Cuttle fish info plz

[sipos624]

I had an empty tank and my friend got me a cuttle fish to put in it. apparently it is feeding and doing well but i would like to have more information about them so if any1 can post up some links to some articles or post up some info i would really appreciate that. Thanks,

-Mike

[Opcn]

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/keepin...epingcephs.php
http://www.tonmo.com/articles/basiccuttlefish.php
http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cuttlefishcare.php

Just going out on a limb, but I get the distinct impression that you have no idea what you are doing and that if the cuttle makes it a month it will be the result of sheer luck. I think it might be better to find it a more suitable home and prepare to care for another cuttle fish if one happens to come your way in the future.

Good luck, HTH

[sipos624]

Thanks for the info. I know i came off like a total retard but i did do some research on this animal i just tried to get some more. I think i can handle this cuttle. i have kept many species of exotic animals before but this is my first ceph. I have had him for 2 weeks; 2 pin fish have gone missing in his personal 14g biocube (im thinking he had to eat them) I have tried to hand feed him a silver side and he proded and it and he is an inquisitive amazing creature. well anyway this is him and his aquarium. Any suggestions will be helpful.

[Echidna09]

He's cute! 14 gallons is too small for cuttlefish though. You might want to think about upgrading to the 29 gallon biocube as soon as you can. You also might want to think about getting more live rock and create shelves with it because they like to hide under it. He didn't eat the silver side because it was dead and because it was a fish. Cuttlefish like invertebrates a lot more like shrimps and crabs. Live food is probably what he will eat right now, you can try raw (grey) table shrimp from the grocery store and thaw one out before giving it to him. Then when you feed him dead food at first you will probably need to move it around a little with a feeding stick or something of the sort. Hopefully this isn't too hard to read being all in one paragraph and all.

[Echidna09]

He's cute! 14 gallons is too small for cuttlefish though. You might want to think about upgrading to the 29 gallon biocube as soon as you can. You also might want to think about getting more live rock and create shelves with it because they like to hide under it. He didn't eat the silver side because it was dead and because it was a fish. Cuttlefish like invertebrates a lot more like shrimps and crabs. Live food is probably what he will eat right now, you can try raw (grey) table shrimp from the grocery store and thaw one out before giving it to him. Then when you feed him dead food at first you will probably need to move it around a little with a feeding stick or something of the sort. Hopefully this isn't too hard to read being all in one paragraph and all.

[sipos624]

I live in Florida and I can actually go out and net grass shrimp, those grey shrimp, and many other live prey items so if you guys think thats ok im going to do that asap. what are tankmates i can have with cuttle fish? will he eat cleaner shrimp, corals, etc?

[Echidna09]

Yes live food is better than frozen. They are fine with corals and I think some people have put in seahorses with their cuttlefish. I think he will probably eat a cleaner shrimp, since he's a shrimp. You really should consider a bigger tank though.

[justinl]

given your situation, yeah sure stick to live food. dont feed too many FW feeders though. you should stick to mainly various SW feeders, and FW as much as possible. if you want you can always try better suited frozens like krill or shrimp.

definitely look into an upgrade for this guy. I would keep it a species only tank. so no tankmates. corals are fine.

remember that if you spook these guys sufficiently, they might ink and crash the tank. have a plan ready in case this happens.

lol i b*tch if my friends even suggest getting me a fish without my knowing about it. this is an example of why. a cuttle is NOT a good choice for a first ceph and a ceph is not a good choice for any beginner. like opcn, you'll be lucky to get a month out of him. experienced ceph owners rarely get them to make it past a year. still, he really is a cutie! ive always wanted a cuttle myself, but im not confident enough in my abilities... yet.

edit: i would not recommend seahorses to a beginner either as they require special care and have a pretty bad mortality in home aquaria.

[Thurge]

Cuttles are highly predatious, so most fish and shrimp will be welcomed to the dinner table.

[Paradox009]

Looks like a bandensis....
you will need a bigger tank..

