• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

How old would a 2-inch S. Bandensis be?

Lev

O. bimaculoides
Registered
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
57
Amazingly, a 2-inch long Sepia bandensis recently showed up in one of my LFS's. It's the first time I have sen one. I am quite interested in attempting to breed this species, but I am concerned about that if i get this individual, i will not be able to aquire one before this one dies of old age. I have been scoping LFS's for cuttles for the past 3 years, and this is the first time one showed up. And it looks very healthy. Unfortunately, there was a second one, but it died (&^%&^$%^!) but this one is eating, and looks very healthy. He is only $49.99. He is 2 inches long, and they get up to four inches long, right? So how long would this guy be able to live for? another 5-6 months?

Thanks very much in advance,
Lev.
 
Is that 2 inches mantle length or total length? My female is 8 months old and she is probably 2 inches total length... My males are a little larger, maybe 3 inches total length. I wouldn't pay $50 for a cuttle that is that big unless it was S. officinalis. Especially since the other one died...
 
The longest I had a wc adult cuttle live was 5 months, but I got it fresh from the bag so the stress of shipping was minimized. Most live weeks after coming home. It sounds like its an adult and won't grow much more.
Its a 50 dollar risk (not including tank and stuff), and only you can decide if it is worth it.
 
Thank you for your input. It is very hard to decide. Cuttles are never available here (in Canada) , not to mention CB cuttles, unfortunately. I've got the tank set up, and it's either this bandensis, or some Seahorses. I love cuttles to death, so I would rather obtain the cuttle, but If I cannot have enough time to attempt to breed them, then it is a lost cause. I totally believe in aquaculture, and I am trying to raise a batch of O. mercatoris that hatched 5 days ago. It is indeed a very tough choice..
:cuttle:
 
Lev;86700 said:
I've got the tank set up, and it's either this bandensis, or some Seahorses...I totally believe in aquaculture, and I am trying to raise a batch of O. mercatoris that hatched 5 days ago. It is indeed a very tough choice..

Alternatively, you could save the tank space to aid in your octo raising. This tank could either become extra room to culture live foods (of which you will need lots) or keep it in reserve for when the little octos get big enough and need to be separated. I know that raising octo's from eggs doesn't have the best success rate, but if you are so committed and end up being successful, you'll be glad to have the extra space. Just another thought.
Good luck and keep us posted!

Cheers!
 
Sorry to hear about the cuttle.

I have to say that size at age data for cephs is generally pretty unreliable (especially in squid). Growth is extremely plastic. Animals of the same age can be wildly different sizes. It seems to depend on food quality/quantity, gender, water temp, and a huge amount of individual variation. I had animals caught on the same day, at the same time whose backcalculated hatch date was the same and one was twice the size (ML and wt) of the other. So it's really hard to look at an animal and say that is x months old (IMO anyway :smile: )

J
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top