Just today i looked in my tank and noticed these 2 black things at the bottom of my tank

I think they may be cuttle eggs but im not sure and if they are i am clueless on how to care for the eggs

Any info would be greatly appreceated

What shape are they? How big are they? Did we determine if you have S. bandensis or S. officinalis? It is entirely possible if you have S. bandensis that she laid eggs. You can raise the young on mysids and P. vulgaris, but Righty and Paradox are the experts on this...

not to big but the thing is is that i got no clue how to take care of them ( i currently hve them inx the same tank as the cuttle)

the eggs are about 1/2 an ich long ,blak and one has like a bulb apperecne to it)

Sounds like a cuttle egg to me...which means that you probably have S. bandensis and she is at the end of her lifespan. If your eggs are fertile, you can order mysid shrimp from aquaculturestore.com and put them in net breeders in your tank. You can put the eggs in a net breeder too. Good luck.

how do i know if therir fertile

They will expand like a balloon filling up. I suggest not touching them at all until you see them expand.

one of them looks sort of expanded the other isnt

ther edefinatly cuttle eggs , while i was rearanging my rock work i vuncoverd about 5 other eggs attached to a rock i relly need info on the care of the eggs, most of them have swelled up but the ones that are on the floor are they now dead or did they just become detached from the rockwork??????

Ok,

If they are fertile, you have about 2-3 weeks before they hatch. If you haven't already, read Righty's article on S. bandensis http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cuttlefish.php. This will help you prepare... It could be that the first ones she laid aren't fertile, or they did not inflate for some reason.

2 of them are detached from the rockwork but are swollen does this mean there dead
also when i move these to a net breeder tommorow how delicate are they as far as can i pick them up at all or not???

If they are inflated but not attached to anything, that is ok. You do not have to move them right away, since you do not have anything else in your tank. The mom will not bother the eggs, you only have to put them in the breeder in order to find them once they hatch since they will be so small.

i got a plastic breeder today but one of the pieces were missing so ima go get a new one 2 morrow

When they do hatch how do i take care of them

sniperjoe, take a look at the article that was posted about 4 posts back. it tells you exactly how to take care of them.

also checkout daisyhillcuttlefarm dot com

the mother just died this morrning

:sad: Sorry to hear that she died, also sorry that you only got to spend a couple of weeks with her...

How many eggs did she leave behind?

i would say about 9 fertile and 3 unfertile

Is it very hard to take care of the eggs+babies cuz i talked to the pet store owner and he said most likely most of them wont survive but then again they didnt even no the breed of cuttle they were selling me

As Kinetic pointed out there's a wonderful article that's been written that describes in great detail what is required to care for the little guys.

Dan

ok, the pet store owner was wrong, bandensis cuttle babies are fairly easy to take care of, first put the swollen eggs into the net breeder, second, go to the linked aquaculture store on the previous page and order 100 mysid shrimp(your cuttles will be very hungry), once they start hatching begin feeding the mysid shrimp. if you notice canabilism get more net breeders and seperate them. you wiil need to keep your good water quaility and such, the babies like to hide in macro algea such as red glucerna or culurpa, so have that ready. this is realy not that hard of a thing to do, so dont get too frustrated.

if you have any more questions please ask!!! hopefully righty or paradox will be here soon, as i only have had to raise babies once.

can the newborns eat brine shrimp

I need cuttle pretty much covered all the basics...

Feeding them brine is pretty much feeding them nothing. They have no nutritional value. Its a bad idea to use brine. If your near a shore, you may be able to find some pods. Look for non sandy areas where the substrate is mostly rocks or crushed shells...etc. When the tide lowers, lift some rocks and you may find pods.

If your not near water, the mysids are your next best bet. Check some other posts here about raising babies..Theres a couple people going through the same process as you will be going through and many suggestions are offered there. In my opinion, the most challenging thing about keeping and raising cuttlefish from eggs is keeping them fed!

Good luck!

i am near water with TONS of mysids but the water is very dirty... can i still use the Mysids from this area

no they will kill the babies, try to find mysids from non poluted waters

how long will 100 mysids last me and where can i keep them

WC Bandensis eggs! (http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6501)

New Babies (http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6634)

when i get the mysids should i keep them in the tank, or the breeder with the cuttles

If you keep them in the tank, they will be hard to find, if you keep them in a breeder (separate from the babies) they will cannibalize each other. Either way, expect to order mysids every 5-7 days...

If you keep them in the tank, they will be hard to find, if you keep them in a breeder (separate from the babies) they will cannibalize each other. Either way, expect to order mysids every 5-7 days...

Next time around I'm going to be prepared to order two batches every week. For those weeks until they will take shore shrimp.

This may have been enough for two of my cuttles that died. Maybe, maybe not.

Dan

Hey guys,

Just to let you know, as some people have asked, I am paying attention, I just want to see what you come up with without me sticking my big nose in and telling you what 'I' know. :smile:

Dan, how many mysids in the batches you order?

Nancy

Each batch is 100. I estimate they survive around 5 days with cannibalism. Two a week is probably a little bit overkill but there's also a psychological factor: I tried to do it on a shoestring by ordering one a week, next time I want to make sure I'm committed to spending a lot of money on mysids :)

Dan

It's easy to underestimate food needs/costs for any type of ceph. They always eat more than you think they would! At one time my bimac was eating $50/food per week -crabs and shrimp. Well, I don't live near the ocean.

It's sometimes difficult to convince would-be ceph owners that they may incur big expenses - that's why I've often asked for specifics, such as how many mysids you really need per week.

Nancy

Iorderd 1 batch yesterday and am planning to put them in my tank ( not a net breeder)

The newest problem i have just runn across ins that i am going on vacation the 29th for about 4-5 days and i dont know what to do about the egges, i dont even know if they will hatch while im away
( had the egges scince about anywhere from the 9th to the 11th)

I wouldn't put them in the tank--you'll never see them again.

Dan

ill probly see them cuz i had them down at my dock and before i even did put fish i put a couple of mysids and i was able 2 see them but the reel problem im having is the vacation

Can you get someone to take care of your tank while you're gone?

Nancy

If you want any of them to make it, you need a tank sitter.

how often do they need 2 eat cuzz im only gonna be away for about 4 days

Mine eat twice a day. Two of mine died after not having food for only two days. I think Righty is, well, right. If you want any to survive you should find someone to feed them.

Dan

what if i leave some mysids in the breeder with them

They might be ok, they might not.

k so it would probly be better 2 get someone 2 feed them once a day but that may be a problem any other suggestions?

If you want them to be OK you need to find someone to feed them. Once a day will probably be fine. Putting the mysids in there won't do...they're less inclined to eat if they're surrounded by food all the time (which you know because you read all the info before you bought them).

k thnx 4 the help, like i said ill probly be able 2 get someone

any other suggestions are gratly appreciated

were the eggs suposed to hatch yet
because they havent

It takes 2-3 weeks so they might still be fertile...

could there be a problem with them???

they still havent hatched yet. what should i do

make da worlds smallest omellet?

I would wait one more week, but it is not looking good... :sad:

they still havent hatched

My guess is they are not fertile. Maybe you could open one and see if there is anything inside...

arent they fertile as long as there blown up

Pics please.