difinitive answer on cuttles

[jacksonpt]

OK, I've gotten mixed opinions when I've asked this question in the past, so someone lay down the law here. Can cuttlefish be kept with other fish? I know they will eat most anything smaller than they are... but what about some larger fish... larger clowns, tangs, angels, lions, triggers, etc.?

I've got a 75g tank which I'm getting ready to stock (been cycled for about a month). I've thought about cuttles before, but could never get a good answer to the above question, so I decided to pass on them rather than take the chance and have them die (I'd rather keep less interesting fish that live as opposed to more interesting fish that die or are unhappy in my tank). So, I had decided on a lion, a trigger (either a bluejaw or clown), a twin spot wrasse, and a zebra moray. The tank will be a FOWLR. Can a cuttle coexist with any other fish, either the fish I just listed or any others? I'd love to get 1 or 2 cuttles, but I'm not sure I want to dedicate my entire 75g tank to just 1 or 2 cuttles.

My LFS fed it for me, ghost shrimp. It looks very heathy, color is good, always changing. It ate well (2 shrimp as soon as they hit the bottom of the tank), and is swimming well. Are there signs I should look for that indicate good or poor health?

I'll search previous posts for their dietary habits, but if someone wants to comment on that, I'd appreciate it.

 

[SushiGirl]

Cuttles can eat things much larger than they are, a clown would be a good snack. Like octos, they can also be harassed by aggressive fish, which at the least may mean them inking the tank. And in with a lionfish? No way...unless you want the cuttle to get zapped with a venemous fin spike. They're best in a species only tank, and depending on the type of cuttlefish, a 75g tank wouldn't give them much room anyway as they can get pretty good sized and like to swim a lot.

 

[OctoMonkey]

True,

Any fish you put in there is a potential snack for a cuttlefish. I even dropped in two diadem sea urchins and each cuttle took a turn at trying to grab it. Okay, they only did it once but it goes to show that nothing will last.
I have a small clip of a cuttle chasing fish on tonmo.com http://www.tonmo.com/imagevid.shtml you will see how fast a cuttle can go when it wants to...

Cuttlefish are also quite sensitive to many things that shouldn't normally affect things like the fish you listed in your list. They require full strength sea water and positively NO trace of copper. And they also require a more mature tank than you have at present. The tank should be up and running for closer to 6 - 12 months...

Depending on species, as Sushi mantioned, a 75 wouldn't last some cuttlefish 4 or 5 months. Beleive me though, a cuttlefish tank is NEVER dull or boring compared to fish. And if stocked carefully you could add some hardy soft corals, hermits, star fish, sea cucumbers etc......

Hope this helps
Colin