Id recommend browsing the tons of information on www.tonmo.com

[toastii_reef]

I dont have enough energy in me to read the whole forum- ( have been up all night-24hrs actually since i woke up yesterday at 645)
so idont know what information you have

but 1) Cuttle fish are like my all time favorite animal!- they like me too!
2) i take care of them at the zoo and let me tell you they grow to quite a size you will need to have a much larger tank than that- like a 50gl
3) we feed it raw/frozen shrimp (dnt know what kind- depends what day it is)
4) i wouldnt feed it with your hand on the slight chance its little tenticle tounge can like eat your whole hand-
5) WHERE DOES ONE GET CUTTLE FISH!!!!I LOVE THEM!!

- gl sara

[toastii_reef]

6) if you can upgrade- i have a 40gl that would love to be inhabited by a cuttle fish <33

though thats not gonna happen- be cool though

[Thales]

1) how do you know they like you too?
2) Depends on the species. Some will do fine in a 40 gallon, some need a 200
3) Individual cuttles have different levels of acceptance of dead food.
4) Nope
5) Tonmo is the best for that kind of info.
6)

[toastii_reef]

hahaha
1) in the service area- the cuttle refused the frozen shrimp for like 3 days or something- and i wasnt aware of that- cuz i only work on sundays and some saturdays- and then i fed it and it took it immediatly and the main keeper was like "that cuttle fish right there- just at that piece of dead shrimp off that plastic stick...?!?" me- "yes" keeper- "high five girl!"

yea the cuttles at the zoo are in big 200gls with nautalis and then there is one in the service area in a 75 i think-

3) i know im just saying what we feed ours
4) feeding with hand bad or good? idk just as far as im concered i dont want my hand in the tank when that cuttle is hungry

[Thales]

Originally posted by toastii_reef
[B]hahaha
1) in the service area- the cuttle refused the frozen shrimp for like 3 days or something- and i wasnt aware of that- cuz i only work on sundays and some saturdays- and then i fed it and it took it immediatly and the main keeper was like "that cuttle fish right there- just at that piece of dead shrimp off that plastic stick...?!?" me- "yes" keeper- "high five girl!"

That doesn't mean that it likes you. It could easily just mean it was hungry enough to finally eat which is often the case.

4) feeding with hand bad or good? idk just as far as im concered i dont want my hand in the tank when that cuttle is hungry

Its neither here nor there. A cuttlefish is not going to 'eat your whole hand' and in reality prolly won't bite you at all.

[sipos624]

Well its been a little longer than a month so i guess i proved you wrong in a good way.

[toastii_reef]

hahaha - i know- haha
still the way they eat i dont feel safe with my hand in the tank with a cuttle fish- even though i know they wont bite- haha- but the alternate technique to getting food rather than the tenticle is to just like attack it and thats like !!!! hahaha
--
i was soo scared today at the zoo when i was playing with the octopus- who is soo funny- she is just amzing and she likes to be splashed!

- good luck with your cuttle

[toastii_reef]

Originally posted by Thales
That doesn't mean that it likes you. It could easily just mean it was hungry enough to finally eat which is often the case.
.

chill it was a joke

[Thales]

Originally posted by toastii_reef
chill it was a joke

I wasn't not chill. I was clearing up a point that is often made in reefing/ceph circles.

[toastii_reef]

i know haha- im sorry for the misconception but it was supposed to be sarcastically funny- not offensive!! my bad- emotions are hard over the internet

i tried to add the smile for emphasis but didnt work so well

[Leilani57]

he is so cool! but i agree he needs more room to play -- a great excuse to go tank shopping! that being said, i am so glad you have had success with him, congratulations.

[kurt72]

i was swimming in the indian ocean once, and came upon some cuttlefish. they liked me. they were following me around. or maybe they were hungry and were going to eat me.

but seriously, i am jealous. some day i will get a cuttlefish. since my excursion in the IO with the critters, i have always been curious of them. but i am not ready to give one a home.

oh and BTW, where did your friend get this cuttlefish. not only are they hard to keep, aren't they hard to FIND for sale?