View Full Version : Protozoa in cuttles
Hi guys im new to this forum and still growing my tentacles on in keeping cuttlefish (S. bandensis). After 2 months of keeping 4 cuttles in a 280G aquaria i recently lost 2 of them. Post mortem shows 2 of them had protozoa in their digestive tract. Im now worried of the last 2 remaining guys. Any of you had successful treatment for this parasites? The remaining cuttles seem to feed well on mysids and small live fish.
Thanks for your help in advance! :wink:
cuttlegirl
Apr 10, '09, 4:22pm
How did they appear before they died? Were the animals totally healthy looking, eating and behaving normally and then suddenly died? Was there a decline in appetite first?
See these links.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B7GW3-4DPMCD5-1C&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=af2b0fe4e9c9de85cef681122e545be6
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T4D-3W4952F-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d8aa259bf8781479b2b4ccbbd82f6795
Sorry I don't have access to the full papers.
one of them was just sitting at the bottom not moving for hours and was already pale and then the other one follow after another hour or two. I was so sad coz they are with me more than 2 months already. Their tank mates are 8 nautiluses that are doing fine too. Thanks for the info on science direct, the parasites could have been transferred and started by from live food. Have anyone done treatment for this?
Cheers cuttlegirl!
cuttlegirl
Apr 10, '09, 11:51pm
What is the temperature of your system? How old were your cuttlefish? They can probably eat live shrimp. What kind of fish were you feeding them (fresh or salt water)? How big are the Nautilus? That is a lot of cephalopods for one fish tank, even a big one like yours.
Temp - 17C
Cuttlefish source from Japan they are well and always eating during feeding time. They even eat frozen krill, i got 7 Nautilus as their tank mates.
One of the possible culprit were the carpenters during their night duty. Loud banging outside the tank probably stressed them too much and eventually died. As for water chemistry everything is all normal.
Next time i will guard them closely! :) Thanks cuttlegurl!
cuttlegirl
Apr 13, '09, 5:49pm
So 17 C converts to 63F? That is really cold for S. bandensis - it is however a good temperature for Nautilus.
cuttlegirl
Apr 14, '09, 7:55am
The food may have contributed to their decline. If you were feeding freshwater fish, the nutrient composition is not the same as saltwater and the cuttlefish may not have had a balanced diet. Also, if you bought the fish from a pet store, some fish stores treat freshwater fish with copper medication. Copper is toxic to cephalopods.
Thales
Apr 14, '09, 9:06am
What species were they and how old/large were they when you got them?
Did you also lose a Nautilus? How long has the tank been set up?
hey guys thanks for ur infos and enthusiam, the cuttles that i get where cold water from japan, i was told it was small even in adults but i have to confirm. Sorry of my being greenhorn on this animal but nonetheless i got no loss for nautiluses. They are all well and sweeping! Nautilus and cuttles were kept same batch and still alive till now (2mos) except for the 2 cuttles that died. 2 remaining cuttles still active and alive, i bred the FW fish as live food and im 101% sure no Cu in it. All live food are enriched or fed with enriched NH Artemia and good quality Krill that they take in... :)
Thanks Thales! :)
Thales
Apr 14, '09, 7:41pm
I was asking because in one post you said 7 but in another you said 8 :grin:
Without a species or a pic, I can't give you any info. I have a guess at what they may be based on what I know is available from Japan at the moment, but thats a pretty wild guess.
Sorry Thales all nautilus were 7 in total my mistake :). The tank has been setup for 5months already. I will post pics as soon as possible so i can share it with you guys. So whats your WILD GUESS thales? :)
Cheers guys
Thales
Apr 18, '09, 1:48am
No guess. Need more info. :grin:
I will upload the pics tonight. From live freshwater fish as prey i switched to frozen krill and the 2 cuttles are taking in. Leftover pieces are sweep by hungry nautilus.
cheers
Attached is the pic of my cuttlefish... can anyone tell me what species is this?
Cheers
Thales
Apr 19, '09, 8:51am
Glad I didn't use my wild guess. :D
From those pics, and they aren't great so this is also a guess, they look like bandensis or something similar. Which prolly means 17c is too cold for them. They also look large, so they are prolly towards the end of their life cycle. Again, both of these are guesses.
If the guys you bought them from said they were coldwater, they should be able to give you some sort of ID. I do hear a lot of mis ID stuff coming out of Japan.. They shipped some latimanus eggs as coldwater 'giant' cuttlefish eggs which isn't quite right.
I will upload the pics tonight. From live freshwater fish as prey i switched to frozen krill and the 2 cuttles are taking in. Leftover pieces are sweep by hungry nautilus.
cheers
I'm glad you switched diets. Even enriched FW fish or crustaceans are not right for cephs, the protein content is too low and the fat content too high. Cephs have a protein based metabolism and they need a lot of protein but they can't store or perhaps even properly digest the fat.
Looks like a nice tank.
J
DWhatley
Apr 20, '09, 12:20am
Thales,
Put the other back, pick another, anything but THAT!(well almost anything!)
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences i really appreciate it. Thales thanks for sharing your ceph website its really great. Im always staring at those little critters that you have kept in your farm. :)
Cheers
Till next time
How did they appear before they died? Were the animals totally healthy looking, eating and behaving normally and then suddenly died? Was there a decline in appetite first?
See these links.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B7GW3-4DPMCD5-1C&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=af2b0fe4e9c9de85cef681122e545be6
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T4D-3W4952F-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d8aa259bf8781479b2b4ccbbd82f6795
Sorry I don't have access to the full papers.
Great Link's thanks
Attached is the pic of my cuttlefish... can anyone tell me what species is this?
Cheers
Beautiful Cuttlfish and Nautilus's think i spelled that right lol.
:roflmao:
lance