A little introduction first. I've been keeping freshwater aquaria for ten years. Over the last two years, I've also started keeping brackish water. I've got four 20-gallon freshwater tanks and a 29-gallon brackish tank. I've never wanted to "mess with" saltwater... until today.
I met a cuttlefish at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga today, and I fell in love. I'm amazed by how intelliigent and communicative they are. The pharaoh cuttlefish I met was responding to my hand gestures, changing colors to get my attention, "dancing" in front of me. He was wonderful! I've now decided to save up to get myself a cuttlefish. I'm assuming it'll be roughly an $800 start-up cost if I'm going to start with a 200-gallon tank (the minimum, if I understand correctly). I could have that within a few months.
Anyway-- I need some serious help and don't know where to start. Can someone answer these questions, possibly with links?
1. I understand that cuttlefish only live about a year. Have you cuttlefish keepers had a hard time handling this emotionally? I can lose a betta or a tetra and not sweat it, but these critters are so sentient that I imagine I'll have trouble coping with their short life spans. Has this held anyone else back from keeping them?
2. I'd like to start with eggs. How hard is it to do this?
3. What's the best species to keep? Which are the least demanding? Which live the longest?
4. I raise feeder mollies for my puffers. Are these a good choice for cuttlefish? I also raise crickets. Will cuttlefish go for those? Will they eat frozen food or do they insist on food that's still wriggling?
5. Tell me about dwarf varieties. Could I keep those in a relatively small tank (maybe 55 gallons)?
6. Water parameters-- what specific gravity do most cuttlefish need? Can any live in brackish water? How sensitive are they to nitrates? Ammonia?
7. Given a cuttlefish's naturally short life span, what do most keepers do when their cepholo-pals die? Start with new eggs/babies?
8. What about tank set-up? Lighting? Rocks? Special substrate requirements.
I'm sure this has all been discussed somewhere. Feel free to provide links with answers to any questions not answered elsewhere.
I met a cuttlefish at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga today, and I fell in love. I'm amazed by how intelliigent and communicative they are. The pharaoh cuttlefish I met was responding to my hand gestures, changing colors to get my attention, "dancing" in front of me. He was wonderful! I've now decided to save up to get myself a cuttlefish. I'm assuming it'll be roughly an $800 start-up cost if I'm going to start with a 200-gallon tank (the minimum, if I understand correctly). I could have that within a few months.
Anyway-- I need some serious help and don't know where to start. Can someone answer these questions, possibly with links?
1. I understand that cuttlefish only live about a year. Have you cuttlefish keepers had a hard time handling this emotionally? I can lose a betta or a tetra and not sweat it, but these critters are so sentient that I imagine I'll have trouble coping with their short life spans. Has this held anyone else back from keeping them?
2. I'd like to start with eggs. How hard is it to do this?
3. What's the best species to keep? Which are the least demanding? Which live the longest?
4. I raise feeder mollies for my puffers. Are these a good choice for cuttlefish? I also raise crickets. Will cuttlefish go for those? Will they eat frozen food or do they insist on food that's still wriggling?
5. Tell me about dwarf varieties. Could I keep those in a relatively small tank (maybe 55 gallons)?
6. Water parameters-- what specific gravity do most cuttlefish need? Can any live in brackish water? How sensitive are they to nitrates? Ammonia?
7. Given a cuttlefish's naturally short life span, what do most keepers do when their cepholo-pals die? Start with new eggs/babies?
8. What about tank set-up? Lighting? Rocks? Special substrate requirements.
I'm sure this has all been discussed somewhere. Feel free to provide links with answers to any questions not answered elsewhere.