Anywhere to buy dwarf cuttlefish?

**Cephman** · Dec 29, '08, 9:07pm

Does anybody know where I can buy dwarf cuttles online?

**Animal Mother** · Dec 29, '08, 9:58pm

www.bandensis.com

Do your homework though. Don't be hasty about making a purchase.

**cuttlegirl** · Dec 29, '08, 10:25pm

Have you had experience with salt water tanks before?

**L8 2 RISE** · Dec 29, '08, 10:32pm

What are you trying to get? You've made several posts recently about 3-4 different types of octo's and now cuttlefish all with different sized tanks.... You need to slow down, here's a list of questions that you need to answer for your self right now or soon, before you do anything else, otherwise you're going to get no where, and make a lot of mistakes.

What tank are you going to get (so far you've mentioned a 65, 34, and 300 gallon, which one are you going to get?)

And What type of Ceph do you want? (cuttlefish or octo)
-to answer this you need to answer these questions:
1) How much do you want to spend on food? If your answer is less than $30-$50 a week, you're going to want to go with something that will DEFINETLY eat frozen food, right now captive bred cuttles from thales and paradox are the only ones on the market that will do this.
and 2) What size tank are you going to have (if it is less than 55 gallons but more than 30 or so, you're going to want to go with cuttles unless you want a merc)

Have I missed anything here?

Basically, you need to go slowly with this. I've been "planning" on getting cuttlefish since I joined tonmo, which was a year ago this month, and still am at least 3 months out. I've been working on setting a tank up, doing my homework, and getting it right during that time.

**Animal Mother** · Dec 30, '08, 12:45am

I'm considerably experienced with octopuses and this is my first batch of cuttle babies I'm raising now. It IS NOT easy to raise them, and it IS NOT cheap to raise them. I've spent $90 in the past 10 days on just food for them, and half of my babies have died.

**Cephman** · Dec 30, '08, 9:16am

Originally Posted by L8 2 RISE

What are you trying to get? You've made several posts recently about 3-4 different types of octo's and now cuttlefish all with different sized tanks.... You need to slow down, here's a list of questions that you need to answer for your self right now or soon, before you do anything else, otherwise you're going to get no where, and make a lot of mistakes.

What tank are you going to get (so far you've mentioned a 65, 34, and 300 gallon, which one are you going to get?)

And What type of Ceph do you want? (cuttlefish or octo)
-to answer this you need to answer these questions:
1) How much do you want to spend on food? If your answer is less than $30-$50 a week, you're going to want to go with something that will DEFINETLY eat frozen food, right now captive bred cuttles from thales and paradox are the only ones on the market that will do this.
and 2) What size tank are you going to have (if it is less than 55 gallons but more than 30 or so, you're going to want to go with cuttles unless you want a merc)

Have I missed anything here?

Basically, you need to go slowly with this. I've been "planning" on getting cuttlefish since I joined tonmo, which was a year ago this month, and still am at least 3 months out. I've been working on setting a tank up, doing my homework, and getting it right during that time.

I was going to buy a 300g from my LFS for $500. I decided on cuttles because I dont want anything to escape and because the dwarfs wont eat tridacna clams or soft corals.

**Cephman** · Dec 30, '08, 9:20am

Originally Posted by Animal Mother

I'm considerably experienced with octopuses and this is my first batch of cuttle babies I'm raising now. It IS NOT easy to raise them, and it IS NOT cheap to raise them. I've spent $90 in the past 10 days on just food for them, and half of my babies have died.

I found a website that is called liveaquaria they sell a 100 pack of white shrimp for $28-which comes with a live arival gaurentee and 14day gaurentee. They also sell corals at reasonable prices.

**Cephman** · Dec 30, '08, 9:23am

Originally Posted by cuttlegirl

Have you had experience with salt water tanks before?

Yes. My aunt use to have one and I helped her feed the inhabitants and clean the filter and other equipment.

**gholland** · Dec 30, '08, 9:52am

Originally Posted by Cephman

I found a website that is called liveaquaria they sell a 100 pack of white shrimp for $28-which comes with a live arival gaurentee and 14day gaurentee. They also sell corals at reasonable prices.

Make sure you read all the fine print. From Liveaquaria.com:
"White shrimp are guaranteed to arrive alive but are exempt from our extended guarantee after their arrival."

Also, for those of you with experience, at 1/4" to 1/2", how long will 100 of these last? I know baby cuttles eat a great deal more than baby octos...

**Cephman** · Dec 30, '08, 10:38am

Animal Mother, how long would 100 shrimp last for two 1.5 month old cuttles?

**L8 2 RISE** · Dec 30, '08, 12:11pm

Originally Posted by Animal Mother

I'm considerably experienced with octopuses and this is my first batch of cuttle babies I'm raising now. It IS NOT easy to raise them, and it IS NOT cheap to raise them. I've spent $90 in the past 10 days on just food for them, and half of my babies have died.

