Dwarf Cuttlefish, Sepia bandensis

[stackdeck]

Anyone here keeping this species of cuttlefish?

Just thought I'd share mine, I think they're among one of the most interesting critters to keep in a species tank. (If you can spot them)

[Bulldozer]

What is their life span in tank ?

[stackdeck]

Longest I've managed is about 9 months. Though breeding is possible, I haven't observed any sign of mating in my past attempts.

They are really quite high maintenance though, I feed them frozen shrimp once a day and change 15% water weekly to manage water quality in absence of a skimmer.

[Clement Chen]

What else can u keep with them?

[kenny1111]

what is the price like? and where u get them normally?

[stackdeck]

I'm currently housing them in a 2ft tank with Zoas. Peaceful fish 2X the Cuttle's size should be ok, but my bio load is already too high. Price usually around 20-ish, got them most recently from ML & CF in the past.

[erikokelf]

Wow very nice oddball collection. I'm also very fascinated by cuttlefish and octopus but too bad don't have a spare tank to cater just for them.

[A. Quarium]

How many are you keeping in your 2ft tank stackdeck?

[stackdeck]

At the moment, just 1 pair.

[reefaquaria]

How big can they grow?

[A. Quarium]

4-4.5 inches long, you should read up on tonmo

[A. Quarium]

No skimmer? But a skimmer is vital for cuttlefish, maybe water quality issues is why your cuttlefish only lasted for 9 months (they are supposed to live for a year) or maybe your cuttlefish was already 3 mths old when you got it. Still, I'm not sure whether weekly water changes work that well. Still, if your cuttlefish survived for 9 mth then I suppose.......

[A. Quarium]

I am considering a cuttlefish tank, as I consider myself to be an expert on cuttlefish, but can you tell me the specifics of your tank(e.g. filter type, height, your amt. of live rock, salinity e.tc.) stackdeck? Posting it here or PMing me either way is fine. p.s. Sepia Bandensis otherwise known as the dwarf or stumpy spined cuttlefish has a natural distribution from Philippines to Indonesia, and can be sighted in Singapore waters. They live in temperatures of 25-28 degrees Celsius, and their trademark behavior is walking on their tentacles over the sea bed, so the sand has to be very fine. Biological filtration has to be extremely efficient for their high bioload, at least three times more than your average fish. A S. Bandensis tank has to be at least 30 gallons for one pair. A protein skimmer should be a must to maintain water clarity. Although S. Bandensis can be trained to eat frozen, you should give them live foods from time to time, and dip any frozen food in vitamins. These cuttlefish grow up to 4-4.5 inches and are very interactive, capable of changing into a myriad of colours and raising up flaps to mimic seaweed. Although I am very knowledgeble on cephalopods, the real Bandensis experts are Richard Ross and Daniel Pon of TONMO.

[limz_777]

are they jumpers ?

[reeflex]

No, they are not jumpers. But quite peaceful , always stay near rock areas. Love to eat live shrimp but can adapt to eat pieces frozen prawns cut into smaller piece.

[A. Quarium]

They don't try to escape your tank, unlike octopi and other jumping fishes.

[noboni85]

can keep with small fish?

[Snoopyhamburger]

can keep with small fish?

Can,but will "disappear"

[noboni85]

Haha.. need to cover the tank will they jump out

[A. Quarium]

No need unless your fish will jump out to escape the cuttle. Seriously though, all fish and crustaceans will be annihilated by the cuttle.

[noboni85]

oic.. thanks bro

[Snoopyhamburger]

Haha.. need to cover the tank will they jump out

Jesus,the cuttlefish will eat them

*facepalm*

[xiggie]

Jesus,the cuttlefish will eat them

*facepalm*

Actually they might jump out , to get away from the cuttlefish..

[Snoopyhamburger]

Actually they might jump out , to get away from the cuttlefish..

They ambush them by camouflaging..

They dont upright chase the fish.Furthermore,they are hard to see.

[A. Quarium]

Yeah, they camouflage, draw close slowly then strike with their tentacles. The fish is dead before it even realises the cuttle is there.