Can anyone help re compiling a list of aquaria that have live squid on display (not cuttles, octopus or Nautilus)? Today's our big day.

I heard yester that Monterey Bay had live 'arrow squid' on display; that's a feat if so! Can anyone confirm this?

Ta
O

We've had Nototodarus on display for ..........3 whole days once :oops:

Reef HQ in Townsville have had Ideosepius on display (before you say anything yes I know.............this is not as squid as such) But t'is all I can think of

J

Ta Jean. I searched the Monterey site and didn't find anything about a live squid exhibit. Are any Tonmo regulars next to Monterey that could check this out/call? It'd be much appreciated.

After a rather exhausting day the squid display is now up and running, alongside a poster with a nice wee plug for www.TONMO.com. Will get a pic online morrow (hopefully; morrow is a big day with VIP's arriving).
Me

Monterey Bay has Sepia, but as far as I've seen, no arrow squid.

I'll let you know as soon as I get the next newsletter...

John

I have been to many marine exhibits in the UK and have never seen live squid on display

Ta John, Col. Quite exciting ay wot! Can't wait for them to grow up a tad; there's ~ 400 of the lil' guys, some now to 15-20mm total length (and the recents 7-10mm); they are very fast growing at present.
O

Steve,

Checked again w/ Monterey... No arrow squid, just a preserved Dosidicus in a jar. I could send you a photo if you want. They do have a niiiiice selection of screencaps and fmv's on their intranet (including the possible new Magnappinnadae(sp?) specimen caught on tape off the coast of Hawaii. You would probably have more luck in getting free downloads of that than I would. Contact MBARI (The Research Institute) of you want more info on that.

Spotcha later!

John

We had a live dosidicus for a few days. Appropriate, since it was the night that Dr. Roper was speaking....

Hi Rona. Where abouts was this squid on display???

Ta muchly
Me

When I worked at Cabrillo Marine AQ in San Pedro CA. It's right on the beach and a family found it while swimming and brought it to us. I think it knew Dr. Roper was going to be there ;-)

Thanks Rona. Do you recall what kind of tank it was in? (approximate size/volume/shape). Having been found on a beach, or taken in shallow water, it was probably going to die anyway. I'm going to try raising something very closely related to it here in NZ (not Sepioteuthis, but Nototodarus). We should be getting juvenile Nototodarus in the light traps very soon.

I've not heard of anyone keeping them going (Dosidicus) longer than a few days.
Ta
Me

Yo Steve
Victor had an Argonauta at the Island Bay lab a couple of years a go - it survived about 10 days - he's got video of it somewhere

I remember that one M; he called and I trundled on down to see it. The darn thing was pulled from a rockpool in Island Bay. Last year he had a Tremoctopus too, also taken in an Island Bay rock pool - he sure has a knack for procuring the impossible (that's in my freezer somewhere, along with all of the squid gonad). Heard of any developments down there re the new aquarium?

From what I remember, I don't think he could get the Argonauta to feed. I did gut content work on the thing years ago, but forget what I found; all I remember was that the crop was usually quite distended with something rather peculiar (I have notes somewhere). I never kept any going that long - I think I made 5-or-so days, but in retrospect I never made an appropriate food available to them.

Hey M, looks like we've got at least 1 person lined up to do some food web stuff on a commercial fish species (PhD). Good eh! Gonna be some exciting things happening in 2004!

I digress (he says, slapping his wrist).
Cheers
O

Definitely no live squid on display at monterey bay aquarium. Just the dead one already mentioned. I'm a volunteer diver at the aquarium and I harass the cephalopod aquarist every now and then. I've been told that the cuttlefish exhibit is going to go away (some time around september, I think). I love that exhibit so I'm not thrilled with that but they're not a local species so they don't really "fit in" with that part of the aquarium. On the upside, it sounds like they'll be using that space to expand the Giant Pacific Octopus exhibit.

I recently heard a rumor (from another volunteer diver) that there was a large squid at the aquarium in a transport tank that's owned by the tagging of pacific pelagics folks. I'll try to remember to bug the proper people about that when I'm over there tomorrow.

I've also recently started volunteering with William Gilly next door to the aquarium at Hopkins Marine Station. He does keep Loligo opalescens in a tank for brief periods. These guys are collected during their spawning events so they usually expire pretty quickly. Gilly does a bunch of work with Dosidicus down in Mexico. I don't know if he's ever kept them in captivity for any considerable length of time though. I'll ask him when I see him next week.

I would love to see a squid exhibit in the monterey bay aquarium. Aside from the fact that they're just cool, squid has become the number one fishery (in terms of monetary value) in California so it seems like big oversight to not have them represented in the aquarium. Unfortunately, deciding what goes on exhibit isn't part of my volunteer duties.

