Cuttlefish keeping

[A. Quarium]

Hey all, I've kept Fw and a small nano already, and I'm thinking of getting a cuttlefish. I've already done lots of research and am going to purchase a Sepia Bandensis pair at the end of year from ML. Any bros/sis got any tips to share like skimmer type, filter, sources of live or frozen foods etc. Thanks.

[A. Quarium]

No? Well, at least I can use TONMO

[A. Quarium]

Well, I found this out from TONMOI wrote this myself: 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. Breeding is possible, you will begin to see mating displays when.they are 4 months old. Cuttlefish can lay up to 225 eggs, but only a small amount are viable. Food for newborns are mysid shrimps. Although I am very knowledgeble on cephalopods, the real Bandensis experts are Richard Ross and Daniel Pon of TONMO.

[Snoopyhamburger]

Didn't you already post this on another thread?

[A. Quarium]

Nope, this is modified with stuff I found out on TONMO

[taufiq85]

Bro u keeping ur cuttles in a nano???

[taufiq85]

Ive tried keeping cuttlefish for awhile...my experience is that its hard to feed them. U need a variety of live food for them to hunt and feed as the would in the wild. They feed alot too...so getting live foods is very costly. If ure tank is not mature or its lightly stocked then the chances of u seeing ure cuttles are minimal cos they will feel naked without cover hence the hiding.

[A. Quarium]

Thanks for the advice, I haven't gotten the cuttlefishes yet, and intend to keep them (one pair) in a 40 gallon tank with a moderate amount of live rocks. I will purchase the cuttlefish pair from Marine Life. Any other advice, like where to get live feeders, filter type, skimmer type etc? If you don't have anything else then it's ok. PM or post here all accepted

[taufiq85]

Maybe u can help us to help u by sharing your tank plans, stocking plans, budget, etc. Cos there are many brands and models. Overall if u keeping cuttles ur skimmer must be rated for more than ur tank size to accomodate the high bioload as well as the occasional ink squirting. I've personally used wei pro, bm 3.5, beckett. Of the three i highly recommend bm as it is compact, light, needle wheel, decent skimmate produced and above all it is affordable. There are of course other brands which are better..im just citing a few...hope this helps. Hope u r already cycling ur tank if not better to start soon....the more matured ur tank is the better. If u already hv cycled maybe u could share a pic of ur setup display and sump.

[doc99337]

Ist it ok to keep it in mixed tank?

[taufiq85]

Mixed tank with corals provided none that stings yes possible...mixed tank with crustaceans n fishes big no no

....the cuttlefish will eat them. Brst is to keep them in a species tank

[A. Quarium]

I have not started the tank yet, starting the tank end of year and cycling and maturing it for another 4 months after that before I add the cuttlefish pair. I know that biological filtration and skimming has to be at least three times more efficient than your regular fish. I will only be keeping a zoa or two with them and really need help with the live foods and the skimmer/filter type.

[taufiq85]

I used to buy feeder shrimps crabs but its just not practical enough.....so i went to fish for crabs...armed wif a cast net to the beach i went. If u really wanna buy then like i said iys going to really expensive and labour intensive to keep amd maintain your feeder crabs/shrimps.....u can feed fish but ideally cuttlefishes need crabs n shrimps for nourishment.

You can get feeder shrimps from most lfs...its hard to get feeder crabs or live mysis in sg.

[FuEl]

Keep them at low temperature they will live longer and they do not have to be fed as much as they do not burn up their energy too fast. A good temperature would be 23-25 degrees celcius for tropical species.

[doc99337]

Mixed tank with corals provided none that stings yes possible...mixed tank with crustaceans n fishes big no no

....the cuttlefish will eat them. Brst is to keep them in a species tank

Thanks for the info. What are the requirements to setup a species tank? Is it ok to have a common sump with my mixed tank?

[taufiq85]

Well its highly dependent on the species i guess....depends on wat u want to keep. U can check out tonmo for a very detailed article on keeping cuttlefish.

As for a common sump, if u meant by running a mixed tank and a species tank on one same sump....then yah it is possible provided u do not dose any copper treatment as it will kill cuttlefish.

