The below message is from Laura Birenbaum with ReefGen.
Hi!
I wanted to give you a heads up on an exclusive release of a new RG critter. ReefGen is proud to announce the newest member of our family, Captive Bred Sepia officinalis Cuttlefish!! Currently we have newborns available for as low as $75 each. This is an exclusive opportunity that is only being offered to experienced cephalopod keepers. ReefGen is a wholesale-only company, so we are running sales through our retailer partner, but because of the rare nature of these animals, we felt it prudent to communicate with our retailer's customers directly for the cephalopod expert community at Tonmo. Due to their rarity, these captive bred cuttlefish are not available on our website, but you can order some through Laura, the owner, directly. Her contact info is:
[email protected]. If that bounces (having a spam issue) email me at
[email protected]. Feel free to text or call my cell at 408-930-8777. Below are some husbandry details on this species.
These incredible Cuttles will capture the heart of any person! They spend a lot of time at the glass with their space-alien like features floating off the ground. We often said that Bandensis are like puppies. If that's the case, then Officinalis are like an excited golden retriever eager to see you every time you appear. They are much more visible, social, and interactive than Bandensis. Officinalis can grow to over one foot in the wild, but they tend to stay smaller in captivity averaging from six to ten inches. It's not just their size that's larger, their life span is often up to two years!.
One of our favorite parts of our new officinalis is that they READILY EAT FROZEN FOODS!! As adolescents, they prefer frozen raw shrimp, prawns, and krill. As they grow, they prefer silversides, capelin and sand eels. We recommend you feed live grass shrimp (not ghost shrimp) at first to get them acclimated to their new home. They are incredibly eager to try any food item that enters their tank, even food that’s on the tank bottom (so don’t forget to remove uneaten foods each day.) We recommend you feed them as much as they will eat at least two times per day. This could add up to be more than their body weight due to their high metabolism. Monitor water quality and do regular water changes as this can create very high nitrates in your system, be its best to keep these Cuttles at nitrates between 0-10ppm. Try to not feed them items less than half their body length; it’s important that they spend less time capturing each food item and more time eating it (their feeding tentacles get exhausted with smaller foods.) They will be a joy to feed for your staff and provide a fun activity to feed with customers.
They require a species-only tank, and should not share a tank with other fish. They are voracious fish predators. However, they do well with snails, hermit crabs, starfish, anemones, and any corals. In this respect, they are reef safe! We recommend keeping officinalis in tanks with sand since they like to half bury themselves in sand when nervous. Make sure there is a large amount of sandy floor space in their tank with minimal decor (branch rock, gorgonians, fake coral, live coral, etc.)
We keep ours at 71 degrees, and we have kept them at 78F in the past, but they are usually raised at colder temperatures. The cooler the water, the slower their metabolism so they will eat less, and live longer at lower temps. They are most often kept in water temperatures between 55-65 F. The minimum tank size recommendation is a 75 gallon aquarium, but bigger tanks are better. 200-500G would be ideal. There is no worry about having juveniles in a large tank. They will find their food without extra monitoring.
If you are interested in ordering this exclusive Cuttlefish, please notify me. They do best in groups. Dense grouping is great for babies and adolescents. Adult males can become aggressive so monitor them as you may have to separate a male from the group from time to time.
The retail price on the Sepia officinalis is as follows:
Fertile eggs: $50/egg
1-7-days old (still eating live mysis) $75.
8-21 days old (weaning onto frozen) $100
22 - 90 days old (taking frozen readily): $250
Bulk discounts available for 10 or more...