Hatching Time

[Krakilin]

How long does it take on average for a cuttlefish egg to hatch?

Yesterday one of my eggs opened up and a bubble came out. Two hours later the bubble coming out was bigger but not much. On the third hour I decided to perform an operation.

It seemed like the cuttlefish died while struggling to get out

 

[Krakilin]

bump... kind of urgent

 

[L8 2 RISE]

I always thought it was or would be pretty fast. If by bubble you mean air bubble, I don't think there really should be air in there, and for future reference, if the egg does open and it looks that the cuttle is trying to get back, I would open it myself.

 

[cuttlegirl]

Was it a bubble of air/gas or was it a clear bubble protruding out of the egg? It takes a couple of weeks depending on the temperature of your water. How long have you had the eggs? Have they changed at all?

 

[Krakilin]

It was a clear bubble protruding from the egg. I've had them for a week and a half and some have gotten bigger and some haven't. What's odd is the ones that are smaller are hatching already even though they aren't nearly as big as the one I performed the operation on.

The temperature stays between 78 and 80 and the tank is very well established. 120 Gallon with 60g sump and 60g external refugium!

 

[cuttlegirl]

Are they hatching with the yolk sac still attached to the end of their tentacles?

 

[Krakilin]

Actually the only one that hatched completely (surgery patient) had nothing attached to the end of the tentacles.. hatching prematurely maybe? I definitely did not damage the cuttle.

Edit: Omg I just realized I might have been popping the sac that they feed on!!!! The "bubble" looked like this pic from cuttlegirl:

But then again today the cuttlefish is inside of that bubble thats protruding from the egg. Ugh, is there is any article about the cuttlefish birth process?

 

[Thales]

If there is any sign of yolk sack don't try to cut the cuttle out. I have seen the 'bubbles' on the egg you are describing and they may be from failed early hatch attempts.

The bandensis hatching process hasn't been looked at very well as of yet (at least that I can find). Sometimes they take 3 weeks to hatch, sometimes longer. Sometimes they get big and hatch, sometimes they hatch small. Sometimes they seem like they are duds, only to perk up and hatch weeks later. We need a grant!