[Cuttlefish Eggs]: Jabba, Jool, Ziro, Zorba - S. Bandensis

Gen 2 - 2 died. Total: 5 hatched 0 alive

I did not like the way the new hatchling was moving so I expected that it might not live. The other little guy was eating the daphnia and I put mysid in the net twice yesterday but he was floating in the macro algae by late afternoon. There are still about 8 eggs that look very viable so we will see what happens. I did notice that my sump pump was off and my salinity a little high but I don't expect either to have been the cause. The adults seem to be doing fine but are not mating often now.
 
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Gen 2 - 1 new hatchling. Total: 6 hatched 1 Alive

I don't expect this hatchling to live long. It has a considerable yolk sack still attached.
 
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We want happy and good updates, so we can share in the joy of your cuttles. At least it's a live one and your getting more and more hatching. It seems at this rate you have cuttlefish "husbandry" down pat.
Plus you've raised some from eggies. Just need to get gen 2 to cooperate more and realise that life is worth living.
 
LOL, unfortunately we more know about what NOT to do than what TO do. First generation with wild caught eggs have been relatively successful if fed live mysid for the first month or more (we have learned NOT to try a more typical standby of brine) but second have been more difficult and third only with very experienced keepers (no Gen2 in TONMO journals but there are a few scattered notes of successes. There no home aquarist successes recorded here for Gen 3 and may require genetic diversity).

We have come a long way in being able to keep a little bit of the ocean at home (the hobby is only about 50 years old) but we have a very long way to go.
 
Gen2 - 12 new eggs Total: 43
1 new hatchling Total: 7 Hatched 2 alive

The cuttle that hatched with a yolk sack is still alive and the yolk sack has disappeared. Neither of the two seem to be interested in food yet. I put them in a bowl with mysid and daphnia but saw no feeding behavior.

The 12 new eggs are likely 4 new today, 4 new in the last week and 4 that were laid sometime in the past. I have been seeing mating but no eggs. Tonight one would not come for dinner (she is often tardy but eventually comes to eat) so I moved a couple of rocks. I think she may have been depositing eggs at dinner time. I found 4 eggs in varying sizes on the bottom substrate but when I moved the rocks I found a hole ("in the deepest, darkest most difficult place in the aquarium :biggrin2:) that was stuffed with two different groups (each group of 4 were attached to each other). The 4 farthest in the hole were smaller, the more recent - thinking today - still had a slight point at one end that I have not seen on the others.
 
Total: 7 Hatched 0 alive

Sadly, both of the new hatchlings died. I tried placing them in a smaller container with food and covering it for an hour in hopes they would start eating but when I observed them, all the mysis were still accounted for. I did not want to leave them longer in the small container and returned them and the food to the breeder net and found them dead the next day.

The bamboo skewer in the photo is pointing to the cuttlebone of the hatchling in the bottom of the photo.
cuttleboneWeekOldHatchling.JPG
 
Gen2 - 16 new eggs Total: 59
No new hatchlings. Most eggs have become tiny peas. I remove most to a cup but left any that might still be viable in the net.

Eggs seem to be laid or at least attached in clusters of 4 eggs.
 
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Gen2 18 new eggs Total: 77

No new hatchlings. I have changed the incubation container and am now pushing more flow over the eggs, enough to keep them moving at most times. Will try to remember to photograph tomorrow.
 
Just caught up on this thread D. Awesome job! I'm so jealous. I raised a single cuttle from a batch of 5 eggs a few years ago and ever since I've wanted to do it again. Living near the coast in Florida, live food is much easier to come by so it's not nearly as expensive for me as for others. I even made my own plankton next and pulling it along the walls of the causeway was able to catch my own mysis shrimp.

One day soon I'll do it again, but for now my time is wrapped up with getting kids the cheer practice and aquaculturing clownfish. :smile:

Keep up the good work!
 
Gen2 12 new eggs Total: 89

The eggs do not seem to be maturing properly. I have tried shielding them from light for awhile but it did not help. I mentioned adding waterflow to keep the eggs moving and finally took a video. The hard plastic sides of the breeder may to too rough for the eggs and I have added macro algae and cheato to help suspend them and limit the abrasion.

 
Gen2: 5 new eggs total 94

The last dozen look more robust than all but the first few so I am hoping some of them will hatch.

There was a major inking event tonight. I have no idea what caused it and only one of the middle sized animals (male, I think) did all the inking. Nothing was close to him in the tank so it makes me wonder if something I was wearing set him off.
 

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