Possible Officianalis Availability..

[Paradox]

Hello,

As many of you know a member of Tonmo has decided to start a Ceph Cultururing business stated in his post at http://www.tonmo.com/community/index.php?threads/7589/

This is good news not just for the octo world but for cuttles as well. Since octopets closing, sepia officianlis, the common european cuttlefish has been completely unavailable to the US. Ive been seeking this species since octopets closure and was exited about the possibility of getting one again.

There is however a catch...The minimum order for shipping these eggs over is 100. So far about 22 have designated homes if this order is processed.

This post is to determine if there is sufficient interest to meet the minimum order size to bring this species back into the US.

Details:
-When end of June early July
-Price: 15-20 dollars per egg + shipping.

If you are not familiar with cuttlefish or this species, It is highly recommended that you do as much research as possible prior to deciding on this purchase.

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cuttlefishcare.php is a good article.


Although the artical states 200 gallons is neccessary, otopets quoted 125 as minimum.

My experience has found that when young up until 6 months, a 55 was more then enough room. After this, I had it transfered to a 90 gallon tank which it lived until 8-9 months where it died of mysterious circumstances (My guess was skimmer malfunction). It was 7 inches or so at this time.

Although I have not personally kept one to full adulthood, A close friend raised officianalis young to a mature age(from octopets) in a 135 rather successfully.

(I know this may cause the "You can do it, but is it wise" argument) Maybe someone with much more experience with adult officianlais can chime in.

There are many differences with this species then Sepia bandensis, which is occasionally available in the US. Ive kept both species

-Officianalis get much larger. Adults can be over a foot.
-Officianalis enjoy cooler temperatures.
-Officianalis is much more personable that Bandensis (Main reason why I prefer this species)
-More brilliant and dramatic color changing patterns.

Basic Requirements:
-Large tank required for adults. At around 8 months they will require a 125 or higher.
-Cooler temperatures preffered. (Low to mid 70s) Higer temps will shorten life span.
-Young require live food until 2-3 months you can ween them onto dried/dead. (Check for local free sources if you live near water or have bait shops with live foods)

Ok the fun part...Here are some random videos.

One of my older ones as an adolescent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Xp2OK-cxE

Found on You-tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGF1uDeBDWM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-DusaSVHmM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9lC7U37Wjo


Ok, so if your interested and are serious about it, please respond here..
Of course priority would goto people looking to purchase larger amounts or attempt to breed.
Thanks!

 

[Michael Blue]

I've been looking at 150g tanks, and have also been considering the costs involved with these. This species would be my first choice, if money were no object, but I'm unsure who among us could actually afford to feed these.
As much as I would love to jump in and order 6 or so and try breeding them, I think I could only afford to keep 1, if I were keeping it to adulthood.
I'll have to get back to you when I know more...

 

[mrk360]

Paradox,
I am seriously interested in keeping Cuttlefish Sepia come June or July. I would be interested in obtaining one, or maybe even more. I tried PMing you but your storage was full, PM me whenever you get a chance so we can talk about the details.

 

[Paradox]

AS I feared, there seems to be little interest. Ill keep looking around though. I guess theres not many people with 125+ gallon tanks sitting around waiting for cuttlefish

If you are interested and want this shipment to go through, please see if you can stir up some interest in your local area. This could reduce your shipping costs as well. I am going to contact some LFS to see if they are interested or have any leads.

 

[Bob the kracken]

it's unlikely, but my friend's dad breeds a large speicies of cuttlefish that may be officialalis. i don't know if he ships

 

[Colin]

Have you tried Richard Stride for cuttle eggs? that was who i originally got mine from in 2000. I know he has shipped to the states a few times... what about all the permits etc?

I am due to get eggs again in a couple weeks time but only a half dozen and this time I am keeping them in the garage where the temperature will not go above mid 60s. Right now it is low 50s, such is the Scottish weather!

The 200 gal suggestion is my own and I still stick to that. Remember they can reach up to 45cm total length in the wild and that they can take fright and hurt themselves in the process.

I don't think i measured it when it died but the largest male was going on a foot if memory serves right and that was not quite a year from hatching.

I hope enough of you will band together and get them going again in the USA... get them breeding!!!

 

[Paradox]

Hey Colin Thanks for chiming in! Ill definetly look into Richard Stride as a possible source for I have been able to find interest, but every individual or store I talk to would only want a few,which still does not make up 100 eggs!

It would be great to have a basement or garage to keep a nice cool tank. Especially one in Scotland! Mid 60s is probably an unrealistic goal for me. Im shooting for low Lower 70s. If my tank design at the moment doesnt reach it, I have a lot of ideas that can hopefully squeeze out a few degrees. An evaporation tower perhaps...

I have a 150 in the works with a size of 72" x 19" x 24 and a 30-40 gallon sump. Im guessing this will suffice with the idea that I will most likely not be able to keep one as long as you due to a slightly accelerated life with water temp being at 70 degrees. Ill never know for sure unless I just do it!

 

[Colin]

Let me know if you want his details, I can phone him and set the scene if you like? What source did you have in mind, UK? Mine are coming from a public aquarium in Ireland. They are in fact related to the ones I had a few years back and when i thinned out my lot some went to this aquarium. They may be F4 I think? Although they also get extra wilds from time to time, nice thought though.

My tank was 72" long x30 front to back and 24 high with a sump refugium and octo tank all plumbed in. The filter was wet/dry and had an aquamedic baby skimmer. The cuttles really need a large surface area and so what I did was to build a shelf in the tank...

It was a 48x15 panel of glass siliconed in about 6 inches above the base of the tank at the back in the middle and therefore increased surface area by quite a bit. The surface was covered with sand and small rocks which made the cave underneath quie dark and the cuttles would often lie in there.... just a thought for you

hope you see what i mean? I could draw it if not...

 

[Paradox]

I have sent Richard Stride an email (taken from this site), but his last post was a good deal of time ago, so who knows if it is still active.

Since marinebio_guy, a member of this site will be handling all the shipping and permits, I will consult him before I accept your generous offer to contact Richard. I will update you on this shortly.

It is very coincidental that you mentioned that you used shelving to increase surface area, because my plans were to make shelving units out of agrocrete. I was planning to make large shelve like structures and cover then with sand. I thought this would add more places for the cuttle to "hang out" and also create a cave. Although a panel of glass would be much easier heh..

Id love to see what it looked like all setup. You wouldnt have an old picture around would you?

 

[Opcn]

It could be dificult to keep the glass covered in sand.

 

[Colin]

There was a 1" lip all the way round for just that purpose...

Here is a link to my 'very' old website which has some pics of how the tank looked, if you look closely you will see the shelf with rocks, sand and corals etc on top and maybe a cuttle underneath...

In fact, if you look at the top pic with the cuttle feeding out of my hand you can see the lip of glass holding the sand just under the leather coral...

http://www.geocities.com/octomonkeymadness/cuttlefish.html

 

[joefish84]

yeah im in for some sepia o eggs but i only want around 15 or so so let me know what we can do

 

[Paradox]

Joefish-Now thats what I want to hear!

This would make us much closer to making this happen. I will need anyone that is interested to send me thier email, so I can organise this better and get some confirmations.

Colin-That tank loooks great! Im very envious =)