Cuttle fish care

MARINECRITTERS · 09/15/2013, 07:18 PM

Hi, I am going to pick up some cuttle fish eggs and I need some tips on how to hatch them ( temp, salinity, etc ).
Also some general care would be nice ( diet, tankmates, tank size, etc )

Calappidae · 09/27/2013, 11:24 AM

I'm not an expert on this but here it goes..

Cuttlefish are predators and will eat tankmates. They eat crabs, silversides, crayfish, and anything else they can find. Feeding stick may be needed for frozen or dead food. some can get over a foot in length.. no one is sure what species each one is they are highly variable so its best to prepare for the largest which is around a foot and I think a 55 gallon is big enough.. They have very short life spans of several months to 1 or 2 years which usually is reduced even more in captivity. I also heard high lighting is needed?

asid61 · 10/09/2013, 12:33 AM

There are a few caresheets on the web for cuttlefish. Are you getting dwarf cuttlefish or larger ones?
If this is a first salt tank, don't go cuttlefish for a few months so you can get used to the regimen.
Tankmates are basically snails and maybe brittle stars. Anything else could be bad.
They need live food for a long time (few months) and then can be trained onto frozen food.
If you are buying eggs, get them from online, and make sure they are sepia bandensis eggs instead of metasepia pfefferi or other species that are hard to keep.

09/15/2013, 07:18 PM	#1
MARINECRITTERS Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 1,525	Cuttle fish care Hi, I am going to pick up some cuttle fish eggs and I need some tips on how to hatch them ( temp, salinity, etc ). Also some general care would be nice ( diet, tankmates, tank size, etc ) __________________ MarineCritters, life in the sea is superb Current Tank Info: 91 Gallon Reef

09/27/2013, 11:24 AM	#2
Calappidae Harlequin Shrimp Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Somewhere Posts: 3,814	I'm not an expert on this but here it goes.. Cuttlefish are predators and will eat tankmates. They eat crabs, silversides, crayfish, and anything else they can find. Feeding stick may be needed for frozen or dead food. some can get over a foot in length.. no one is sure what species each one is they are highly variable so its best to prepare for the largest which is around a foot and I think a 55 gallon is big enough.. They have very short life spans of several months to 1 or 2 years which usually is reduced even more in captivity. I also heard high lighting is needed? __________________ Joe

10/09/2013, 12:33 AM	#3
asid61 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cupertino, CA Posts: 1,111	There are a few caresheets on the web for cuttlefish. Are you getting dwarf cuttlefish or larger ones? If this is a first salt tank, don't go cuttlefish for a few months so you can get used to the regimen. Tankmates are basically snails and maybe brittle stars. Anything else could be bad. They need live food for a long time (few months) and then can be trained onto frozen food. If you are buying eggs, get them from online, and make sure they are sepia bandensis eggs instead of metasepia pfefferi or other species that are hard to keep.