anyone ever kept hawaiian bob tail squid?
- Thread starter tvrsir
- Start date
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
They are fairly hardy. The major drawbacks are that they don't live as adults more than a few months, they are nocturnal and during the day spend most of their time buried in sand, and they feed best on live shrimp.
Roy
Roy
Paddle_Pop
New member
make that two
ReeferGreg
New member
How big do they get?
Make that possibly 3....
Make that possibly 3....
TriggerHappy23
In Memoriam
I'll answer for my buddy up there. I'm getting some in 2 weeks but I live in Chicago. Where are you guys located? I have to warn you they are poor shippers. I will be attempting to breed them once I'm setup.
Greg,
They get to about 1 1/2 inches long. Most are about 1 inche or so. They breed after only 2 months.
Greg,
They get to about 1 1/2 inches long. Most are about 1 inche or so. They breed after only 2 months.
ReeferGreg
New member
Thanks!
Interesting creatures. What's their behavior like? I take it they stay buried most of the day and feed at night?
Where are you getting yours from? How hard do you think it would be to get ahold of a pair? I would LOVE to take a good stab at breeding them, and I've got a vacant tank ready
Interesting creatures. What's their behavior like? I take it they stay buried most of the day and feed at night?
Where are you getting yours from? How hard do you think it would be to get ahold of a pair? I would LOVE to take a good stab at breeding them, and I've got a vacant tank ready
TriggerHappy23
In Memoriam
Greg,
Yes. They prefer the dark. I would keep them in a seperate tank away from anything that would pick on them. They need atleast 2 inches of sand to bury themselves. In the day time all you'll see is their eyes.
It've never had any luck in sexing them. I'm having 6 shipped to me next week and hopefully I'll have some cb ones for sale in a few months.
Just a warning but these guys are suppose to be bad shippers but the person I get them from has never had a fatality due to shipping.
I have no problem increasing my order but just remember shipping is expensive unless someone wants to pick up in chicago.
Yes. They prefer the dark. I would keep them in a seperate tank away from anything that would pick on them. They need atleast 2 inches of sand to bury themselves. In the day time all you'll see is their eyes.
It've never had any luck in sexing them. I'm having 6 shipped to me next week and hopefully I'll have some cb ones for sale in a few months.
Just a warning but these guys are suppose to be bad shippers but the person I get them from has never had a fatality due to shipping.
I have no problem increasing my order but just remember shipping is expensive unless someone wants to pick up in chicago.
kjbudsberg
New member
I also collect these guys in Hawaii. I have found that they ship very well...occasionally mine will lay egg clutches on the bag in transit. I reccomend against keeping them in captivity unless you have a system dedicated to them because they are top carnivores in the wild (I have seen them take down a 3" prawn and munching on small shrimp). They also do breed readily in captivity, but the hatchlings are exceedingly difficult to rear past a few days. In fact, if they hatch in a main system, you will probably never see them (If anyone has experience raising juvenile squid to adulthood please PM me!!). Keep the water cool. They don't like much above 23C.
ReeferGreg
New member
Well, I'm going to Maui in 8 days.
Any tips on collecting these guys? Where do I find them? How do I catch them?
And bringing them back? I was planning on carrying them back on the plane in a cooler.
Any tips on collecting these guys? Where do I find them? How do I catch them?
And bringing them back? I was planning on carrying them back on the plane in a cooler.
ReeferGreg
New member
anybody have any tips for catching them??????
bump!
bump!
greenbean36191
Premium Member
The Waikiki Aquarium has a display of them that may give you an idea of tank setup and what to expect in terms of behavior.
alikatoes
Premium Member
Catching these guys is easy. As mentioned eary on, they are very poor shipper. I shipped a bunch to chicago and Las vegas and got lots of DOA's and un happy customers. Most pros I have talked with have agreed, as they warned me that they are used to getting 50% DOA's. It all depends on how you catch them and hold them. Shipping air cargo is by far the best way. Carry on is likley better, but I dont know the rules for that. Good luck!
kjbudsberg
New member
Shipping out of Hawaii overnight with commercial shippers is really tricky. We send all of ours on a direct flight to O'hare (we ship to Madison, Wisconsin) to avoid the time these guys are in bags and minimize chance of being bumped from fights..., limit biomass in each bag (1 adult per 2 liters water), and fill the headspace with medical grade oxygen. Also, we carry on several animals. This has never been a problem for us as they are not endangered and thankfully the TSA has not listed squid as a security threat (If Euprymna inks in the shipping bag, they will die from asphyxiation). Last week I sent 56 animals and only lost one; carried another 14 and all of those were fine. Granted, these are more difficult to ship than hermit crabs and most fish, but they aren't that hard.
(If Euprymna inks in the shipping bag, they will die from asphyxiation). Last week I sent 56 animals and only lost one; carried another 14 and all of those were fine. Granted, these are more difficult to ship than hermit crabs and most fish, but they aren't that hard.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
If you packed them as suggested - 2 L per adult - that is over 50 lbs. If you carried them onto the flight that certainly exceeds the weight and size limit, or were they checked baggage?
Do you use heat packs to keep the temperature up in the air freight? I've had no trouble recently with that but I have had problems using them in carry-on and checked baggage.
Do you use heat packs to keep the temperature up in the air freight? I've had no trouble recently with that but I have had problems using them in carry-on and checked baggage.
kjbudsberg
New member
Gonodactylus said:
All the squid we ship are in 2-L ocean water. We tend to ship the adults via air cargo as I described for the exact reason you mentioned...weight. We never add heat packs to them, instead, we cool them by packing them in air conditioned water. We have had them sit on the tarmac in O'hare in February for up to 6 hours, and aside from being cold (which they recovered from
), they were fine. In fact, all survived and laid egg clutches until a ripe old age like all our other adults. In general we carry only small/medium sized animals because we can safely pack more in each bag. Good catch Gonodactylus.
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