You got eggs if I am correct though? I was talking about him getting the three month olds that Thales and Paradox have for sales sometimes, or maybe it was a one time thing? That are already weened on to frozen food, I was definetly not saying they were any easier, just that you could get ones that were already weened onto frozen food.

**Animal Mother** · Dec 30, '08, 12:36pm

Originally Posted by Cephman

I found a website that is called liveaquaria they sell a 100 pack of white shrimp for $28-which comes with a live arival gaurentee and 14day gaurentee. They also sell corals at reasonable prices.

I'm a fan of LiveAquaria. I've looked at their feeder shrimp before. I've also noticed that those feeder shrimp aren't in stock very often, they aren't in stock right now. You would be better off with www.aquaculturestore.com shore shrimp if you're going with those. They are never out of stock.

Like D pointed out, there's no guarantee that 100 shrimp are going to live long enough to fed alive. Of course if the cuttles are already eating frozen foods then you can just freeze the leftovers.

There is no cheap long-term solution though.

**Animal Mother** · Dec 30, '08, 12:37pm

Originally Posted by Cephman

Animal Mother, how long would 100 shrimp last for two 1.5 month old cuttles?

I'm not sure. I can tell you 100 mysis don't last more than 24-36 hours between 5 babies.

**Cephman** · Dec 30, '08, 12:54pm

Originally Posted by Animal Mother

www.bandensis.com

Do your homework though. Don't be hasty about making a purchase.

I'm not sure if I want to buy from them because they don't offer a full refund. But if this is where you bought your eggs then I guess I should.

**cuttlegirl** · Dec 30, '08, 1:34pm

Originally Posted by Cephman

Yes. My aunt use to have one and I helped her feed the inhabitants and clean the filter and other equipment.

You need to get some experience with a salt water tank by yourself. Helping someone else take care of a tank is not the same as doing it by yourself.

**Animal Mother** · Dec 30, '08, 1:35pm

Originally Posted by Cephman

I'm not sure if I want to buy from them because they don't offer a full refund. But if this is where you bought your eggs then I guess I should.

They are pretty much the only source for dwarf cuttles in the USA. Not a bad thing either, considering they offer eggs and babies, and they are hobbyists who love what they do and aren't in it to make a buck. The money they make is hardly profit considering how much it costs to obtain them in the first place, then feed them until someone buys them. Their refund policy is quite fair considering they do everything they can to offer healthy specimens. They don't know what your water parameters are, how experienced and capable you are, or if you even have a proper setup to house them, etc. And you have to consider that most websites that sell cephalopods don't offer ANY kind of refund on cephs because they are so delicate.

You might find a single cuttle for sell on LiveAquaria every 6 months or so, and they're usually fully grown or close to it. Considering they only live for about a year, buying an adult isn't a very good option, especially at $149 each like LiveAquaria charges for them.

**Cephman** · Dec 30, '08, 1:46pm

Originally Posted by cuttlegirl

You need to get some experience with a salt water tank by yourself. Helping someone else take care of a tank is not the same as doing it by yourself.

Well I am pretty sure I'll be capable of taking care of dwarfs because I have done more reading than I have to about them.
I also know a TON about corals-especially xenias and acropora which are some of the ones I plan to keep.
PS. I have $2,800 to spend on all of the things I need.

**L8 2 RISE** · Dec 30, '08, 2:44pm

Believe you me, the reading helps, but isn't everything. The first tank I set up without any prior experience was pretty much a bust, my nitrates were high, I couldn't figure out how to get them down, I rushed through it and didn't plan well. I am now on my third tank which is a 50 gallon before I move to my cuttlefish system which will be over 200 gallons. I strongly suggest you buy the 300 gallon you were talking about, and keep it as a reef tank with fish, etc. for about 6 months at least. Then sell all of the fish to your LFS or to your local reef club, and use the tank and set up as a cuttle tank, or even better, a vulgaris or cyanea (sp?). An even smarter choice would be to start with a 55 or so and just learn the ropes...

**Cephman** · Dec 30, '08, 2:51pm

Originally Posted by L8 2 RISE

Believe you me, the reading helps, but isn't everything. The first tank I set up without any prior experience was pretty much a bust, my nitrates were high, I couldn't figure out how to get them down, I rushed through it and didn't plan well. I am now on my third tank which is a 50 gallon before I move to my cuttlefish system which will be over 200 gallons. I strongly suggest you buy the 300 gallon you were talking about, and keep it as a reef tank with fish, etc. for about 6 months at least. Then sell all of the fish to your LFS or to your local reef club, and use the tank and set up as a cuttle tank, or even better, a vulgaris or cyanea (sp?). An even smarter choice would be to start with a 55 or so and just learn the ropes...

I can tell that you obviously didn't put much effort into your first tank but you are now. Can't I just keep the tank with corals for six months then buy the cuttles? I think it would be easier that way don't you think?