Cuttlefish husbandry

ReefSharkBuilder · Mar 25, 2019

I am looking to start a community that surrounds housing cuttlefish in our already beautiful reef tanks. I am currently setting up a breeding system specifically for cuttlefish husbandry.

I am looking to see if anyone here has successfully done so? I am setting up my system specifically for sepia bandensis (dwarf cuttlefish). I hope to culture them and sell them as eggs.

Any help I can get on the topic would be greatly appreciated.

Pictures are for interest only they aren't mine.

lion king · Mar 25, 2019

There was a recent conversation you may be interested in here:https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...ch-as-a-tail-spot-blenny.571406/#post-5840513

I believe they are best for a species tank.

ReefSharkBuilder · Mar 25, 2019

lion king said:
There was a recent conversation you may be interested in here:https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...ch-as-a-tail-spot-blenny.571406/#post-5840513

I believe they are best for a species tank.

I've read through this one. And I wanted to make a thread specifically for keeping, breeding, and propagating the dwarf cuttlefish.

Thales · Mar 25, 2019

Did you read the articles? If so, I am happy to field questions.

ReefSharkBuilder · Mar 25, 2019

Thales said:
Did you read the articles? If so, I am happy to field questions.

Ya I've read several articles. I'm looking to build an egg tumbler right now

andrewkw · Mar 25, 2019

While I'm no Richard Ross, I have kept them a couple of times. I used breeders boxes to separate them so it was easier to keep track of them and exactly how much they were eating. These pics are 10 years old but I just plumbed extra tanks to my frag tank.

Before you have dreams of selling them, you should probably get a handle on keeping them first and realize the market is pretty limited. If you do not live near the ocean then there likely is no possible way to break even. Keeping the cuttlefish alive is not too hard, keeping their food alive and their foods food is where it can get more troublesome. Most of the troubles I had with them were from cheaping out on food. For instance the ones that ate brackish shore shrimp grew faster and lived longer then the ones I fed gut loaded ghost shrimp which looked exactly the same and may have even been the same species but were raised freshwater and available locally for cheap.

I kept 2 rounds of them and while I did see mating behavior and had a few live about 1 year which is their lifespan I was never able to get new eggs. I would like to keep them again one day but limitations on live food in my current location is what is primarily stopping me from trying again. Also it is quite sad to put in so much time and effort and have them die of old age 1 year later.

ReefSharkBuilder · Mar 25, 2019

andrewkw said:
While I'm no Richard Ross, I have kept them a couple of times. I used breeders boxes to separate them so it was easier to keep track of them and exactly how much they were eating. These pics are 10 years old but I just plumbed extra tanks to my frag tank.

Before you have dreams of selling them, you should probably get a handle on keeping them first and realize the market is pretty limited. If you do not live near the ocean then there likely is no possible way to break even. Keeping the cuttlefish alive is not too hard, keeping their food alive and their foods food is where it can get more troublesome. Most of the troubles I had with them were from cheaping out on food. For instance the ones that ate brackish shore shrimp grew faster and lived longer then the ones I fed gut loaded ghost shrimp which looked exactly the same and may have even been the same species but were raised freshwater and available locally for cheap.

I kept 2 rounds of them and while I did see mating behavior and had a few live about 1 year which is their lifespan I was never able to get new eggs. I would like to keep them again one day but limitations on live food in my current location is what is primarily stopping me from trying again. Also it is quite sad to put in so much time and effort and have them die of old age 1 year later.

Ok where would you reccomend getting the brackish shrimp?

andrewkw · Mar 25, 2019

ReefSharkBuilder said:
Ok where would you reccomend getting the brackish shrimp?

http://www.aquaculturestore.com/Shore-Shrimp.html

They are relatively easy to keep, and easy to crowd. I do not recommend mysis from this place though. They are wild caught which are fine, but if you can get laboratory grade they are much nicer, all the same size and all the same age. Mysis are much harder to keep as they are very cannibalistic so you cannot overcrowd them. I use to buy them from reed mariculture but they would actually ship from a lab in Florida I believe. Reed no longer sells them so I'm not sure where you can get them these days.

ReefSharkBuilder · Mar 25, 2019

andrewkw said:
http://www.aquaculturestore.com/Shore-Shrimp.html

They are relatively easy to keep, and easy to crowd. I do not recommend mysis from this place though. They are wild caught which are fine, but if you can get laboratory grade they are much nicer, all the same size and all the same age. Mysis are much harder to keep as they are very cannibalistic so you cannot overcrowd them. I use to buy them from reed mariculture but they would actually ship from a lab in Florida I believe. Reed no longer sells them so I'm not sure where you can get them these days.

Ok thank you for that info. How did you incubate the eggs? And keep them tumbling?

Thales · Mar 26, 2019

You do not have to tumble S. bandensis eggs.

ReefSharkBuilder · Mar 26, 2019

Thales said:
You do not have to tumble S. bandensis eggs.

Dont they need a considerable amount of flow?

Thales · Mar 26, 2019

ReefSharkBuilder said:
Dont they need a considerable amount of flow?

The eggs? Nah. The can use some flow, but I would say considerable is too much. If you want to use a tumblerm this is great, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cobalt+e...409051&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_16nl6jlji7_e
you just have to remove the metal mesh.

All cuttles are not equal. Metasepia eggs are more touchy, so they need more flow so they don't succumb to bacteria. Mostly, S. bandensis eggs are more hardy. Suspending them seems to help.

Not much at all has changed since the publishing of this article:

http://packedhead.net/2010/display-husbandry-and-breeding-of-dwarf-cuttle/

ReefSharkBuilder · Mar 26, 2019

Thales said:
The eggs? Nah. The can use some flow, but I would say considerable is too much. If you want to use a tumblerm this is great, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cobalt+e...409051&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_16nl6jlji7_e
you just have to remove the metal mesh.

All cuttles are not equal. Metasepia eggs are more touchy, so they need more flow so they don't succumb to bacteria. Mostly, S. bandensis eggs are more hardy. Suspending them seems to help.

Not much at all has changed since the publishing of this article:

http://packedhead.net/2010/display-husbandry-and-breeding-of-dwarf-cuttle/

Thanks for the info and links! When you say suspended you mean just not touching anything?