (such as a hydroponic tomato growing in my closet).
Keeping one of these gorgeous creatures is like a dream for me, and the challenge associated only makes me more excited. Please be patient with me as I dip my toes in the water here; I have only owned freshwater fish in the past, though I do have some transferable knowledge from maintaining hydroponics systems. I am going to slowly begin the process of setting up a saltwater aquarium, with the goal of eventually owning a few Sepia bandensis. Sensing and automation is a major interest of mine, so I will be sure to share any things I develop on that front as I work on this project. I'm excited to speak with you all more!

 

[Deleted member 14033]

Welcome!
Good luck on your journey. Consider an octopus first. They are less work. Might give you practice before going with cuttles. With cuttles you have to hatch, start out with live food. Which can be expensive, But being close to an ocean could help there.
Look up "Advances in laboratory culture of octopus for biomedical research" Hanlon and Forsythe.
It has good information on keeping octopus. I am pretty sure the same techniques can be used for other cephs as well. Squid need round syestems though.

 

[cuttlefishlabs]

Welcome!
Good luck on your journey. Consider an octopus first. They are less work. Might give you practice before going with cuttles. With cuttles you have to hatch, start out with live food. Which can be expensive, But being close to an ocean could help there.
Look up "Advances in laboratory culture of octopus for biomedical research" Hanlon and Forsythe.
It has good information on keeping octopus. I am pretty sure the same techniques can be used for other cephs as well. Squid need round syestems though.

Thank you so much for the paper suggestion, that's some incredibly helpful information! Octopuses seem like an excellent option, but I was under the impression that they had more stringent setup requirements than cuttlefish. Is that not the case?

 

[Deleted member 14033]

Octopus are troopers. As long as you get a healthy one, preferably a young one. The are pretty easy. Just basic filtration, a protein skimmer, basic lighting.

Now I have never owned cuttlefish. I have read into it a little. The thing with cuttles is the hatchlings. You have to start with live food then get them to other food. You could start a culture of mysis that way you have food ready if you do decide the cuttle route. You can google information for that.

My understanding is that culture system talked about is useful for cephalopods as a whole. Modifications would be made depending on what ceph it is.