freshly laid eggs in hard to reach place (S. bandensis)

[Dandys]

Hi,

At least one of my cuttlefish has laid eggs, and now there are eggs all over in hard-to-reach places in the rocks of my tank. About two weeks ago, I pulled some loose to put them in a net breeder, but now they all look pretty much dead. The newer ones which are still on the rocks look healthy so far, so should I just leave them there and let them hatch naturally, or should I remove them?

What I would want to know is-

would the adult cuttlefish eat the hatchlings once they come out?
would the baby cuttlefish be able to find food in the tank? (stock of coepepods, can add mysis)
if it is better, how should I go about moving the eggs and is there anything better than just a net breeder inside of the main tank?
the tank has a good number of bristle worms, are these a threat at all (to eggs, hatchlings, or adults)?

Thanks.

 

[DWhatley]

I am an octo and not a cuttlefish keeper but keep up with the "other side of the house". I have consolidated a lot of the older scattered posts but did not go as far back as the one I want to recommend. However, here is the start of CuttleGirl's last adventure with her cuttles that should give you a basic feel for what to expect. Hopefully CG will move forward with setting up a new tank this year . She was definitely known to mention that females will lay their eggs in the darkest, most difficult to access corner available in the tank. I also recall that the first and last laid were duds where the ones in the middle of her laying time (Baby A laid over 100) were healthy.

Thales has written an excellent article on keeping and raising bandensis and it will also give you some clue as to what to do and what to expect. A breeder net is definitely the way to go so that you can ensure eating in the first month. It is unlikely they will survive in the larger tank until they are about an inch long.