FAQ
A contribution of The Cephalopod Page
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James, I am an experienced aquarist who is currently maintaining two reef aquariums as well as a number of fish only systems. I am also currently raising two species of clownfish. During a tour of the Mirage Resort and Casino here in Las Vegas my son and I had the opportunity to see live cuttlefish being kept with Nautilus pompilius. Since then I have located several sources for live cuttlefish. My question is what is necessary to keep and maintain cuttlefish? I have kept Nautilus and still have the equipment I used to keep them. Do cuttlefish require the same lower temps as Nautilus? I appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. I always try to keep animals that my children are interested in, as I believe that the expense and maintenance is worth seeing my children learn about the animals and their care. Thanks, Mike Kamai |
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| Dear Michael Kamai,
Cuttlefish, octopuses and squid are in the same subclass while nautilus is in its own. Accordingly, requirements for keeping a cuttlefish are closer to those for keeping an octopus than the ancient nautilus. There are some differences though 1) cuttlefish don't escape like octopuses 2) cuttlefish do not brood their eggs 3) cuttlefish lay eggs over a longer period of time 4) cuttlefish are less aggressive if kept as a group (I would NOT put mature cuttlefish together unless they have been raised together; you can put half a dozen or so little ones together in the same tank and raise them) 5) wild cuttlefish probably eat a bit more fish than octopuses. 6) cuttlefish are more likely to damage themselves by jetting into the side of their tank when scared. Otherwise most of the info about diet, water quality, life cycle, etc in my octopus article applies to them as well. Unless you are specifically ordering a cold water species of cuttlefish or keep your house very warm, you don't need water as cold as you would use for Nautilus. The common cuttlefish, S. officinalis, does better in water 78 F or less 65-78 (?). Other species may like it warmer depending on where they are from. I hope to eventually have a book out on keeping cuttlefish and octopuses. In the mean time, FAMA will publish a four part article on keeping cuttlefish in aquaria this summer. The article and book go into much more detail on cuttlefish husbandry. Your kids must love this! Dr. James Wood |