[A. Quarium]

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 arms over the sea bed, so the sand has to be very fine. Temperatures must be lower at around 25 degrees celsius. @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. Although fish is a possible source of food, the cuttlefish's main diet should be crustaceans such as rock crabs and shore shrimps. 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. Breeding is possible, you will begin to see mating displays when they are 4 months old. Cuttlefish can lay up to 225 eggs, but only a small amount are viable. Food for newborns are mysid shrimps. They can be kept in the same conditions as a reef tank. Male aggression is common, and will often adapt a blue-black coloration with rippling stripes. S. Bandensis can often be found in the arms up posture to mimic seaweed. Although I am very knowledgeble on cephalopods, the real Bandensis experts are Richard Ross and every other Bandensis keeper in the world. FuEl, cuttlefishes are ALWAYS hungry, and two feedings per day with each getting two shrimp each is the ideal feeding arrangement. These cuttlefishes are very social and it is recommended to keep them in groups. Please visit the cephalopod page, Tonmo, and reefkeeping magazine's articles, as well as packedhead.net for more thorough articles on the husbandry and breeding of S. Bandensis by extremely advanced and experienced Dwarf Cuttlefish keepers

[A. Quarium]

And yes, cuttlefish can be kept in a reef environment with the corals being non stinging ones. Here's the water conditions, and ideally the cuttlefish tank should be a separate setup from your main tank. Salinity: 1.025 Ammonia: 0.1 ppm Nitrite: 0.2 ppm Nitrate: 10 ppm or less Specific gravity: 1.021-1.024 Dissolved oxygen: 6-9 ppm Alkalinity: 7-11 dkh Calcium: 450 ppm Magnesium: 1200-1400 ppm Water should be RO/DI or tap water that has passed through an extremely efficient water purifier.

[A. Quarium]

Taufiq85, how big was your tank? I know all about the costs and dedication needed to raise cuttlefishes, as well as the whole issue on live foods. What I really need to know now is what skimmer I should use for my planned 55 gallon tank. Cheers, A. Quarium

[taufiq85]

My tank is a 3 footer

[taufiq85]

Good that u know alot abt cuttlefish....since u self proclaim an expert in cuttlefish maybe u shud share more of ur expertise so that ppl can learn from u....as for wat type of skimmer ive already mentioned a few brands and models based on my experience which is not much as i am still a noob in marine. Still learning from many reefers alike...jus to mention a few ppl like bro fuel, coolguy, youdontknowme, yellow tang and many more. Like i said skimmers there are many such as air driven, needle/pinwheel driven, beckett, venturi. I personally like the needle or pinwheel type as it creates micro bubbles which make up alot more surface area than normal bubbles.

[illumnae]

And yes, cuttlefish can be kept in a reef environment with the corals being non stinging ones. Here's the water conditions, and ideally the cuttlefish tank should be a separate setup from your main tank. Salinity: 1.025 Ammonia: 0.1 ppm Nitrite: 0.2 ppm Nitrate: 10 ppm or less Specific gravity: 1.021-1.024 Dissolved oxygen: 6-9 ppm Alkalinity: 7-11 dkh Calcium: 450 ppm Magnesium: 1200-1400 ppm Water should be RO/DI or tap water that has passed through an extremely efficient water purifier.

Please explain why "ideal" parameters for ammonia and nitrite are 0.1 and 0.2 respectively? We tend to strive for 0 for both parameters in our tanks. Do cuttlefish need low ambient levels of these toxic substances for some reason?

[A. Quarium]

Those are more of a "maximum of" , NOT ideal, which yes, would be 0 in both cases

[A. Quarium]

Ok, need some advice from the experienced reefers here. Should I go for a Tunze nano 9004 skimmer for my tank? Taufiq85, what do you think and what do you use yourself?

(P.S. , tank size 55 gallons)

[taufiq85]

My tank is a 3footer wif nett vol of est 460L im using 24 " beckett skimmer...planning to change to a bm curve 9 soon....in my opinion ur skimmer is a lil bit too small. Try to get a skimmer rated for 100 gal since ur tank is 55 gal