What's their average lifespan in aquaria? I can't imagine it would be more than two years.
For S. officinalis we've been told to expect 12 - 18 months, but the females start laying eggs at about 8 months. We ended up with only females this time so we won't get fertile eggs, but we plan to try again for a breeding group. The eggs are pretty easy to hatch - you just need appropriate sized live food to start the young on, then teach them to accept frozen. We use a feed stick with a target on it.
We started with juveniles that we we got from New England Aquarium. Even if they were still breeding, they only surplus to other AZA facilities. We are planning to try to get more through Reef Gen. They are wholesale only - no direct sales to the public. I really don't have any experience with any of the vendors selling eggs online. Eggs have come in to some of the LFS, but I was never in a position to do a dedicated tank at home. I have had to be satisfied with taking care of them at work.
I don't have any, and unfortunately we lost our last cuttlefish recently, so the tank is empty right now. My curator is looking for more right now. The tank is an acrylic cylinder 4 feet across by 6 feet high. The cuttles were a big hit with visitors and we definitely want to continue with the species - hopefully we can successfully breed this time. Once we feel comfortable with their husbandry I hope to try flamboyant cuttlefish, which has an AZA breeding program. When the exhibit is up again I'll post some pics.
