bare bottom

[blue-o-two]

i have an already established 50g tank and was thinking about adding 2-3 cuttles and maybe getting them to breed. id of course get rid of the current inhabitants. im really looking forward to keeping somecuttles. only thing is the tank is barebottom. with this be a problem? do cuttles need a substrate or will they do fine without?

your thoughs and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Almondsaz]

In many of the article written about dwarf cuttles, a sand substrate is recommended so that they have a place to bury on occasion. If you check out the stickey above this forum you can read that info and decide.

 

[watsontony]

They are definitely more happy and healthy it seems when you give them sand substrate to bury themselves in and rock to hide around.

 

[Thales]

I think S. bandensis will be just fine in a BB tank.

I think the reason sand is a good choice when they are small, and why they bury in it, is because it makes it easy for the aquarist to find them. In a tank with rock, substrate or larger, the small cuttles do a great job of vanishing - which is what they are supposed to do to avoid getting eaten. Sand gives them a place to feel secure, but its easy to keep track of them.

As they get older however, sand is not needed because they stop burying themselves and hid amongst the rock work or corals. The cuttles at work are almost never on the sand.

 

[blue-o-two]

thanks for the replys.
i do like the my setup as BB at the moment. what i might do is sink a bowl of sand in one corner so when they are young they can bury themselves there to feel safer and then remove it as they grow. but there is plenty of live rock and hiding places so maybe that wont be needed either.
i think ill keep it bare bottom for now and if i come across any problems ill change it

 

[Thales]

thanks for the replys.
i do like the my setup as BB at the moment. what i might do is sink a bowl of sand in one corner so when they are young they can bury themselves there to feel safer and then remove it as they grow. but there is plenty of live rock and hiding places so maybe that wont be needed either.
i think ill keep it bare bottom for now and if i come across any problems ill change it

You prolly want to keep them sequestered in something smaller than your tank while they are little. Check out the articles, they should cover this kind of info, but post back if they don't. By the time they are big enough to go into your system they prolly won't need the sand.

 

[blue-o-two]

yeh very good point thales. i will definetly keep them in a smaller tank with some sand. i got my 12 g nano. i put that to good use. plus it has sand in it so all is well
thanks for the help