Hello I'm thinking about getting a Cuttlefish

[Trinkuh]

Hi my name is Trinkuh i'm a stay at home mom from Ohio. I've own many different odd pets over the year..including my pet turkey who thinks he is a dog...a lap dog XD...i've had a few take over the years but never salt water due to never being able to pick what i would want more lol. I've always loved looking at Cuttlefish in the zoo...they just have such cute faces! I have been read some info on the net about getting a pet one over the last week and would really like input from those who have owned one before or know more about them than me.

I would like to know what species would be good for a first time owner?
Also how many?
What tank size and gear would i need?
And living in ohio would feeding it ghost shrimp and ghost crabs work or would you reckamend something else?

 

[sirreal]

Welcome and enjoy. I have not kept cuttles before so I will let someone else answer. I will say your best setting up a tank ready for a reef. IMO In other words set up a system that you could keep corals and fish. There is a lot of info out there on keeping a reef. If your set up for a reef then I think keeping cuttles will be possible. I keep 4 reefs and one is my octopus system. When I have no octopus then its just a reef instead of a box of rock and water. Again just my opinion but with the time it takes to get it ready and how short there life span is more then 50% of the time the tank is empty. Plus if you keep a reef then you know everything is good enough for a ceph as far as water quality and such.

 

[DWhatley]

@Trinkuh!
@sirreal 's suggestion is a great one. It takes time for a saltwater tank to mature and to learn to keep the environment. By setting up and learning to keep a simple reef system (roughly a year from start to something that looks pleasing) you will keep your costs down and successes up.

There is only one species of cuttlefish, Sepia bandensis, that is commonly available to the hobbyist. Typically they are purchased as eggs, raised on live mysis for at least a month and then slowly converted to either live shrimp and crabs or frozen foods (usually some form of shrimp). Buying the eggs is the least expensive part of trying to raise them. They only live about a year but a few members have been able to raise a second generation. If you have both a male and a female in the tank, they will mate and lay eggs, however the success with captive bred is very limited where first generation success from egg is usually successful.

The Ceph Care section in Articles will help you begin to get a feel for what is involved as well as teaching you a little about cuttlefish.

 

[cuttlegirl]

I'm one state over in Pennsylvania... I'm not sure where you are located in Ohio but often there are local aquarium clubs where people meet once a month or so to learn more about the hobby. Also, find a good local aquarium store - where you can ask lots of questions.

You could also volunteer at a local zoo/aquarium to gain some experience with salt water.

 

[Trinkuh]

I'm about hour away from pittsburgh

 

[tonmo]

Welcome, @Trinkuh! As mentioned above, we have some great articles contributed over the years, and as you've probably seen, many years of forum posts on cuttlefish keeping which can offer you a lot of insights. Feel free to start new threads with any questions you have as well.