WC bandensis eggs!

[DWhatley]

Richard,

I was not being exclusive in the tank request, just on the size of Cuddly and Scrunchy!

I especially appreciate the note on the source of the cuttles (I don't LIKE your answer but, after several failed orders for other "in stock" items, I totally BELIEVE it ).

I have not attempted hard corals but my softies do very well with the "high noon" light for only 3 hours during the day so it is good to hear I can expect something similar if I venture into the hard coral frag world. I am not fond of the look of MH so would probably set the timer for when I am not at home .

I am thinking of trying to do a center rock structure with a large overhang, placing the coral on top but allowing deep shadow below (sort of a mushroom shape with the overflow centered to give max area draw and base support for the LR) providing a circular swimming area but don't know if the cuttles would utilize the shape. My short experience with Trapper's nonbrooding behavior suggests this setup would be desirable but she's an O. Mercatoris and the observation may have no merit on cuttles or even octopus in general. Our new public aquarium has them in a rectangular tank with no obstructions but I am not convinced there is a lot of expertise involved with the setup. I ordered a DVD from a German diver this week that is an hour long filming of breeding cuttles and I am hoping to get a better idea of their habitat from the video. Any observations on their swimming behavior would be appreciated!

 

[Thales]

DOH!

I forgot to mention that I keep the actinics on for 10 hours a day! MH 3-4, VHO 10-12. 4 hours total of light a day is not enough for corals. You could also run PC or T5 bulbs if you didn't like the look of VHO.

My cuttles seem to really like the 'arches' I made for them, but as they get bigger, they seem not to care so much.

 

[DWhatley]

Thales,
I run my normal PC daylight 12 hours and double the lighting for the 3 hour period (actually more than double because I use the newer bulbs in my high noon set and shift them to the daylight slot when I replace bulbs). My softies would not survive on 4 hours of light either

I was going to ask if you thought PC's would be sufficient at 12 hours but we will probably decide to hang them fairly high so we may be forced to use the VHO IF I try to double the intent of this tank. In the back of my mind, however, a warning light is flashing about trying to make the tank accomodate anything but the cuttles.

If you get CORAL mag, there are a couple of ... interesting setup's shown this issue but I can't see putting on dive gear to clean my tank

 

[Thales]

IMO, PC alone are not enough for hard corals, neither are VHO. If you want them to thrive, you need MH to get them going. The high noon idea will prolly work with a combo of MH and either VHO or PC.

 

[DWhatley]

Thanks Rich,
That is the direction we are thinking if I can decide I can do both with the tank. I feel both need the water volume of a large tank and don't want (to take care of) two more that size!

I got a job today (wooo hoooo) so after the new roof and downstairs heat/air system, a new tank is viable!

 

[cuttlegirl]

Thanks Rich,
That is the direction we are thinking if I can decide I can do both with the tank. I feel both need the water volume of a large tank and don't want (to take care of) two more that size!

I got a job today (wooo hoooo) so after the new roof and downstairs heat/air system, a new tank is viable!

Congratulations on the job!!! Are you thinking of S. bandensis or S. officinalis? My officinalis did more swimming than my bandensis do. S. officinalis do better in a circular tank or bow shaped tank than rectangular. They seem more apt to jet off backward into the side of the glass. I think that they need more space in general than bandensis. I know that Mizu had Zim, an officinalis in a 150 gallon tank.

 

[cuttlegirl]

Tomorrow the cuttle-kids will be 11 months old. Still eating, fighting, and looking good.

 

[Michael Blue]

Tomorrow the cuttle-kids will be 11 months old. Still eating, fighting, and looking good.

...Taking after their food slave, I see.

 

[DWhatley]

Jen,

We are trying to design the tank to accomodate a single officinalis or multiple bandensis so that we would be able to have either at different times. A circular tank would not fit where we will put it (we are being creative in finding enough space and support as it is - ever see a tank OVER a stairwell ? ). The gallonage is fine as we expect it to be somewhere close to 150-175 empty + 30 gallon sump but I will have to think about a way to round the corners internally if we try the big guy.

The big question I have is, is it viable to have an officinalis and a hard coral tank in one set up? Our thinking is to step the LR and put hard corals and high light across the back 1/3, step down for lower light softies and down again to sand. We think we can angle the MH to keep the lighting contained to the back 1/3 of the tank but I would like to know what issues the idea presents.

Unfortunately, it will be a while but we both keep staring at the stairwell (splits the kitchen from the dining room) and throwing out ideas every time we are in the kitchen The last time we did this it took us almost a year to design and set up a tank but we are pleased with the result.

 

[Paradox]

Do you have a connection for officianalis in the US? Since octopets closed down, Ive not been able to find or hear of this species available.

With my experience, officianalis became less active under bright MH lighting. Some people believe it can cause blindness, but I found nothing like this occurring. I have kept some SPS in the same tank as the officianlais, but I wouldnt recommend it. They get large and when startled can shoot backwards at quick speeds. It can injure the coral as well as the cuttle. Plus, officianlais is such a entertaining cuttle that I would choose not to have him hang out only in the 'dark' areas of the tank.

Currently I keep cephs with low light corals. Mushrooms, ricordias, zoos. Ive no cuttles at the moment for Im unsure of wanting to take the bandensis route again, but Id love to know if you had a connection for officianlis.

 

[DWhatley]

Paradox,

Unfortunately, the only "connection" I have is for common Keys livestock and some terrific aquacultured LR. I am the webmaster for a small diver/collector/conservationist (no, there is no contradiction there ) but don't even have access to the terrific staghorn project Ken pilots. My access to oddball stuff is more difficult than aquarists living on the West Coast or in the Northeast.

The tank will be set up for long time though so we would like to be able to house whatever might become available. If the bandensis work with the horses, I might have to rethink the use and design (please note my questions to you on the clam and bandensis thread). I am thinking now about some kind of hard coral island that would be less likely to get in the way and a bow front tank (if I can get an acrylic tank made with a curved front ). We are still very much in the beginning stages

 

[Michael Blue]

I've seen an acrylic bow...I'll see if I can find the info for you. Do you know what size you were looking for? I think the one I saw was a 90g.

 

[DWhatley]

Michael,

Thanks for the report on the viability of a bow front acrylic. If you happen upon the site, please do post the location. We expect the tank to hold somewhere between 120 and 150 gallons and have agreed on a 2' tall tank (the only established dimension ;>) since our 3' tank is quite difficult to clean and the 4' (only 30 gallons and VERY narrow) next to impossible. The two 2' tanks are just the length of my arm so I am heavily pushing for this size.

We will probably have one made for the space we have in mind unless there is a standard VERY close to our needs. The tank will be put over an open stairwell and will need to fit the space very closely. We had our 140 built at no more than the cost of a ready made and will contact the same manufacturer once we have a design well in mind but are wide open to suggestions.

 

[Michael Blue]

Is your manufacturer able to do bow fronts?
I haven't been able to locate the one I saw yet, if I can't I may ask for your contact's info so I can hire them, too.

 

[DWhatley]

Michael,

I did not think to look into their shapes yet but since you asked, I did a quick look on their new site and they do offer the bow fronts (at what price will be a question for later )

Here is the link: http://www.aquartaquariums.com/aquariumshapes.html
if you would like to contact them. We had them make a stand and hood out of black acrylic as well as the 140 pentegon tank.