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Cuttlefish for a 44 tall

asid61

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Feb 15, 2011
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I live in the US and am considering cuttlefish as an alternative to octopus. At first, octopus seemed to appeal to me more, but then I realized that I might not see it ever, they are incredibly small as babies, and the species name is almost never available, not to mention that my tank does not have a lot of bottom surface area. Plus, my mom does not like catching them from the wild, as most are. Thus, cuttlefish are becoming a more ideal option. I can hatch them, they ship better, and are smaller. Sepia bandensis is probably the best option for me.
My tank is 2' tall, and is pentagonal. The approximate bottom surface area is 16 x 24, about the size of a 29 gallon aquarium if the tank was rectangular.
This, I know, is not very large, but I am hoping that it will suffice for 1-2 cuttlefish. I have a 10 gallon sump and a 1" sandbed. I use a 250 watt heater with the temperature around 80 during the day and 78 during the night. I use a 250 watt MH fixture to support corals, and this contributes to the high daytime temperatures. Will this harm the cuttlefish?
I have 2 400 gph circulation pumps that circulate water around the sides of the tank.
My filtration consists of a 60 gallon rated whisper power filter and a 100 gallon rated seaclone protein skimmer.
Can I hang the net breeder for the cuttlefish babies in the tank or will the MH be too much for them? How should I go about shading the net breeder?
Also, how should I dim the lights in the aquarium? Can I just use an LED moonlight at night or should I switch to dimmer flourescents/LEDs first?
Also, I will not get the cuttlefish for at least a few months, so I can get better at keeping reefs first.
Thanks, and sorry for so many questions.
 
sorry i keep finding threads that I posted in and now my posts are missing.

Sounds like an Ok setup for no more than two cuttles. temp seems a little high, but i have kept octos in water that warm. I think you are right that it would be best to figure out a way to shade the breeder net.

Dwarf cuttles need a tropical enviroment. 72*-78*
 
Thanks! 1-2 was my goal anyway.
Also, will they be affected by high lighting and by a lot of flow?
 
Lighting experiments have shown that even metal halides are OK but make enough overhangs where they can find plenty of shadow.

Not sure about how much flow and how much still is best suited for them. Hopefully Thales or Cuttlegirl will give some suggestions.
 

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