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Calling an animal "endangered" carries numerous meanings, the primary one of which is that there is sufficient documented evidence that this species will go extinct if not protected, and hence it receives "endangered species" status ... I would rather see you say they are "thought" to be threatened.
Remember also, that researchers may only be spending the majority of their time in one area and that this species is relatively widespread though perhaps not common, so while its numbers may be declining based on less frequent observations in the field in one area, it doesn't mean this is happening over its entire range of distribution. So it would more accurate to say it may be LOCALLY threatened.
It would be very helpful to know how many of these animals are actually showing up in the trade. I see availability lists from the US and Japan on a regular basis and it is not a common item and never has been, and when they are available, it is usually a single specimen. I don't think the market for these things is that large to be honest. As for Metasepia, most that I see in the trade come from Japan and most of these are captive reared.
Nevertheless, no tropical cephalopod really makes a great aquarium animal for a hobbyist for several reasons IMO:
1) Their lifespan is very short.
2) Many are only active at night.
3) Many are secretive and rarely seen.
4) You have no idea how old the animal is when you receive it so you could have it for one day or two months.
5) Most are venomous to some degree; some are deadly.
6) They ship poorly and suffer high mortality rates during shipping.
7) Most are captive caught.
8) Most people lack the knowledge to correctly identify what they have and hence, provide proper care.
9) Hatching eggs and rearing cuttles is the best option for them, but most people can not supply the large amounts of high protein content live food they require for the first few months of growth.
10) Some get too large for an aquarium or need tanks of several thousand gallon to really do well e.g. many cuttle species and squid.
Keeping animals in captivity is a privaledge, not a right, and should be treated as such, and IMO most cephalopods just don't make sense for hobbyists to keep. The ONLY exception I would make would be for those animals that are captive bred, stay small, are day active and are not deadly.
Just my 2 cents worth. :-)
Aloha!
Charles
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