Dwarf Cuttlefish Mania!

stunreefer · Feb 23, 2015

Recently I've noticed more interest in keeping the wonderful dwarf cuttlefish species Sepia bandensis here on Reef2Reef.

For those not inclined to read but want a little eye candy this is a short video I made for the article:

[video=youtube;EcCgz7DHpvU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcCgz7DHpvU&edit=vd[/video]

rayn · Feb 23, 2015

Good read! Cuttlefish are awesome, I hope one day to be able to care for one...or more.

Are these considered the same as octopus in needing a tight fitting lid?

stunreefer · Feb 23, 2015

rayn said:
Good read! Cuttlefish are awesome, I hope one day to be able to care for one...or more.

Thanks! They are indeed awesome, without a doubt one of the most fascinating animals I've ever cared for. If you can grow coral consistently, then you can keep cuttlefish no doubt. They just require stable parameters and lots of food. Keeping more than one can be tough, but if you're prepared and can separate them when (not if) the time comes you'll have a great experience.

rayn said:
Are these considered the same as octopus in needing a tight fitting lid?

Nope! I kept them in a rimless aquarium with no top on the entire time I had them. Since this aquarium was set up to also view coral from the top, it was a treat to keep my screen top off at all times

Mercurio · Feb 24, 2015

They are so adorable! I want one really badly now

.

Libimagana · Feb 24, 2015

Oh my god there so cute
What do they eat and are there hard to keep?

stunreefer · Feb 24, 2015

Mercurio said:
They are so adorable! I want one really badly now .

They really are! Little alien blimps

Libimagana said:
What do they eat and are there hard to keep?

I fed mainly live enriched grass and ghost shrimp. Frozen shrimp down the line as well. Lots of info in the article linked

If you can keep corals thriving long term you'll have no issues keeping these guys :thumb:

BryanB · Feb 24, 2015

I for. Some reason can not click the link but where can you get them

Libimagana · Feb 24, 2015

This is awesome I'm in love! Now i want one [emoji30]

fishroomlady · Feb 24, 2015

I love these animals! great article and video! thanks for posting

BryanB · Feb 24, 2015

I got the artical to work on my phone and now I want a pair or a single one. However the only thing I want to know is how do they interact with fish so long as they are not small enough to be food and mellow enough not to eat them?

stunreefer · Feb 25, 2015

BryanB said:
I for. Some reason can not click the link but where can you get them

The captive bred specimens I had can be purchased through any retailer that buys from ReefGen (wholesaler).

Libimagana said:
This is awesome I'm in love! Now i want one [emoji30]

fishroomlady said:
I love these animals! great article and video! thanks for posting

Glad you enjoyed it

BryanB said:
I got the artical to work on my phone and now I want a pair or a single one. However the only thing I want to know is how do they interact with fish so long as they are not small enough to be food and mellow enough not to eat them?

They should not be kept with fishes of any kind. Either the fishes will pick at/kill/eat cuttles, or more often than not the cuttles will eat the fishes. Even at their full grown ~4-5" size they're voracious predators. At the bottom of the article there's a link to loads more info at the cephlapod forum Tonmo.com