My cuttlefish adventure.

[Mike Bauer]

How are they doing? no updates.

 

[Kerrick]

They are doing well. I have seen all but 2 of them eat. Even those are showing hunting behaviour but they still seem a bit scared of the mysis. I am basically out of Mysis as of today... Fed the last 9 this morning. I have 300 that will be here tomorrow but the Mail usually comes after 3:00 so they may be going a while without food. I hate it, but I had some die off on the last shipment. Luckily Paul Sachs is a great guy and he is replacing the order for me.

You really don't realize how big of an issue food is untill these little pigs are gobbling down $20+ a week. Not to mention keeping the food alive! Its all worth it though!

I will try and post some video of them hunting mysis tomorrow if I can figure out tonmo's video hosting...

I also recently bought a couple of Sarcophytons because they look so cool in some of the videos Thales posted from the Aquarium. I'll add pics of them as well.

 

[Mike Bauer]

Not sure how to do the video thing on here myself yet, but someone will post pointer if you ask for help. Glad to hear all is going well. Paul is a great person to order from and will have the other foods you will need when they get bigger. The shrimp and crabs will go fast as well, they do love to eat and will beg for food. I like the strange and unusual, that is why I have a 1/2 bobcat as a pet. I have kept them for 35 years.

 

[CaptFish]

I will try and post some video of them hunting mysis tomorrow if I can figure out tonmo's video hosting...

Unfortunately that feature is not support on the sight right now. The best thing to do is use Youtube or a similar sight.
Once the video is on youtube, you copy the direct link: which will look like this

then back on TONMO click the button that looks like a little film strip and paste the link where its indicated. press OK and it will embed the video on TONMO.

 

[Thales]

You really don't realize how big of an issue food is untill these little pigs are gobbling down $20+ a week. Not to mention keeping the food alive! Its all worth it though!

Right on! It seems like no matter how many time you say 'the eat way more than you think', that idea just doesn't come across without direct experience!

 

[Kerrick]

Update: So all of the hatchlings seem to be doing well. There are still 1 or 2 that I have not seen eat but I think its more because they are still small and shy. When I open the lid to the tank they swim to the chaeto and hide whereas the others keep swimming around.

Feeding schedule. So I started out feeding about 10 mysids a day once they started eating. I fed 5 in the morning and 5 at night. Since then, every other day or so I feed an extra five to the point where now I feed 20 in the morning and 25 at night. The last two times I fed they have been very active and wait for me to put the mysids in then pounce on them immediatly. I am going to start adding a feeding or two during the day. Not sure exactly, but tomorrow I will probably feed 10 mysids in the middle of the day as a snack in between breakfast and dinner.

Hopefully I am not overfeeding but they seem to be growing very fast now. The largest one is about 1/2 inch from tenticles to cuttlebone.

I plan to try small shore shrimp for the largest one in a couple of days. I would like to move him to a clear breeder though so I have to figure out how to transfer him first.

 

[Mike Bauer]

Are they still in breeder nets or free in the tank now? I wouldn't bring it up out of the water, do everything inside the tank. Put the clear breeder in the tank, sink it, carefully net the one you want to move, while still under the water place it in the new net and then bring it up to fill the sides with air. But that is just me Fear is never Boring.

 

[Kerrick]

Sounds like good advice. I just need to find a smaller fish net. No everyone is still in the original net breeder.

I just want to start seperating them as I have read several incedents on here of the large hatchlings going cannabalistic. This is probably just from not enough food but you can never be too safe.

I'm also doing it so that I can feed the small cuttles mysis and the large cuttles shore shrimp. It will kinda be a graduation ceremony. Once they can take down a small shore shrimp, they go to the clear breeder.

 

[Mike Bauer]

Read about the shrimp, I recall something bout pinching off the sharp nose to protect the fish from harm. Not sure it was on Paul's web page One word of advice, often our customers break off their rostrum (point on the nose) to prevent it from getting stuck in your fish's throat if the fish is in the 2+-" range." Not sure you need to do this with cuttlefish.

 

[Kerrick]

A pic. I took this morning.

 

[Kerrick]

So they are all eating mysis. This morning the big one took a small 1/2 inch shore shrimp. I shall name him Spartacus.

 

[asid61]

So in 3 weeks they have begun to eat shore shrimp?
That's fast.

 

[Kerrick]

It is. They grow larger after every feeding. I am basically working under the assumption that you can't overfeed them. This may be wrong but I have been steadily increasing their food every day. Today for example They got 50 mysis and two small shore shrimp.

I bought a small net and I am planning to transfer Spartacus to the clear breeder tomorrow. I am just hoping I don't hurt him. I feel that he is a huge pig however and this will allow me to feed more mysis to the smaller cuttles that still need them.

I am going to try and catch him in a shot glass. Mike's idea of catching him in a net and lowering the netbreeder so I don't have to take him out of the water seems like a good idea. But most of the smaller cuttles like to hang out around the top of the net on those green posts and I am concerned they will escape.

Still working on video as well... maybe tomorrow.

 

[Mike Bauer]

I used a large glad plastic container (2 quart tub) to day. I took the top off the tank sank the tub under the net and lifted it out of the tank and placed it on the counter while I did a water change on the main tank and cleaned the glass and sand. After the filter cleared the water up 5 to 10 min, I sunk the tub back in the tank and slowly let the water mix back in around the net. I then turned the net on it side and let the cuttlefish swim in the floating tub while I cleaned the floating breeder net. I then sunk the net and poured the tub out into the breeder net until the cuttlefish were back in the original container. You can do all of this just under the surface of the water without them escaping or pulling them out of the water in a net. More work but I think it is less stress on them; again that is just me.

Note the glad plastic tub was about the size of a shoebox, you can get them at the store in the food storage are for about $2.00

 

[Mike Bauer]

Any problems with the move? Hope all is well?