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how do you know your cuttle is ready for the big time?

Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Messages
263
Location
Northern NJ
ive got a .5" cuttle that, i can tell, absolutely LONGS to be in the main tank. i feel so bad for keeping him in a net.
is 1" the generally recognized size as being "big enough" to see in a main tank, or does it depend on your tank size? im confused.:sad:
 
It depends on if you think they can...
Hunt and have enough food without any problem
Be easily observed when you need to see if they are doing well
Feed directly from your hand or feeding stick if need be

They get lost quickly in a large tank with liverock. I have a small reef and released mine at about 1". I lost them constantly and regretted setting them loose for about a week. Others have had larger tanks and way more regrets. The smaller the reef, the less you have in terms of hiding spots and the more acclimated they are to feeding from your hand/stick or the abundance of food make all the difference.
 
first:
is this type of open/fan wave maker safe for cuttles?
second:
im moved Chunk to the tank previously occupied by my harlequin tusk till she leaped to her death yesterday:sad: and am wondering if anyone has thoughts on putting a cuttle in a tank with 3 open sides, like this. its exposed to the kitchen and living area. theres a good amount of rock with hiding spots, but im not sure if he'd get freaked out by the exposure, nonetheless.

thanks for all your help guys. i'd be lost trying to do this without this forum. hell. i wouldnt have even tried.
 

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I guess it depends on how much traffic you get through the area.
Are you are just sitting and reading the morning paper and walking past or is someone jumping up and down, screaming at the Wii/Tv screen all day?

I think they would be ok with a normal amount of activity, they would probably peek at you from the rock work...
 
no kids or crazy activity. they would get a chance to get to know the cats, as they are curious about the tank contents, and the only ones home all day. now that i think about it a bit more, i believe the pump is perfectly safe. from what i can tell, they designed the prop to be as safe as possible. thanks again.
 
chunk is a 6 week old .75" eating machine. yah, i think so too. once the other cuttle i have is bigger, i plan to move them both into the octo-stand tank and perhaps get another octopus for the hex. i think it would be cool to have both.
 
I keep thinking I will do cuttles in the largest tank one day but the current occupants (mandarin, niger trigger and the banded coral shrimp that runs the place) are likely to be around for a few years and I could never catch them to move them to one of the smaller tanks.
 
I have my reef on a granite top right in the kitchen. All 4 sides are exposed to traffic and the cuttles dont care at all. They recognize everyone (cat included) and will burn themselves out begging for food when it gets around 6-7PM (dinner time). They are not what I consider to be shy animals once they figure out where food comes from. I dont have kids, so I cant factor in that magnitude of insanity. Thank god.
 
let him out last night. he wouldnt come out of his breeder for a couple of minutes. then he swam to the bottom and dug around in the sand and hunkered down till the lights were out. when i got up this morning, he was on the kitchen side of the tank hanging out in the open. he pushed around on the glass for a few minutes then retreated under a rock ledge, where i can still see him. very excited about it for him. i put about ten baby shore shrimp in so he would have something to chase overnight. thanks again for all the advice.
 
rryyddeerr;160019 said:
: and am wondering if anyone has thoughts on putting a cuttle in a tank with 3 open sides, like this. its exposed to the kitchen and living area. theres a good amount of rock with hiding spots, but im not sure if he'd get freaked out by the exposure, nonetheless.

They should be just fine. After a few days they won't care. The ones on show at work don't care at all and people bang on the tank and take flash pics all day. I think a lot of the skittishness attributed to these guys is from importation of adults in the past - and from other species.
 
he seems to be fairing well. he chilled out in one spot all day under a ledge, then perched up on this rock when the lights went off while i went out for ice cream. :heee:
 

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cool! hes looing really nice and big now! does he change his colours too? mine seem to like to be red while near the red macro in their net.
 
Yeah mine are nocturnal too. I happened to glance over at the tank last night with a flash light, and the cuttles were all swimming about in their net.
 

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