Baby Cuttlefish (Sepia spp.) ...are they social Cuttlefish?

[MantisO_o]

I recently bought a baby cuttlefish in BlueZoo. Arrived fine and feed right away! Been a few days now and its just sitting there. My question is Sepia spp. are they social Cuttlefish? Are they happier in groups?

As this little bugger has ether remained white and has change brown to sepia briefly. Also now it isn't as active as it was in the video, :( Looks depressed, shrugs. I bought two more but they won't arrive till Wednesday.

Video(s):

Part One - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61HcoKa4dLU&list=UUFPxtDVPm0EK1R2gnAfNG2g


Part Two - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsSEgKL-4Bo&list=UUFPxtDVPm0EK1R2gnAfNG2g

[gpx1200]

from what iv'e read they are somewhat social and are more active in groups the ones that are kept alone mostly hide alot
some of the feeding videos i've seen show allmost a pack hunting method but when one of them grabs the food theyll fight over it. it allmost seems like they just have more confidence when others are around
are you feeding them brine shrimp? if so they won't live very long, some experienced keepers advise against feeding brine at all becouse it lessens their apitite for nutritious food

[MantisO_o]

With the Cuttlefish i bought some brine for it to have, to help it settle. Now i have Mysids for it to feed on. As i read that Mysids are best for first time feed. S/He looks rather timid now, its not as active as it was when it arrived. I'll have the other two arrive later this week, hope that would make them more active. Also by then i'll know when to get more Mysids.

[gpx1200]

how are they doing?

[MantisO_o]

how are they doing?

The two that were to arrive had died at the supplier, however the one i have is still alive. His or it is eating the Mysids like popcorn. I still see no difference in its size. How long will it be till it would actually start seeing noticeable growth? If anyone knows? Other wise i'm happy to see its still alive :)

[MantisO_o]

The little bugger is now 1/2" what size of live prey item i can give him? Can i give him shore shrimp of 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch? or do you still recommend Mysids?

[zoafreek]

If you can get 1/4" shore shrimp you can try and see if the cuttle will go after it. When you make the jump up to bigger foods you'll notice big growth spurts. You also won't have to feed as much with larger feeders. At that size they can easily go through a dozen mysis shrimp a day, if not more. You can also try frozen PE mysis as well to get them used to frozen foods. Just make sure the frozen mysis stay moving in the water and it will eventually mistake it for being alive and will strike.

[MantisO_o]

If you can get 1/4" shore shrimp you can try and see if the cuttle will go after it. When you make the jump up to bigger foods you'll notice big growth spurts. You also won't have to feed as much with larger feeders. At that size they can easily go through a dozen mysis shrimp a day, if not more. You can also try frozen PE mysis as well to get them used to frozen foods. Just make sure the frozen mysis stay moving in the water and it will eventually mistake it for being alive and will strike.

Thank you, i will try that! Thought and likely not recommended but just thought to ask...how about acclimated guppies to saltwater and gut loaded with Cyclop-Eeze?

[gpx1200]

theirs a good chance freshwater fish have been treeted with copper at some point , if theirs any traces of it left in their system it could be fatal to the cuttle fish, i wouldn't chance it
i have read that freshwater gohst shrimp can be gut loaded and fed to cuttles though

[MantisO_o]

Ahhhh! That thought is out. Thanks!

[MantisO_o]

So wait, the cuttlefish at the moment is half of an inch, which what i'm understanding is that the recommended prey size is a max of 1/4 of a inch at this stage, correct? Where it wont go after anything larger then 1/4"?

I'm asking since for the moment i can get only one or the other at my current budget of this week.

Penaeus vannamei - Feeder shrimp are 1/4" to 3/4" and are shipped in 500ml of water per 100 shrimp.
OR
Mysidopsis bahia - Mysids are 5 - 10 mm and are shipped in 500ml of water per 100 shrimp.


If the maximum size of a Mysids is 10mm or about 0.39 of an inch. Where these feeder shrimp come on between the sizes of 0.25-0.75. Do you think i could risk getting the Penaeus vannamei or just stick with the Mysids? By getting the feeder shrimp i think i can make it last longer per week vs the Mysids.

Where typically i get 200 Mysids a week as my current budget for this week only allows me 100. i will be short for this week. The maximum days i haven't feed him was 3 days. I don't think it can't eat for more then that, as i get paid this week but thats like more then 5 days away. :(

[zoafreek]

If you are ordering the Penaeus vannamei from liveaquaria.com, those shrimp are the perfect size for baby cuttles. I placed an order for some about a month back thinking they were on the larger side, and they were only a pinch bigger than mysis shrimp which were too small for what I needed them for.

