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Husbandry requirements for Flamboyant cuttlefish

FuEl

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
May 16, 2012
Messages
6
Dear all,

I would like to ask some rather detailed questions regarding flamboyants. Maybe those with more experience can contribute their observations/experiences with this wonderful species?

1) Does lower temperature lead to better egg viability? I read once on the internet that a diver noticed infertile flamboyant eggs when there was a rise in the temperatures of the water. Is there any information on this lethal limit? Currently I'm keeping temperatures between 25-27 degrees celcius.

2) Is there any specific enrichment needed for adult females to produce healthier clutches? For marine fish larvae, the adult fish needs to have high DHA levels in their feed to produce healthy larvae. Does this apply to cuttlefish? I was thinking of using a hypodermic needle to inject krill oil/squid oil into gutloaded shrimp, although I'm not sure if anyone has found a need for this additional step.

3) Do the hatchlings take amphipods at all and how long does it take to initiate first feeding? I had my first hands on experience in caring for a hatchling years ago but could never get it to feed. I tried everything except mysids. I tried medium sized live brine shrimp, very small (maybe 2-3mm) shore crabs, small amphipods but it did not exhibit any hunting response.

4) How long does the female store sperm or does she even do so? I was thinking if we separated pairs & did not let them breed all the time perhaps the lifespan of the female could be increased?

5) Are flamboyant cuttlefish toxic by nature or are their toxins produced via their diet in the wild?

6) Do they maintain a fixed territory in the wild or are they just free roaming critters?


7) Do the adults eat anything else other than shrimp? I am thinking of varying their diet. I notice they ignore fish.

Thanks,
Junkai
Singapore
 
Hi fuel! Wow, singaporean with flamboyant also! Haha... How long have u been keeping flams?? I just gotten mine from lck about a month ago.. So im still learning the process... I have no prior experience in celaphods so im gonna learn alot more from u. I m currently keeping 4, and was hoping they can breed too. No, i didnt beat u to the eggs, they were given to me when i bought the flams, and they are infertile ones... Im keeping mine with the chiller set to 25, food is solely ghost shrimps. Yah i got a hard time trying to get them different food... So far i tried live mysid, which they do eat but the shrimps are really hard to keep alive... U have any suggestions as what else to feed them? I put in a few banggai cardinals and red dot cardinals... I have never seen them eat those but they are vanishing slowly... Im currently gut loading my ghost with formula flakes, shld be ok... U have kept flams and they do breed before?? Cool!
 
Flake food is very low in bioavailable nutrients due to their processing. Repashy foods have a certain aquatic gel line, which is nutritious for gutloading feeders.

I will place an order for camel/saron shrimp on a regular basis for us to use as feeders. Pmed you my contact.
 
FuEl;189324 said:
Dear all,

I would like to ask some rather detailed questions regarding flamboyants. Maybe those with more experience can contribute their observations/experiences with this wonderful species?

1) Does lower temperature lead to better egg viability? I read once on the internet that a diver noticed infertile flamboyant eggs when there was a rise in the temperatures of the water. Is there any information on this lethal limit? Currently I'm keeping temperatures between 25-27 degrees celcius.

We don't know. Currently there are two species known and they seem to come from very different temps. There are thoughts that both species go deeper for at least part of the year. The lower end of that temp range is where successful breeders have been keeping them.
We don't know is going to be a very common answer with this species as they have only recently been bred in aquaria...well only recently more than sporadically kept in aquaria. :biggrin2:

2) Is there any specific enrichment needed for adult females to produce healthier clutches? For marine fish larvae, the adult fish needs to have high DHA levels in their feed to produce healthy larvae. Does this apply to cuttlefish? I was thinking of using a hypodermic needle to inject krill oil/squid oil into gutloaded shrimp, although I'm not sure if anyone has found a need for this additional step.

We don't know. If you are feeding saltwater shrimp, that step is prolly not needed. If you are feeding FWS, I would go for it.

3) Do the hatchlings take amphipods at all and how long does it take to initiate first feeding? I had my first hands on experience in caring for a hatchling years ago but could never get it to feed. I tried everything except mysids. I tried medium sized live brine shrimp, very small (maybe 2-3mm) shore crabs, small amphipods but it did not exhibit any hunting response.

IME, amphipods are too strong for hatchling cuttles, including Metasepia. We know that mysids work so that is what I would use. Anything else is rolling the dice. Adult Brine shrimp, even enriched, have shown to be an inadequate food for cephs.

4) How long does the female store sperm or does she even do so? I was thinking if we separated pairs & did not let them breed all the time perhaps the lifespan of the female could be increased?

We don't know. Seperating and keeping them together have both been tried with roughly equal success. See - http://packedhead.net/2011/rearing-the-flamboyant-cuttlefish-not-by-rich-ross/

5) Are flamboyant cuttlefish toxic by nature or are their toxins produced via their diet in the wild?

We don't know. This article ( http://packedhead.net/2010/aquarium...feri-–-the-aptly-named-flamboyant-cuttlefish/ ) goes over part of this question. I would guess on this one though that if they are toxic, it is not diet dependent. I would treat them as if they are toxic.

6) Do they maintain a fixed territory in the wild or are they just free roaming critters?

We don't know.
Traditionally, it is thought that these guys roam the sand and muck, but the animals that have been in the trade exhibit behavior that makes me want to question this line of thought.

7) Do the adults eat anything else other than shrimp? I am thinking of varying their diet. I notice they ignore fish.

Mostly crustaceans. There are some reports that they eat a lot of stomatopods.

Welcome to TONMO!
 
Thanks Richard for your input. When you mention the lower temperature range used by successful breeders, I suppose it's below 25 degrees celcius?
 
It's been about a week of getting these magnificent animals. I'm glad the female has delivered so fast, I've been noticing her getting more plump over the last couple of days. I count an approximate no. of 10+ eggs, as the female seems to be guarding the nest somewhat I decided it was best not to disturb here too much. Here's a simple iPhone photo of her with her clutch on the rock overhang.
 

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Brent&Kitty,
Both members with flamboyants are in in Singapore.

FuEl & Slayer213 can I get you guys to edit your profiles and add your location? It is not automatic (I do wish it was) and it is helpful to locate close by members and identify distance :wink:
 
Hi DWhatley,

I've done as requested. :smile:

Anyway, here's a short video of the resident mysids in my system which I will attempt to culture in larger volumes. There seems to be more babies after I have fed more particulate foods at night. Does'nt seem cannibalistic as they live together in dark/shaded areas and only come out to forage when it's totally dark.

There's a rubber band on the petri dish for a size comparison of the adult mysids. The babies are the smaller ones darting around.

 

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