WC bandensis eggs!

[cuttlegirl]

RIP Baby A, she was with me 9 months and 12 days.

 

[monty]

 

[Thales]

Its that time. I think Jennifer and I are the only ones who kept them alive to maturity and egg laying. I have lost 4 myself in the last month. Go short lived animals go!

 

[elaflam]

RIP Baby A, she was with me 9 months and 12 days.

That's sad. I hope her children do well.

 

[cuttlegirl]

I still really miss Baby A, she was the friendliest of my cuttles. Yesterday Scrunchy sat on my hand for the first time. He lets my nine-year-old pet him any time she wants and sometimes lets me pet him. Cuddly is always up for a pet. They seem to be fighting less now that Baby A is gone and sometimes I even see them in the same cave, hanging out together.

Tomorrow I will have had the boys for 10 months. The time with them sure has gone quickly.

 

[cuttlegirl]

Update on the boys... both are still doing well. I almost ran out of live shrimp yesterday (shipment was delayed), so Scrunchy was out glaring at me yesterday morning. Luckily he got some shrimp after work when I picked up the mail. He would still rather interact with my nine year old than me, but I am the food slave so he has to show his face sometimes .

 

[Thales]

I am down to four large males - I lost the last female a few weeks ago.

Any other updates?

 

[cuttlegirl]

It seems that the boys are still growing, Scrunchy looks bigger to me. Cuddly has terrible aim, he misses about 3 out of every 4 tries. Scrunchy gets almost every shrimp he wants. They are still fighting, but I often find them under the same rock - the rock that Baby A laid most of her eggs. It seems to be the favorite cuttle hang-out.

 

[DWhatley]

Jennifer,
I am glad to see another aquarist has accepted the realities of the role of critter keeper

 

[Michael Blue]

Wow. I just read through this whole thread (that took some time!) and I have to say I'm as amazed as ever with these beautiful creatures!

The commitment of those breeding these animals and the interest of all of those watching was incredible as well!

I will continue to research and plan out my tank build in preparation for caring for some of these little guys. I doubt I would be ready, equipment is one thing, experience is quite another, in time for any hatchlings this season, but that gives me a whole year to get my setup together, and practice with some corals, etc.

Thanks for leading the way...I've been wanting to be a part of this since I first saw Mike deGruy's "Incredible Suckers" video nearly 10 years ago now. You can see my 1999 review of it here, bottom of page.

Now, finally, the hobby has gotten to the point where it is worth pursuing in the US, and it's all thanks to people like you guys (and gals) here! THANKS!

 

[cuttlegirl]

Scrunchy and Cuddly have become friends... they like to hang out together all the time.

 

[Michael Blue]

Awsome to hear they're still going!

 

[DWhatley]

Jennifer,

How big are scrunchy and cuddly now?

Neal was sad when I told him the eggs were not going to hatch but not suggestive about looking for more eggs UNTIL he saw the NOVA special and got a good feel for how interesting these little guys are. Now he is talking about ANOTHER tank (not the one I intended if we were successful with one of the eggs) to house several . He wants to put it directly over out open stairwell so that he would see the little guys everyday on his way to his TV . The thought is predicated on me finding a job but he has started figuring out dimensions and support.

Can the cuttles be kept with hard corals or is the requsite lighting too much? I have seen opposite opinions about the effects (damage) of high lighting even with lots of shadow and since you have been so successful with these, I would like to mimic (uh, nah, I won't go there) your environment.

Would the same tank for several bandenis be suitable for one officinalis (thinking about roughly 100 - 120 gallon tank so maybe 80-110 gallons - roughly the size of two 55's side by side)? We noticed that Live Aquaria may sometimes have aquaculted - I assume this means WC eggs hatched here - in the US, officinalis so we would like to have the tank designed around both species.

Is height a major consideration? If we construct the setup Neal has in mind (there is an alternate) it would be easier to clean if it was only 18inches tall but I recall someone thinking that more overhead water was desireable. Any suggestions you have or comments about creating a cuttle tank that would be suitable for any we found would be most appreciated .

Thanks,

 

[cuttlegirl]

I bought my 55 gallon from a guy who didn't want it anymore (I got to recycle!). It came with a 15 gallon sump and live rock, mushroom corals and some zooanthids. The zooanthids didn't do so well, I have never kept any kind of corals before, so I don't know if I didn't provide some necessary nutrient. The mushrooms are multiplying everywhere. The tank looks pretty good with just the live rock and mushrooms. My cuttles are about 3 inches long right now and sometimes I think they might like a slightly bigger tank, but they spend most of their time hanging out under the live rock caves. That is, until they see me and try to convince me to throw in a few more shrimp .

 

[Thales]

I'm not Jennifer, but I have some thoughts...

Can the cuttles be kept with hard corals or is the requsite lighting too much? I have seen opposite opinions about the effects (damage) of high lighting even with lots of shadow and since you have been so successful with these, I would like to mimic (uh, nah, I won't go there) your environment.

The general wisdom is that the light is too much, but at the same time, I haven't seen anyone actually try it. If you do, I would suggest running the MH lighting along with VHO and only leaving the MH on for 3-4 hours a day which would be plenty for the hard corals (my full blown reef tank has the MH on for only that long, and it has great growth and color).

Would the same tank for several bandenis be suitable for one officinalis (thinking about roughly 100 - 120 gallon tank so maybe 80-110 gallons - roughly the size of two 55's side by side)? We noticed that Live Aquaria may sometimes have aquaculted - I assume this means WC eggs hatched here - in the US, officinalis so we would like to have the tank designed around both species.

General wisdom says 200 gallons for an officinalis, but it really is hard to tell. I have never kept the species, so its hard for me to comment on them. The place that Live Aquaria was getting them from has shut down (inconveniently, they owed me a bunch of money for bandensis eggs and shut down and never paid me so I bring it up when I can! )

Is height a major consideration? If we construct the setup Neal has in mind (there is an alternate) it would be easier to clean if it was only 18inches tall but I recall someone thinking that more overhead water was desireable. Any suggestions you have or comments about creating a cuttle tank that would be suitable for any we found would be most appreciated .

I think you would be fine with 18 inchs of depth.

RR