You would be very surprised at how big of prey items the little cuttles can handle. My inital try at switching mysis for shore shrimp I assumed I was just wasting my time, as the shrimp were the same size as the cuttles. However a few of them had no issues catching the larger shrimp. You can also try throwing a couple shore shrimp in the fridge for a little bit to slow them down then put them in with the cuttles. The shrimp will move a LOT shower which make it easier for the cuttle to strike and get a good hold on the shrimp.

Paul Sach's ( www.aquaculturestore.com ) sells the shore shrimp, and they come in all different sizes. So if you place an order with them you're bound to get some really small ones and you can put aside the larger ones for later. I throw them in my sumps and they tend to breed and produce more shrimp.

Don't forget to also try the frozen PE mysis. It may take some work and time to finally convince them to eat the frozen food, but they will. And it'll make feeding them frozen food later on easier. They're larger than regular mysis, so they won't need to eat as many either.

There is a highly likely chance the freshwater fish have been treated for copper, so what I did was buy several guppies, and let them breed 2 generations out before I started using them as emergency feeder food.

[MantisO_o]

If you are ordering the Penaeus vannamei from liveaquaria.com, those shrimp are the perfect size for baby cuttles. I placed an order for some about a month back thinking they were on the larger side, and they were only a pinch bigger than mysis shrimp which were too small for what I needed them for.

You would be very surprised at how big of prey items the little cuttles can handle. My inital try at switching mysis for shore shrimp I assumed I was just wasting my time, as the shrimp were the same size as the cuttles. However a few of them had no issues catching the larger shrimp. You can also try throwing a couple shore shrimp in the fridge for a little bit to slow them down then put them in with the cuttles. The shrimp will move a LOT shower which make it easier for the cuttle to strike and get a good hold on the shrimp.

Paul Sach's ( www.aquaculturestore.com ) sells the shore shrimp, and they come in all different sizes. So if you place an order with them you're bound to get some really small ones and you can put aside the larger ones for later. I throw them in my sumps and they tend to breed and produce more shrimp.

Don't forget to also try the frozen PE mysis. It may take some work and time to finally convince them to eat the frozen food, but they will. And it'll make feeding them frozen food later on easier. They're larger than regular mysis, so they won't need to eat as many either.

There is a highly likely chance the freshwater fish have been treated for copper, so what I did was buy several guppies, and let them breed 2 generations out before I started using them as emergency feeder food.

Yes, I am getting them at liveaquaria.com. I know other cheaper places but liveaquaria.com over most other suppliers get them to me to arrive alive. Paul Sach's i nearly always order feeders from him! Very good source, however, in my very first time with him. The 200 Mysids order i got from him of this week DOA. Were is i am short on feeders and is why currently i don't have the full budget to get more. From him the shore shrimp are larger and no where like liveaquaria.com that are smaller. I find that funny, the smaller ones cost more the the larger feeders, lol.

If i get desperate in times like these i will force my self to have enough patience to try PE Mysids as you all recommends me to.

Thank you!

[MantisO_o]

I likely asked this before but i'm gonna ask again and expand on it. So, the remaining Mysids i have just got, I feed to Juan The Cuttlefish or have died. Would the cuttle feed on Amphipods? I have an abundant supply of them. I think i recall that Amphipods may be too fast for the cuttlefish? I keep him in a small container, which i tried feeding him four Amphipods and he ate them quickly. How would the cuttle fare with Amphipods being its food source till i upgrade him to shore shrimp that don't cost too much and don't have to worry about size? Or would Amphipods be good enough as emergency food?

[zoafreek]

Amphipods are almost as good, if not as good of a food source as live mysis. It is safer using amphipods as they won't attack the cuttles like mysis can. Really the only bad food I know of is live brine shrimp. They provide no nutrtional value for the baby cuttles.

I know occasionally paul sach's has issues with their feeders, they are wild caught, not aquacultured. When I was needing smaller shore shrimp I would call before I ordered to see what size ranges they had. Depending on the weather, they catch different sizes.

I know at livebrineshrimp.com when the weather is hot, the shrimp tend to be much smaller. When the weather is coolor the larger shimp migrate from the deeper cooler water to shallow water. I ordered from them a few times and the first shipment was a gold mine. Ordered 250 feeder shrimp and got about 270 feeder shrimp, 3 dozen small feeder fish, and about 6 crabs. They are aquacultured in large saltwater ponds so there's no worry about copper being a concern.

[small alien]

Subscribed. Good luck.

[MantisO_o]

Subscribed. Good luck.

Thanks :)

[madean]

It looks like the water flow in your holding container is pretty high. That might be why your cuddle is laying low or staying in a corner. I could be wrong with this assumption. Maybe try and decrease the flow through the container and see if you get more movement with the cuddle.

