5 gallon cuttlefish nursery

[hobogato]

picked this fluval chi tank up earlier this week to give the betta a home that would be easier to keep clean. after two days, the betta has moved back into his old bowl as i came across something more pressing for this tank...

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5%20gc/DSC08546.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5%20gc/DSC08537.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5%20gc/DSC08544.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5%20gc/DSC08542.jpg

three hatchlings and two more eggs left to hatch, here we go again :)

[Mike]

I am assuming that is a little cuttle? Very cool...

[hobogato]

you are correct sir

[txg8gxp]

Wow!!! Super cool.... I'm soooo jealous

[kkiel02]

As they grow will they go into your school tank? or do you have something else up your sleeve?

[ErikH]

That's awesome dude. :)

[hobogato]

i am trying not to plan that far ahead as i dont want to jinx it.


As they grow will they go into your school tank? or do you have something else up your sleeve?

[Europhyllia]

Awww.Good luck! Where did you get them from?

[hobogato]

i stopped by aquarium designs today because i was in the area, and there they were. totally unplanned, but that is what makes it fun sometimes :)

[hobogato]

just caught at least 20 pods from the 250 to give them their first meal. some of the pods are as long as they are, so they probably wont be big enough to eat them for a few days. going to try to raise them on pods until they are big enough to eat frozen this time, maybe that will work better than past attempts.

[Europhyllia]

it must be cuttlefish season. I was just thinking of you this week because somebody else was posting updates of their cuttlefish eggs and babies on FB :)

[CoryDude]

Going with the cuttlefigh again?!

[hobogato]

not in my 250. not sure what i will do with them if they make it


Going with the cuttlefigh again?!

[txav8r]

Sweet! Best of luck to you. I can't wait to see more pics!

[hobogato]

thanks jack, here ya go

had another hatch last night, so we are up to four. still one viable egg left.

three of the four were not too well hidden this morning

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5%20gc/DSC08550.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5%20gc/DSC08549.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5%20gc/DSC08547.jpg

[ErikH]

hopefully these ones aren't shy when they get older so you can get some videos!

[hobogato]

well, two of the four hatchlings didnt make it, i dont think they ate anything. the other two are hanging in there, and the remaining egg still has a lively one inside.

[hobogato]

well, unfortunately the first four didnt make it. i think they hatched too early and never ate anything. the last one hatched a week ago tonight and it seems to be doing well. hopefully it will keep eating and stay with us for a while

[BSJF]

If you run out of pods, come see me.

[hobogato]

ok, thanks!

here is a quick video that shows just how good this little one is at hiding (be sure to watch it full screen in high def)

Y5TeSF7fu9c

[ShAgMaN]

Man those guys are small. It appears your down to the last guy, wish ya the best on em.

[Texreefer]

Did anyone else find the big finger appearing and disappearing as funny as I did.. if its not funny to you, try adding your own sound effects when you see it... and no I haven't been drinking tonight...:bigsmile:

[Europhyllia]

LOL

Awesome that one made it this far!

[hobogato]

thanks for the comments, the video really doesnt pick up all the color changes that occur.

i know what you mean mike, maybe i can edit the soundrack to add some sound effects :lauging:


just after lights out, i turned the lights back on for a bit and caught the beginnings of the night's hunting. you can even see a half hearted strike with its harpoon right at the end. the light was hindering the hunt, so i stopped filming and let it hunt in peace. hopefully once it is a little bigger i can get some better hunting videos. as before, best viewing will be full screen high def sinc it is so small.

GW2Oeztoytc

[hobogato]

well, i decided to get some more eggs to go with the one survivor from the first batch. the day they arrived, the little guy was nowhere to be found :(

so, all six of the new eggs hatched and four of them are still with us, going on three weeks old.

three of them were out this morning hiding in plain sight...

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5 gc/DSC08633.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5 gc/DSC08631.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5 gc/DSC08632.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5 gc/DSC08636.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5 gc/DSC08634.jpg

a little closer on that last pic - one nice and clear and another moving and blurry

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c329/hobogato/5 gc/DSC08634_2.jpg

[StevenSeas]

Dude, Love the pics! Its like "where's Waldo?" but only for cuddlefish. Hope this batch does you well Ace.

[Europhyllia]

So have you figured out yet what the problem is with the ones that don't survive? Not the right kind of food? disease?

[Mr Cob]

come on little cuddles..you can do it.

Seems like you have lots of little iso pods..I can see them moving about on the glass. Would the aiptasia sting the little cuddles? Very cool Ace, wishing you the best of luck on this new crew.

