Nautilus Care

[Thales]

Where do you work and are you on aquaticinfo?

 

[skywindsurfer]

Wow,..well I definately didn't know about the posibility of them going blind. This definately is something to consider as well as tank size and demention requirements. Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I'm going to have to seriously reconsider my plans now. Its good that I hadn't really started anything yet. Again thanks for sharing.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Where do you work and are you on aquaticinfo?

PM'd you.

 

[SteveM]

Nautiluses produce a black substance in response to other injuries that they may incur in the wild, such as predator attacks, but the black shells in captivity is unique, though it may just be an extreme response to an "injury" in captivity. I use the term injury very lightly for lack of a better term. There is a paper on "scrubbing" the shells to reduce the appearance of the black shell but I do not believe this to get at the root cause of the problem so I have never attempted this.

Peter Ward at University of Washington resorted to hanging rubberized nets on the inside glass surfaces of his office aquarium to cushion the constant bumping that he determined to be the cause of the blackened shells. It worked. But such negative aesthetics would be another argument against recreational display.

 

[gjbarord]

SteveM,

Yes, I know Peter pretty well and have seen his setup. I will actually be heading to Seattle July 1st to meet up with him for a research trip and will get a chance to see his nautilus again. The last time I was there, he was not sure if the "cushioning" was actually working so it will be good to see the results since then. I am under the conclusion that there are a few other things going on that we don't know about resulting in the thin shell in captive populations and thus the black shell (because of the constant bumping of the thinning shell). It's good to hear that Peter has been successful with this part.

Are you a student in his lab? Faculty? Other?

Greg

 

[Thales]

Our have black shell, but hardly ever bump that part of the shell against the walls of the tank. The back, that gets bumped most often seems rock solid. The new growth areas seem to be the problem. Oh - Greg, I need that paperwork for cuttlebones. I got a Bret sized bunch for you!

 

[gjbarord]

Hey Rich,

That has been my thought as well. I think there are definitely peculiarities to each system and the behavior but the overall pattern appears to be what you describe.

What cuttlebone paper? Now that a needless, but hugely important test is behind me, I am finalizing the proposal for you as we speak. Will send it tomorrow and CC you on it as well.

Greg

 

[Thales]

Sweet. Interestingly, we lost a naut this week and the new growth was incredibly crumbly. Made me sad. I am going to try collecting the prawn shells other people toss and see if the nauts eat them.

 

[SteveM]

Yes, I know Peter pretty well and have seen his setup. I will actually be heading to Seattle July 1st to meet up with him for a research trip and will get a chance to see his nautilus again. The last time I was there, he was not sure if the "cushioning" was actually working so it will be good to see the results since then. I am under the conclusion that there are a few other things going on that we don't know about resulting in the thin shell in captive populations and thus the black shell (because of the constant bumping of the thinning shell). It's good to hear that Peter has been successful with this part.

Are you a student in his lab? Faculty? Other?

Greg, I'm returning from Spain on July 05, otherwise it would be a pleasure to meet. As for Prof. Ward's Nautiluses, an aquarium accident cost him a good animal a while back, and proper replacements had not been found the last time I visited.

To your question, I am UW alumnus (music) and owner of businesses totally unrelated to either music or mollusks. Nautilus has become my obsession later in life, bringing me back to a part of campus totally unfamiliar to me in the 1970s. If you ask Prof. Ward, he may choose to kindly refer to me as his 'enigma.' But I must say he has been very patient with me, as has Prof. Antonio Checa at University of Granada, while I delve into certain little-known areas of Nautilus biominerality in an attempt to get to the bottom of the centuries-old, somewhat-grounded myth of Nautilus pearls (my avatar).

Steve

 

[DWhatley]

Steve I moved the last few post to the Triassic Nautloid Pearl Blister thread