Information on keeping cuttlefish in public aquariums?

[Henry100]

I would like to know a few things about keeping cuttlefish in public aquariums,so as to use them as guidelines for keeping cuttlefish at home!By saying cuttlefish,I definitely mean Sepia Officinalis,as this is the only species of cuttlefish available in my location.I need this information because I have failed in keeping even 10cm cuttlefish alive for over a week!When I put them in my 30gallon tank,they always die from butt burn...

[i_HAPPY_ru]

I have a very small Cuttlefish the came with my live rock it was half the size of my pinky fingernail when it arrived 4 weeks ago...and now is the size of my full pinky fingernail. I feed it fresh clam form the tip of a skewer.

[bchristie]

Not going into specifics on cuttlefish husbandry; water quality is of key importance, which will be incredibly difficult if not impossible to maintain in a tank of only 30 gallons, not to mention that that is far too small for S. officinalis...adults of this species reach mantle lengths of nearly half a meter and would need a 150-200 gallon tank at minimum!

Keeping the species at home is not impossible, and husbandry practices in public aquaria are far from rocket science, but it will require a good setup, large tank, soft substrate, a highly varied seafood diet, attention to detail, and EXCELLENT water quality. Also consider that if you are getting small juveniles, you will ideally need to have a large supply of live food (mysid shrimps/other small shrimps depending on size). Check the TONMO site for more info, and here are a few references:

Wood J.B. 1998. Cuttlefish husbandry part IV. Aquarium. 21 (10) : pp.64-66

Wood J.B. 1998. Cuttlefish husbandry part III. Aquarium. 21 (9) : pp.78-84

Wood J.B. 1998. Cuttlefish husbandry part II. Aquarium. 21 (8) : pp.72-78

Wood J.B. 1998. Cuttlefish husbandry part I. Aquarium. 21 (7) : pp.72-74

Anderson R.C. 1987. Cephalopods at the Seattle Aquarium. Int. Zoo Yb.. 26 : pp.41-48

Choe S. 1966. On the eggs, rearing, habits of the fry and growth of some Cephalopoda. Bulletin of Marine Science. 16 (2) : pp.330-348

Domingues P.M., Kingston T., Sykes A. and J.P. Andrade 2001. Growth of young cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis (Linnaeus 1758) at the upper end of the biological distribution temperature range. Aquaculture International. 32 : pp.923-930

Domingues P.M., Sykes A. and J.P. Andrade 2001. The use of Artemia sp. or mysids as food source for hatchlings of the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis L.); effects on growth and survival throughout the life cycle. Aquaculture International. 9 : pp.319-331

Koueta N., Bouchaud-Camou E. and B. Noel 2002. Effect of enriched natural diet on survival and growth of juvenile cuttlefish Sepia officinalis L.. Aquaculture. 203 : pp.293-310

[Henry100]

I have already read the articles of J.B.Wood from TONMO,which are very good articles.As I remember,the problem of ''butt burn'' surely existed in the cuttlefish which died,but the water quality was also poor(at the same time),as the water had become cloudy.Thus,this might be the real cause of their deaths.I wonder if the ''butt burn'' issue exists even in the public aquariums,where cuttlefish are kept.

[bchristie]

Mantle lesions or "butt burn" are common in public aquaria, in both octopods and cuttles, but all cases that I have seen in both are linked with senescence, not due to water quality as is more often the case with hobbyists. There is actually a bit of literature on treatment on these lesions, I believe Lewbart's Invertebrate Medicine has some info on treatments of mantle lesions (though I'm not sure as I don't have the book in front of me)

[marinebio_guy]

Most "Butt Burn" is caused by animals being kept in a small tank and them jetting into the sides of the tank when startled, which for cuttlefish if it happins enough can cause there cuttlebone to crack which will sometimes lead to premature death. A minimal size tank for officinalis is 100-120 but larger is always better. Also aas a side note Juv. can usually be trained to take dead food with a little time and effort.