• 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.

Starting a Cuttlefish tank again

I received an octopus from them and there is def something off about this company IMO. I ordered a farm raise bimac and received a California Lilliput Octopus. Not something easily confused especially if you are farm raising them. When you consider that this octopus is the smallest octopus in the world and only lives in the kelp hold fast it makes you wonder how he managed to obtain one.

They talk a good game... a really good game actually. But there have been to many questions raised for us to promote them as a source.
 
not sure about octopus

I don't know about his octopus but he seem like a good person who will make good on anything you purchase and have issues with. He has always been more than fair with me. As for promoting him, site is were I got the link to go get the eggs and cuttlefish. So other use Oceanpro Aquatic from Tonmo or I would not have purchased anything from him. Sorry to hear you had bad luck or a bad order. Hope you called and asked for the owner. :hmm:
 
This seller (OPA) is no longer supported by TONMO for a number of reasons, but the tipping point was when they engaged in copyright violation and their refusal to remedy the situation. In the past they have been deceptive about there products and have even lied about there sources. Tonmo support the responsible selling and keeping of cephalopods, the seller has proven they are not responsible. This decision come from Tony (tonmo) and does not come lightly as he rarely censors information on TONMO.

Please remove the links to this seller if you have posted any. Thanks for your cooperation.
 
I have 7 babies and they are eating well and growing. I am happy :smile: My first batch did not do as well because I didn't realize this type must be fed smaller food at the beginning of their life; copepods and baby shrimp. I have managed to keep there for 2 weeks without issue or loss. I will try to get photos of them later.

Mike
 
I have had a bunch of direct communication with the owner. He now says none of it ever happened and he has never recieved complaints. His site contains misinformation that he has been made aware of numerous times yet never changes. His claims about tank raised and farm raised are espically troubling. He is widely avoided in the industry.

Bandensis eggs, and other cephs, are widely available now, so I see no reason to support the company in question.
 
Oh - even the MO online companies with the worst service records have some customers that like them. Thinking that 'this time I am sure they have gotten better' often leads to sadness.

When Sabrina ordered from them recently, I was willing to giv them an 10th chance, but the claim that they have farm raised bimacs when they clearly don't, combined with the continued misinformation and the use of other peoples content without permission gets yet another big thumbs down from me.
 
Mike Bauer;174523 said:
I have contacted Tony and he is aware of my post. I am leaving up to him to decide if it stays or goes.

Mike - I've removed the link; please no more promotions of that seller.
 
Mike Bauer;174583 said:
Bandensis eggs, and other cephs, are widely available now, so I see no reason to support the company in question.

Thales - You say you know of many places that supply Cuttlefish and Octopus to the general public, Could you please provide a list of places to purchase them from for all the unlucky people having trouble finding places that will sell them to a pet owner. That would be a great help and you could add it to your web page as well.

There is an ongoing list cuttle availability thread.
 
Mike Bauer;174588 said:
I am not sure what is going on with these cuttlefish. The water is correct, the temp is good

To be useful, we would need details. pH, Alk, Ca, Mg, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite and temp.

they seem to be eating.

What do they seem to be eating, how much, how often. I think you mentioned and copepods and brine, both of which haven't panned out as good bandensis hatchling food. Fish also tend not to be a good food until the hatchlings are about a month old. Amphipods are generally not a good food for the first few weeks because they are hard to catch and the cuttle ends up not getting enough to eat. What kind of shrimp? What size?
 
Looks to me like a nutrition problem. Rotifers are simply too small to be taken as prey. IME copepods/tiggerpods are too small as well, but while they may be taken for the first few days, are too small to provide enough nutrition. Brine shrimp have been shown over and over again to not be a good food for cephs (anecdotal for sure, but 50 -100+ cases of anecdote add up) - naups are too small to be taken by hatchling cuttles, and adult brine doesn't have the nutrition to sustain their lives. There is a note about the unacceptable nature of brine shrimp as a cuttle food in every article I have written on the subject.
Live mysis is the food of choice for hatchling cuttles (through about a month when the cuttles can be weaned onto frozen PE mysis (hikari is too small) or moved to larger prey) in the US because it is easily available in the amounts needed. Any larval shrimp, or adult shrimp for that matter, that are about the same size as adult mysis will work as well, but are generally more difficult to get.

Your alkalinity numbers don't make sense to me. Alk is reported as meq/L (ranging from 2.8-4) or dKH (ranging from 7-1). The numbers you provided look more like calcium numbers, but a fluctuation of 180 - 300 is not only too much of a fluctuation, but too low a value. Ca should range between 350 - 450. If it is fluctuating between 180 and 300 something is wrong.
 
Mike Bauer;174628 said:
All,

It would have been nice if everyone would have given suggestion on raising cuttlefish instead of posting how much they hated the place I purchased them from. :sad:
I might not have lost 2 babies.

That information is readily available in many of the articles on S. bandensis. You even referenced one, so I assumed you read it. You also didn't seem to be asking questions, and have been posting about how much you have read and your experience, so I didn't know you were looking for input. Sorry.
The information is also available in many of the cuttle posts on TONMO.
 

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