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Recently hatch cuttlefish

me2003

Pygmy Octopus
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Oct 22, 2009
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I managed to get some cuttlefish eggs. 4 cuttle fish have hatched since Thursday. They are in a
~ 2 gallon tank in the sump of a 75 gallon system with over 75 lbs of live rock that has been cycled
for over 3 months. The cuttle fish tank has 2 Tom Aquatics Aqua-Lifter Dosing Pump changing
about 6 gallons an hour. A bulkhead overflow is covered by a netting. I have added some live
copepods, mysid shrimp, amphipods and isopods. Not to many according to what I have read.
I have several questions and I have attached pictures.
1. There are several eggs that have not hatched how long before they hatch and
how do you tell if they will not hatch? I received two separate egg batches so
I can not tell from when the first cuttlefish hatched.
2. It has been 4 days since the cuttlefish hatched. They do not seem to be very active
and no one has seen one eat. How often do they eat and how active are they at this stage?
3. Does it matter if they are feed live mysid or live amphipods?
 

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me2003;146117 said:
I managed to get some cuttlefish eggs. 4 cuttle fish have hatched since Thursday. They are in a
~ 2 gallon tank in the sump of a 75 gallon system with over 75 lbs of live rock that has been cycled
for over 3 months. The cuttle fish tank has 2 Tom Aquatics Aqua-Lifter Dosing Pump changing
about 6 gallons an hour. A bulkhead overflow is covered by a netting. I have added some live
copepods, mysid shrimp, amphipods and isopods. Not to many according to what I have read.
I have several questions and I have attached pictures.
1. There are several eggs that have not hatched how long before they hatch and
how do you tell if they will not hatch? I received two separate egg batches so
I can not tell from when the first cuttlefish hatched.
2. It has been 4 days since the cuttlefish hatched. They do not seem to be very active
and no one has seen one eat. How often do they eat and how active are they at this stage?
3. Does it matter if they are feed live mysid or live amphipods?

1 - they generally hatch 4-6 weeks after being laid, but there have been discrepancies. Generally as they develop you will be able to see the hatchling inside.
2 - they are usually not very active during the first two week and are shy of eating.
3- mysis are a much better food to start with because they are easier to catch than amphipods. As they get better at eating, pods work just fine.
 
Thanks for the additional information they are more active.
They are about 10 days old.
I have not seen them catch any food but they are trying.

Amphipod testing cuttlefish.



 
I get my live mysid from a large aquarium system that has them growing in the sump.
The eggs were ordered from a fish wholesaler. Pet stores have to special order them.
I think pet stores with large active saltwater reef section usually can order them from suppliers.
One of the 4 has survived and is doing well. I collected amphipods and copepods yesterday at
the ocean in Maine. We also collected one Praunus flexuosus (Mysid Shrimp). These are a large
mysid shrimp. In 10-15 minutes the cuttlefish ate at least 9 Americamysis bahia (mysid),
7 amphipods and 1 Praunus flexuosus (Mysid Shrimp) which was 3/4 the size of the cuttlefish.
The picture shows it eating the Praunus flexuosus
 

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Latest video The cuttlefish is about 3 months 5 days old.
In Maine we can collect amphipods locally. This video shows
the cuttle fish eating one.



 
Mating behavior of the oldest cuttlefish I raised from since November about 6 1/2 months old.
The female has several clutches of eggs so far. It layed the first set several
weeks ago but there was no male. Joe (Snowmaker) gave me one of the
males that was fighting in his tank. They had no compatability issues.
You can see one of the other cuttlefish I am raising in the other tank at the end
of the video.


 
I think snowmaker may have to change his name to cuttlefarmer :wink: Way to go Joe!

Please keep us posted on how the captive bred eggs survive and if you share them, encourage the recipients to keep a journal. It would be educational to watch a group of these continue through multiple generations as captive bred cuttles.
 

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