[hobogato]

not sure karen, i think the first batch hatched early because some of them were still holding the last bit of their yolk sac. some of them seem to have smaller tenticles and fishing harpoon which makes it more difficult to hunt for food. three of the four of this current batch have almost doubled in size since hatching, so they are eating well (even got to see one use his harpoon this morning). the fourth one has not grow as much, but looks healthy otherwise.

[hobogato]

yeah rob, there are tons of pods of all sizes - some are almost as long as the cuttles. they seem to stay away from the aiptasia, but i try to remove the ones that get big. i thought of putting a peppermint shrimp in, but i am afraid it will eat the pods or worse the babies.

[polarbear]

where did you get the cutllefish from? its cool

[hobogato]

i had jason at aquarium designs order the eggs. they are seasonal, so i dont know if they are still available.

[Mr Cob]

yeah rob, there are tons of pods of all sizes - some are almost as long as the cuttles. they seem to stay away from the aiptasia, but i try to remove the ones that get big. i thought of putting a peppermint shrimp in, but i am afraid it will eat the pods or worse the babies.

I have a similar problem with peps...but related to coral instead of cuttles (not cuddles as I wrote in my previous post..lol)

I sectioned off a large area in the sump to put frags that have aiptasia on them and the peps in there nibble it off then the frag gets removed and placed back in the tank.

[hobogato]

i havent had a problem in my big tank, but there were tons of aiptasia for them in there. once the babies are a little bigger, the peps would be dinner :)

[justahobby]

Can you keep them with an octopus?

[hobogato]

no, the bigger of either would eat the smaller

proof (disclaimer - may be a bit graphic for sensitive viewers):

mGMT99i00M4

[justahobby]

Poor octopus. It was just trying to change a flat tire.

[ShAgMaN]

That was a cool vid...I had no idea cuttles were that hardcore. I hope you successful soon, I gotta see one of these grown in person.

[hobogato]

yeah terry, their name is a bit deceiving :)

[ShAgMaN]

No doubt, it's amazing how that octo threw/jetted that first tool to the side effortlessly. Would have been a good time to bail....and then the quick attack of the cuttle, awesome.

[hobogato]

well, we are down to three. the tiny one didn't make it, but the other three appear to be doing well. they have at least doubled in size since hatching.

[hobogato]

Would the aiptasia sting the little cuddles?

well, you called it. apparently one of the aiptaisia liked your idea. christy called me to let me know that one of the three remaining was inside of an aiptaisia :angry: dont know if it died and then became a meal or if the aiptaisia did the killing. will be manually removing all aiptasia tonight in the hopes that the last two will make it

[hobogato]

apparently wasnt the aiptasia. one more has passed and the last one is not going to live much longer. i tried :(

[Europhyllia]

so what the heck could it be? do the people on the octo boards have any ideas?

[hobogato]

not sure karin, some people say it is easy and others say it is difficult. i fed only mysids last time, which is what most on tonmo recommend. this time i tried something different with the amphipods for food, but that didnt seem to work any better. most of the people that used to raise them to sell have stopped because it just isnt cost effective for them.

[Mike]

Bummer, sorry to hear. I know how much you like them. :(

[Mr Cob]

yeah, sorry Ace

[alton]

Sorry to hear this bad news and seeing you have the 140 up for sale is bad because I know how excited you where in getting it going.

[Europhyllia]

that sucks but I wonder if it's something other than food - since you said they had doubled in size and were growing. Perhaps they succumb to some kind of bacterial thing. Maybe a more sterile fry set-up would help?

[reefreak]

you got them from aquarium designs well hmm how much did they cost??? quite interested

[hobogato]

it was a special case as they were shipped to them by mistake. you would have to ask them how much it would cost to order them for you. their availability is seasonal as well.

[reefreak]

thats cool i was quite interested in wanting some for my 3 gal what did they run?

[hobogato]

I think they are usually about $10 per egg

[reefreak]

hmm thats an ok price are they easy to grow and what do you feed them?

[hobogato]

they are not easy, at least they weren't for me. i could not get them past about 5 weeks. i tried live mysids, live amphipods, live copepods. I have read that the ones that come in as eggs usually hatch too early and that is what makes it difficult. i have had success in the past ordering two month olds from a captive breeder (who is no longer breeding them). best place to find them and information is tonmo.com. also, even the dwarfs get to be 4 to 6 inches long - way too big for a 3 gallon tank.