Small-scale rearing of cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) for research purposes

We report a methodology refined over 20years to culture and maintain a small colony of Sepia officinalis for research year-round. Wild-caught eggs were obtained annually from England and reared in semi-closed natural seawater systems of large volume. Constant temperature (15 degrees C) and day length (12L/12D) delayed sexual maturation and reproductive behavior. This extended life cycle by roughly 50%, thus providing small research animals for about 18months from every annual batch of eggs. A novel live food - gammarid crustaceans collected from washed up seagrass- was provided to hatchlings and juveniles. Juveniles were then trained to take thawed shrimp thereafter, thus reducing the expense of live foods. Typical survival to one year was >65%. With these methods, healthy sexually immature cuttlefish were available year-round for behavioral and physiological studies without the confounding influences of hormonally-induced fighting, mating, and egg laying that typically occur within six months.