- Joined
- Feb 25, 2012
- Messages
- 84
If you have to ask, then you cannot afford it? But I prefer to have some notion of what I am getting into. I am curious about the approximate variable food costs of raising 6-8 Sepia Bandensis dwarf cuttlefish. Also, I realize there are other variable costs (not to mention the significant up-front fixed costs of setting everything up), but except for a little more saltwater and filter changes, I already have a 125G DT reef system so these costs are well understood for me. My focus is on the incremental live food costs of raising a handful of dwarf cuttles from eggs.
I did some math and was curious if others have had similar ballpark expenses.
My assumption is the cuttles live for a year (52 weeks). I want estimate the costs of giving them a fair amount of live food, hoping to somewhat replicate Thales success here. I realize this may not be possible for me at home, but I did find a nearby local bait shop (Mike's Bait in Oakland) that sells a saltwater grass shrimp (I assume this Cragnon spp), so I anticipate being able to keep a 20G stocked with these feeder shrimp. I therefore hope to give the cuttles a fair amount of live food.
Another point, my plan is not use a lot of Live Artemia Nauplli: throwing a punch of Mysids in a tank and then feeding them twice a day is easy and my wife can do this when I travel; constantly staying on top of Artemia Nauplli cultures is not. I plan to feed the feeder shrimp (Mysids, Palaemontes Vulgaris, and Cragnon) a combination of enriched frozen artemia nauplli, cyclopeze, nutramar ova, and mortar crushed pellets/flake food.
So here is the breakdown of costs INCLUDING SHIPPING by week starting with immediately after they hatch (I realize they may not eat immediately, but I plan to be able to put mysids in the tank immediately:
Here's the math:
8 * $50 = $400
2 * $110 = $220
39 * $10 = $390
Total = $710
I will throw in another $90 in the frozen feeds over the year, for about $800 per year or $66/month.
Any comments?
I did some math and was curious if others have had similar ballpark expenses.
My assumption is the cuttles live for a year (52 weeks). I want estimate the costs of giving them a fair amount of live food, hoping to somewhat replicate Thales success here. I realize this may not be possible for me at home, but I did find a nearby local bait shop (Mike's Bait in Oakland) that sells a saltwater grass shrimp (I assume this Cragnon spp), so I anticipate being able to keep a 20G stocked with these feeder shrimp. I therefore hope to give the cuttles a fair amount of live food.
Another point, my plan is not use a lot of Live Artemia Nauplli: throwing a punch of Mysids in a tank and then feeding them twice a day is easy and my wife can do this when I travel; constantly staying on top of Artemia Nauplli cultures is not. I plan to feed the feeder shrimp (Mysids, Palaemontes Vulgaris, and Cragnon) a combination of enriched frozen artemia nauplli, cyclopeze, nutramar ova, and mortar crushed pellets/flake food.
So here is the breakdown of costs INCLUDING SHIPPING by week starting with immediately after they hatch (I realize they may not eat immediately, but I plan to be able to put mysids in the tank immediately:
- Weeks 1-8, Live Mysids, $50 per week (www.liveaquaria.com, order of 100 per week, including shipping)
- Weeks 9-12, Palaemontes Vulgaris, $110 every two weeks (www.livebrineshrimp.com, order 250 for the two weeks, including shipping)
- Weeks 13-52, Cragnon, $10 per week (local bait shop, not sure how often I will need to make this trip)
Here's the math:
8 * $50 = $400
2 * $110 = $220
39 * $10 = $390
Total = $710
I will throw in another $90 in the frozen feeds over the year, for about $800 per year or $66/month.
Any comments?