Just received by first cluster (total of 9) and they have hatched 4 days ago. My question is how long before they start eating live prey? I have put some copapods in with them and nothing, next i tried fresh brine and nothing is there a egg sac they absorb before the eat live? I have 1 adult that is a year old that i got when he was eating small ghosts ut these little guys dont seem to hunt at all. I appreciate any advice from seasoned cuttle veterans.

They will eat live mysids. I didn't see mine eat at first, but after the food kept disappearing. Good luck.

If they have a yolk sac they were prolly 'born' prematurely and prolly wont make it. You will see the yolk sac - its pretty obvious where the arms are.
It can be very hard to see the babies eat at first, but don't stop putting the food in with them. Please don't use brine shrimp, just about everyone says its no good nutritionally, even when enriched, and people keep reporting trying it, but having no success with cuttle survival even when they do get eaten.

Raising hatchlings is a pain! :smile:

i lost the last cuttle last night. i dont get it they were swimming around almost like playful, the next morning only one left. i am more determined that ever to make my next attempt at cuttlefish rearing a success. thanks for the advice.

1) Always remember these guys are classic r-strategists...Of all the eggs lain in the wild, only a few make it to adulthood! Nature doesn't invest much in each hatchling.

2) Where are you keeping them? You might try a small net breeder. If they're in a big space they might not be able to find food no matter how much you put in.

3) You might try other feeds. Sach's System Aquaculture (http://www.aquaculturestore.com). Mysids are good but eat eachother; they also sell amphipods which I haven't tried, but I believe Thales uses WC amphis.

Good luck,

Dan

sorry to hear it, RIP little cuttle :angelpus:

I think better mysids are from reedmariculture.com. Sachs are wild caught, while the ones from reed are cultured. I had a much higher long term success with Reeds.

I use wild caught amphis because I can get them easily. If I wasn't able to get them (and the new bait shrimp feed) easily and inexpensively, I prolly wouldn't have cephs! :D

Sorry about your little cuttles :cry: . Sometimes they just don't make it. Were they shipped close to hatching? Sometimes the stress of shipping can cause them to hatch prematurely. That's why I try to ship mine as soon as my female lays them.

Hey guys!

Just wanted to point out how cool this is. We finally have a couple of people with captive raised bandensis eggs for sale/trade. Something we have never had in the past.

Yay TONMO!

Thanks for the replies, I was pretty much learning as I went with my adult cuttle and felt confident in rearing some little guys. I think I did have them in too large of a breeding container. I had just got a smaller net style when it was too late. I have tons of 'pods I get here in FL and put quite a lot (20or so)in with them. I don't think they were harmed in shipping as they came from a local breeder i just went and picked them up. I would like to try again so if you have some let me know.