[MantisO_o]

Oh, his moving just fine now :) He got slight bit bigger. Gonna try to get him on Shore shrimp this coming week. Got him transferred to Amphipods from Mysids.

[Jan B]

I have a couple of baby cuttle fish I got 2 months ago. I am feeding them a combination of live and frozen mysis, live brine shrimp, and amphipods. From the reading I've done additional foods are small hermit crabs(which I have on order) and marine feeder shrimp. Mine are about an inch long, and most of the shore shrimp would be too big.

[gpx1200]

I have a couple of baby cuttle fish I got 2 months ago. I am feeding them a combination of live and frozen mysis, live brine shrimp, and amphipods. From the reading I've done additional foods are small hermit crabs(which I have on order) and marine feeder shrimp. Mine are about an inch long, and most of the shore shrimp would be too big.
you shuld cut out the brine shrimp alltogeather, they have no nutritional value and are like raising a child on twinkies, continued feeding of brine shrimp WILL shorten the lifespan of your cuttles.
thier is someone posting on tonmo who has been feeding his cuttles brine shrimp and babbie guppies between mysis orders and they are now dyeing off at 5 months old

[swine]

Where did you research about cuttlefish? I'm very interested in getting a mini cuttlefish for my tank. I dont know if the reported "aggressive" behavior would not be suitable with my tank.

[gpx1200]

tonmo dot somthing is a good place to research cuttlefish you will find all the info you need their
the "aressive" behaviour is not understated they will attack anything that looks edible including each other, they seem to be partial to anything with eyes.

[Jan B]

I goggled cuttlefish. They are best in a tank by themselves. Yes, they will eat almost anything, even fish larger than themselves. I do notice that they leave snails alone.

[swine]

Thanks, Ill look into it more. Looks like someone at the LFS didnt have all their facts straight or was giving me bad information.

Might have to save the cuttle fish to put in a frag tank or something of the sort.

[Thales]

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cuttlefish.php

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/sepia-bandensis.php

http://packedhead.net/2010/display-husbandry-and-breeding-of-dwarf-cuttle/

[Thales]

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cuttlefish.php

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/sepia-bandensis.php

http://packedhead.net/2010/display-husbandry-and-breeding-of-dwarf-cuttle/

[MantisO_o]

Update video...

Link - Cuttlefish Upate 12.10.12 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnWGd_9QBtM)
Link - Cuttlefish Upate Two 12.10.12 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC0tFAzioLs)

[Jan B]

Oh WoW! Excellent video quality...the best I've seen. How old is your cuttlefish? I got two back in September. I so enjoy watching them. Are they eating anything besides amphipods? Mine are taking the amphipods, small marine feeders, and even frozen mysis. Thanks for sharing!!!

[gpx1200]

he kind of reminds me of a snufelufigus.

[MantisO_o]

Snufelufigus, LOL. To be honest i have no idea how old s/he is or what exact species it could be. I got it on September 18th if that helps any. I feed him Mysids for the first month and a half then transferred to amphipods. Starting this coming week provided i have no shipping DOA from my shore shrimp supplier. I'll try to haver he/r feed on those. I was able to feed it dead shore shrimp twice! But s/he refuse to go near a thawed krill. Shrugs, lol. S/he begs for food sometimes too, which is funny. Only time it swims about if to only get my attention. I still think its to small to be let free in the 55 gallon. With all the plants i have and xenia...i think i would loose track of he/r.

[MantisO_o]

As of today i got it to eat a Krill! I think it was due to it was begging for food. Was out in the open while begging for food, lol. Also this time the Krill i offered to it was intact with the head. As the two Shore Shrimps i offered before had they're heads. Meanwhile he/r live foods should arrive by mid week.

Link one - Juan the Cuttlefish Three 12/17/12 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwRmmOyIYfU)
Link two - Juan the Cuttlefish Four 12/17/12 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtyQqZafrfg)

[SantaMonica]

Any recommended gallon size for cuttles?

[Thales]

Any recommended gallon size for cuttles?

Check the links in the first post on this page.

[SantaMonica]

Ah... Bandensis... perfect and stays small.

[Jan B]

Update on my 2 Cuttlefish I got in September(raised them from eggs)...they are doing well, close to 2 inches. I notice that they don't touch the snails or small hermits in the tank. Their diet consists of frozen mysis, live mysis(I currently have a wc seahorse that I haven't trained to frozen mysis), live brine shrimp, amphipods and glass shrimp. I am wondering if a varied diet is an important part to good health. I have been reading that these cuttles live less than a year. Is that true of cuttlefish in their natural environment or just in captivity?

[Jan B]

MantisO- excellent videos!

[MantisO_o]

Update video!

Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7LPdXk8LQU

[Ptyochromis]

Ghost shrimp are very easy to breed. I do it all the time without even trying. They also have no larval stage which is a big plus.