SNSで触れ合える！アオリイカ研究所を作りたい！

 

 

Nice to meet you. My name is Bera, and I run the Bigfin Reef Squid Research Center.

We are challenging the breeding of bigfin reef squid in order to show their cute and clever charm to as many people as possible, and to answer their questions.

 

Through the breeding of bigfin reef squid in a tank, we have been introducing the amazing ecology and adorable expressions of bigfin reef squid on YouTube and Instagram, which no one has ever seen before.

 

With this project, we aim to set up a huge Bigfin Reef Squid tank, and deliver the fascination and answers to the questions of Bigfin Reef Squid to many people through YouTube and Instagram.

 

 

By the way, do you all know the bigfin reef squid?

 

Isn't it beautiful?

This is a bigfin reef squid that I kept until June this year.

 

In Japan, bigfin reef squid is known as the king of squid. This is because it has the highest amount of amino acids among all the squid and is regarded as the most delicious.

So it is a very popular target for Japanese anglers.

 

The fishing method is also different from that of other fish.

Unique fishing methods have developed in each, such as "Egging", fishing method using a lure (egi) that imitates shrimp, and "Yaen", fishing method in which a rod-shaped needle (yaen) is sent after feeding a live horse mackerel to squid.

 

However, there are still many mysteries about this bigfin reef squid.

 

 

There are times when you can't catch anything at all with eging, but you can catch a lot of fish with yayen, or when you change the color of your egi and suddenly you start catching squid, even though it is said that squid can't distinguish colors.

 

 

In addition, the squids are very intelligent, and a paper published in March of this year found that they can exercise self-control in order to receive better food. This is on the same level as vertebrates with large brains like chimpanzees, crows and parrots, and MRIs show that they have the same level of brain cells as dogs.

 

When I actually keep them, I find that they can recognize human faces. When I, who always brings them food, come close to them, the squid come close to me, but when my wife, who never feeds them at all, approaches them, they don't even look at her.  Interesting ecology, isn't it?

 

Fun to catch! Delicious to eat! And cute to keep! This is the bigfin reef squid.

 

 

It was an old man who was fishing next to me that got me started on breeding bigfin reef squid.

While I couldn't catch any fish at all by eging, the old man who was using the Yaen fishing, the method I described earlier, was catching a lot of bigfin reef squid.

 

I was so shocked by this experience and decided to try the Yaen fishing method. However, I couldn't catch any at all because I didn't know when to put the Yaen hook in or I couldn't get the hook to work.

So, without using a Yaen, I attached a special hook to a swimming horse mackerel, and I caught my first bigfin reef squid.I posted this as a new fishing method on YouTube, and it got a great response.

 

I strongly felt that "there are so many people who are struggling to catch bigfin reef squid just like me."

 

At the same time, a thought occurred to me.

"If I can actually see with my own eyes how a squid catches its food and its ecology, wouldn't it be more beneficial to people who want to catch a squid?”

 

In this way, I bought a standard tank with my own money last year and took on the challenge of breeding bigfin reef squid.

 

 

It is said that it is difficult to bring home squid alive, let alone breed them.

However, after a lot of trial and error, we were able to establish the know-how to bring them home alive and managed to breed them.

 

And fortunately, we were able to capture videos that would be of interest to anglers, such as the moment of predation and experiments with shrimp and fish.

Not only that, we were also able to capture a variety of interesting scenes such as feeding, shaking hands, spawning, and other aspects of one-animal ecology.

There has been a great deal of response to these breeding videos, with many comments such as, " I can' t believe how expressive they are!” "Cute!” "I want to see a couple breeding!” "Can you breed cumulative generations?" We received a variety of questions and expectations.

 

 

On the other hand, our breeding has not been smooth sailing so far.

 As I mentioned earlier, even bringing home a squid is not a straightforward process.

And for the first time in four times, we were able to breed a bigfin squid to its full life span.

 

One of the main reasons why it is difficult to breed squid is because their bodies hit the walls of the tank and get scratched.

When a squid is startled by something, it spits out ink and moves in a jet. If the tank is small, the squid will hit the wall and be damaged by this jet movement.

 

The current aquarium is not large enough, and squids we have bred in the past have had their body tips bald and their surfaces scratched by bumping into the tank.

 

 

In addition, I have come to feel that I need to set up a larger tank and filtration system in order to respond to the feedback I have received and to expand the scope of my research, including more large-scale experiments and verifications, as well as cumulative generations by breeding couples.

 

 

 

In the first place, because of the difficulty in breeding and transporting the squid, even large aquariums often hesitate to keep them, so we rarely have a chance to see them.

 

In addition, with the corona disaster, it may be difficult to visit aquariums.

 

Our goal is to breed bigfin reef squid in a stable manner, and to become a kind of aquarium on social media through YouTube and Instagram, so that many people can see the appeal of bigfin reef squid.

 

Also, in the process of posting breeding videos, we have received many comments such as "I can watch them forever!" "I want to see a couple!" and "I want to see them eat various foods!"

 

With the encouragement of your kind comments, we have been able to pursue the breeding of bigfin reef squid to this point. We would like to repay you all somehow by responding to these expectations and questions.

 

With regard to fishing methods, transport methods, and breeding tips, we have been able to obtain highly reproducible know-how through our past activities. I am proud to say that this is something that cannot be easily imitated elsewhere.

But, unfortunately, as mentioned above, the current tank is not big enough for breeding bigfin reef squid.

Therefore, we decided to get a bigger tank.

However, in order to set up a huge aquarium, it requires an tank body, tank stand, lighting, filtration tank, dehumidifier, installation space modification such as construction work, chiller to control the temperature, layout for spawning, and a simple tank for feeding.

Estimating these costs, we need more than $20,000.

I am ashamed to say that we cannot prepare all of these with our current income.

 

For this reason, we have decided to use crowdfunding to raise funds for the installation of the aquarium.

We would appreciate your support and cooperation.

 

 

The lifespan of the bigfin reef squid is one year. The one we have been keeping so far reached the end of its life span in June, but we plan to resume breeding when the season for newborn squid arrives.

 

With this crowdfunding project, we would like to set up a tank by November, when we can catch newborn squid that are large enough to bring home safely.

 

When I get a new huge tank, I plan to breed a couple of bigfin reef squid and try to spawn and hatch them.

We would like to use social media to show the preciousness of life in a way that is hard to see even in an aquarium.

 

We will also experiment with various foods, rods and lures, and other experiments that have been impossible in the small tank of the past.

We will be happy if We can be of help to people who cannot visit aquariums and to parents who want their children to become animal lovers.

We are anxious about this first project, but We are determined to make sure that people will be glad that they supported us. In response to the questions and expectations I have received from everyone, I am determined to make this project a success.

 

We are looking forward to your support.

 

Bigfin Reef Squid Research Center

Representative

Bera