newly hatched cuttlefish help pls

shrimplet · Feb 28, 2014

i bought some cuddle fish eggs and they have begun to hatchried this an this is the first time ive tried this could really use some help and tips on rasing them what do the babys eat ? ive got live brine shrimp in there for them is that the right food ?

any help would be great!

bct15 · Feb 28, 2014

Where do you get cuttlefish eggs?

shrimplet · Feb 28, 2014

I found them at my Lfs store and decided to give it a shot

55g · Feb 28, 2014

Found this @ Paradisepetshop.net:

Sepia bandensis. The eggs are black and are approximately Â¾” in diameter. Newborns are Â¼” in size and have reached 4.5” in captivity. Like most cephalopods, their lifespan is short -- averaging a little over a year in a well-kept aquarium. Keeping a cuttlefish should be considered by diligent and advanced aquarists. Although the requirements may not be exactly the same, similar equipment, water quality and husbandry is reflected in reef keeping. So if you are successful in reef keeping, you should do well with cuttlefish. A 55gal tank is the recommended minimum size aquarium for keeping this cephalopod. A temperature of 72-80 degrees and a salinity of 1.026 specific gravity, pH 8.1 to 8.4, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrates as close to 0 as possible. Shallow sand beds are advised for they will enjoy digging or burying themselves from time to time.
Cuttlefish are very adept hunters and can take down prey three-to-four times their size. This makes tank mates very limited. It is not recommend to keep fish with your Bandensis. Fish, especially thin and slender ones like wrasses are instant meals while larger fish may co-exist for a while, but can easily be made into a meal down the road. Other animals to avoid are shrimp and crabs (except hermits), for they are favorite delicacies of the cuttlefish. Clean up crews can consist of snails, hermits, serpent stars and bristle worms.
When raising cuttlefish from an egg the best food of choice for cuttlefish this young is live mysids. A new born hatchling is a quarter of an inch long and will only take live foods. A newborn may not eat for up to two weeks depending on how much of a yolk sac it has left. at about one month you will want to start training them to eat frozen. Marine shrimp and krill are next on the menu at 2-3 months. At around three months, your cuttlefish should be about 1.5 inches or larger and are ready for larger food. Alternative foods can include small crabs (with their pinchers removed if they are large), and small saltwater feeder fish. Do not feed with fresh water feeders such as goldfish for they are often treated with copper-based medicines and will poison your cuttlefish! Freshwater shrimp, such as ghost shrimp, can be used and have been found to be similar in nutritional value as marine shrimp, but should not be used as a primary source of food.

shrimplet · Feb 28, 2014

Great thank u for posting that !

iretthepirate · Mar 12, 2014

Omgosh u have to post some pics. So cute. Good luck!

shrimplet · Mar 12, 2014

They are to cool lol so small and cute been trying to take pics but haven't had much luck

evolved · Mar 12, 2014

I moved your thread to give you some better visibility to those-in-the-know here.

Also, this thread in this forum has been pretty active lately on such.