Nautilus pompilius Care and Tank

[Mumbo_Jumbo]

Hello, i been wondering, besides the little information you can found on the web.
Which its a good way to care a Nautilus pompilius?
Current conditions:
55gallons tank.
NO2 0ppm
NO3 20ppm
NH 0ppm
Temperature its 22°C / 71.6°F, needs to be lower, right?
Salinity 1.023

Thanks.

 

[Animal Mother]

yeah, cooler water. Perhaps low 60's to high 50's even. They are deep water dwellers, dark, cold areas. A deep tank would be best.

There is a great article in the June Tropical Fish Hobbyist about keeping them. They are very difficult to care for. Even public/private aquariums with trained marine bio people and tons of money still have a real hard time caring for them.

 

[Echidna09]

50s- low 60s is the ideal temperature. The only feasible way to achieve this is with a chiller (I suppose you could use several fans, but I'd rather not comprehend the top-off ). They need a super sterile environment: sump, UV, O3, and a controller would be nice. Ambient light is all that is needed and all that is best, really. You can blind them with a lot of light. Use a small amount of live rock (just enough so the Nautilus can have somewhere to hide, if he feels necessary). If you really want to mimic the natural environment, use a controller to cool the tank to the low-mid 50s during the day and raise it to upper 50s low 60s at night. Salinity should be the same as Natural Sea Water at 1.026. A standard 75 gallon tank is recommended, so that the Nautilus has less of a chance at running into the sides, damaging it's flesh or shell.

If you are going to buy one let us know before you get it, certain things need to be done to ensure there is no air stuck inside the shell and that the animal has a successful acclimation. They are very expensive to keep, and not the most interesting, but it would be cool to have one.

 

[Mumbo_Jumbo]

Yeah id like getting one.

Yeah id like getting one.

Hey im buying one, i allready own a chiller, and well the tank has a dim light but i might take it off any way.
How do i know if it has air stuck on its shell?, if so what should i do?, a common aclimation for half hour its fine for this tipe of creature?, it feed on fish and shrimp mainly i suppose but theres otehr things they like to eat?.
Thanks for your information Animal Mother and Echidna09.

 

[Echidna09]

Try to contact the members gjbarord and robyn on tonmo.com. They both have experience with Nautiluses and know how to properly "burp" the air out of them. I, while I hope to one day own a Nautilus, have just read about their care.

These threads may be helpful as well:

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11125

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1792

Good luck with him. We'd love to see pictures.

Acclimation should probably be closer to 1.5-2 hours, and needs to be by dripping. Don't feed fish regularly, they are ok as a treat. Gjbarord and Robyn (on tonmo) will have more information on the best captive diet for them.

 

[Mumbo_Jumbo]

Hey thanks, really i allready register, but i cant stay loggen in, the forum, seems to kick me out, if you are registered, could you give them the email adress of my work?, if so ill PM it to you.

 

[Echidna09]

PM it to me plz.