Cuttlefish...

[tangboy]

Thoughts on Cuttlefish anyone? I've been teaching my students about Mollusks in science class and many of my students are very amazed by Cuttlefish and Octopus! Anyone ever tried keeping any and if so what species?

I have been reading about Sepia Bandensis but haven't seen anything online forsale. Anyway my 70g has sand and rocks and is cycling away so I'm still thinking of what to do. Just me rambling away...

-geoff

 

[ct_vol]

They are hard to keep... They also need a very vertically deep tank...

Any chatter is good these days... The forum has been a bit dead...

 

[tangboy]

I know... I finally got my internet in my class room working again for when I need a break from grading papers etc and I found the forums... lacking?!

The 70g is pretty shallow, very large bottom since the dimension are something like 48 wide, 18 long and 16 deep! So more room on the bottom for a small skate then vertical water column!

 

[ct_vol]

70g is definately too small for a cuttlefish...

 

[fishdoc11]

I agree cuttlefish are extremely cool. From what we were told by the biologists at Ripley's during our tour and the Vet teaching our aquatic animal medicine class they have very short lifespans (~ 2 years tops). Also when they are kept in groups they will basically fight a bunch which leads to them slamming into the side of the tank and breaking their cuttle bone (the one you see used in bird cages). When this happens it's fatal. I am assuming this is dependant on species size. Maybe with the smaller ones it's less likely....I don't know.
At any rate here is a cool thread by someone who has had success keeping and breeding them:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1245638&highlight=cuttlefish+AND+reef
Also there is a cephalopod forum here on RC:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=38

hth, Chris

 

[macclellan]

Cephalopods are really neat. They are "odd" in the sense that they are extremely intelligent, yet so short lived. It seems like such a waste to learn and get smart and then die in only two years! At least they have lots of offspring to compensate. It's a very different but apparently effective evolutionary strategy compared to us "smart" mammals. Having one as a pet would definitely be different. It would have to be a very large tank for the sake of the animal.

Geoff - in your sig, do you mean bouldering as in climbing? Wow, I haven't been climbing since before I entered Peace Corps.... going on 6 years now! Give me a holler if you ever want to take me out climbing somewhere around here. I still have my shoes & harness, hardware, crash pad, and lots of stories... best told over a cold beer and a warm fire.

 

[tangboy]

Well from some of the articles I have read, the smaller species, Sepia Bandensis are able to be kept in small groups in a 70g or larger. Maybe I will stick to the predator tank and wait for my wife to let me have a 150-300g one day and try playing with things later!

Macclellan... yes I do mean rock climbing! I take several students over to the Climbing Center on Sutherland after school on Thursdays from about 3:45-5:00. Gives me a chance to "teach" outside of the classroom and also provides some "bonding" experiences that are really paying off in the classroom. I guess its something like "wow, my teacher is kind of cool because he rock climbs!" or something like that!

Next time I schedule an outdoor trip i.e. bouldering, top roping, sport or trad, I'll let you know before hand and we'll see what we can do!

-geoff