• 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.

squid tank

blue-o-two

Cuttlefish
Registered
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May 25, 2008
Messages
18
hi all,
I am quite and avid scuba diver. and i love cephalopods. i never tried to keep these animals in captivity before but i have kept SW fish for many years now. after reading through some of the journals of the cuttlefish projects, i was wondering if something similar could be done with squid. obviously you have to choose the slightly smaller specise and you would need a much larger tank. but could it be done. im very interested in possibly setting something like that up. i just wanted to know if it was at all possible. if it is any information on how i would go about setting it up would be much appreciated.
 
:welcome:

Squids are generally considered much harder to keep, to the point where no hobbyist we're aware of has kept them for any length of time, the only exception I can think of being bobtail squids, which act more like shy cuttlefish. Squids tend to be cannibalistic, voracious, and have a habit of jetting into the walls and hurting themselves. A few pros around have had some luck raising them, in particular Steve and Kat kept a squid tank (that had a "squidcam") for quite a while, but it was pretty difficult, and although one squid lasted long enough to break a record, he ate all his siblings when the food wasn't provided fast enough. I think he lasted around 250 days in captivity, if I remember right. I think they had it plumbed into a flow-through seawater system as well, so they didn't have to worry much about water quality.

At the very least, I'd think that getting used to the food and filtration needs with cuttles would be wise as a first step, since squids are known to be much more extreme. I think, though, that it's so impractical for someone who doesn't have access to a research facility that it's effectively impossible, and you'd probably be happier with cuttles, particularly if you're dismayed by high casualty rates.
 
daddysquoc;118526 said:
ur also probably going to need red light, so they think its dark. thats what u have to do with nocturnal octos, since they cant see red.

If you do, go with red plastic or red vellum covering a fluorescent light instead of the red LEDs. Works much better with my O. mercatoris.
 
gholland;118536 said:
If you do, go with red plastic or red vellum covering a fluorescent light instead of the red LEDs. Works much better with my O. mercatoris.

I have both an LED set up and a vellum type cover (two different Merc tanks) and the vellum over a flourescent is, by far, the most successful for both observation and for the nocturnals ignoring the light.
 
oh shoot. well. i guess you might wanna check out craigs list and find a good deal on a glass tank. ive heard you wanna buy a round one to avoid them smackin themselves against the glass, but you can find just about anything on craigslist. so give it a shot.
 

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