Do you think its possible to keep Humboldt squid in captivity?
We see these ferocious creatures on the Discovery channel all the time and they are fascinating to watch. I was wondering if there were any plans to exhibit Humboldts in say, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium? Don’t you think this would be incredible, to have an aquarium full of voracious Humboldts, especially during feeding time? Has anyone ever tried this before?
3 Responses
BWANA
04 Feb 2010
Elizabeth H
04 Feb 2010
Humboldt squid don’t survive more than a few days in captivity
Professor Armita
04 Feb 2010
No, I don’t think there are any plans to put Humboldt squid on display in an aquarium. However, there are many other similar-looking species of squid that maybe they could try to pass off as Humboldt’s with a sign and all and hope no one is smart enough to discern the difference. Most of the nasty reputation comes from near fishing boats where jigs are slaughtering them and they are in a panic and highly agitated. When caught on camera away from that carnage they are curious and peaceful animals.
This might prove to be a hard thing to do, since Squids, especially large ones, need a lot of water to move around in. To my knowledge, they have a hard time even keeping regular Squid in aquariums. They just do not do well in captivity.