Hi Jared. Thanks for that great post. "A couple of days" I had relayed to me several days ago re the length of time William Gilly had kept Dosidicus live. I would dearly like to talk to him. Perhaps you can mediate and get him to 'sign up' and discuss his tank setup online.

I think we are only 'weeks away' from the big breakthrough in keeping similar squid alive. It'd be fantastic if he could do the same with Dosidicus! Great crew onboard too .... answering quite a few of my problems, and generating new problems/questions too!

Cheers
Steve

I did find out today that there was at least one Dosidicus held for a few days last week (I'm a little bit miffed that nobody told me about it while it was still there). I haven't had a chance to get any of the details about it from Gilly yet though. Next time I talk to him I'll mention the site and let him know that you'd like to talk to him. I do know that he's extremely busy right now though. I generally have to resort to being really annoying in order get a few minutes of his time. Fortunately, I've got enough squid fervor that pestering scientists comes quite naturally for me. It also helps that it only takes me about five minutes to ride my bicycle to his lab.

I did find out today that there was at least one Dosidicus held for a few days last week (I'm a little bit miffed that nobody told me about it while it was still there). I haven't had a chance to get any of the details about it from Gilly yet though. Next time I talk to him I'll mention the site and let him know that you'd like to talk to him. I do know that he's extremely busy right now though. I generally have to resort to being really annoying in order get a few minutes of his time. Fortunately, I've got enough squid fervor that pestering scientists comes quite naturally for me. It also helps that it only takes me about five minutes to ride my bicycle to his lab.

What a hoot! Go bang on his door and say someone wants to speak to him, pronto, now even, and that they'll not take 'no' for an answer. Tell him there's someone setting light traps for ommastrephids, using rather novel aquarium setups, and that they'd benefit from his experience (tremendously), and he may benefit from there's. Of course if he ever reads this he'll think I'm an arrogant fellow, but I'm anything but. I just want to see him succeed, as much as I want to, and two heads and two sets of experience are better than one. Also tell him that Discovery Channel said he should log on :wink: (coz yes, I've had words with people). You could also offer him a bribe. Jelly donuts work well with me (strangely nobody has offered me one yet, in over 12 months .... tragic really).

You're a lucky fellow Jared; could you refresh me on what it is you are doing (other than volunteer diver at the aquarium).
Cheers
Steve

HAh. At the MBL, we can only keep Loligo going for a couple days.... Then again, we're not trying to keep them alive, we're trying to rip out their axons and study them.

Oh, and Stevo? Do Dosidicus taste like ammonia, or are they tasty?

Hi Steve,
As far as Cabrillo goes, we had one in our holding tanks in the back. About 7 feet across these tanks are, with a flow tube [bubble] in and a filter tube out to our main supply. they are basically storage tanks, so their not very fancy. Did the trick though! I tried raising Loligo from eggs too. Boy! That's tough....
Cheers, Rona

PS. No squid yet at Aquarium of the Pacific either.... Yet........ :heee:

I tried raising Loligo from eggs too. Boy! That's tough....


Hi Rona; thanks for that. Did you have any luck with your Loligo? If at first you fail, try, try again! Lets get more squid out there on public display.

I tried raising Loligo eggs once.... (I have lots of access- THANKS MOM! :tentacle: ) I had an egg case in a yoghurt cup of seawater with an aeration device. They hatched, looked cute, and died.

HI Steve

will that be sloanii or gouldi (southern and northern/aussie species of Nototodarus folks!) you'll be keeping????? I'd love to hear more about it!!!

Cheers

J

.... well, in all likelihood it will be Nototodarus gouldi (that's in the immediate future, but it really depends on whether I can find the time to actually get out and catch them!).

Feb 13 to Feb 24 I'm doing the lecture circuit aboard the Odyssey for the AMNH (yup, the AMNH is coming to NZ and I'll be talking about squid for a couple of weeks aboard the vessel). No sooner have I finished that than I'm off to sea again Feb 26 through March 10, looking for the larval Architeuthis (just a short, weather-dependent series of overnight trips) - a story about this is planned for the New Yorker (so the plan goes), with one of their reporters accompanying us; worst-case scenario is I catch Moroteuthis only, but that in itself, if they 'stay alive', will be a world first (and I'll be kinda jolly happy coz I'll know that we can do this with Architeuthis). March 11 I'm double booked in 2 cities to give talks ... hmmmm .... (that's just not going to work), then another March 16. Post March 16 I've really have to knuckle down and do some Uni work, although I'm kinda pooped.

... kinda digressed there. Ooooops.
I've basically got 1 Feb through 12 Feb free to go chasing the Nototodarus, so cross fingers that all goes to plan.