Ask some serious fish nerds what their favorite animal is and there is a good chance that they will mention cuttlefish, which are both freaky and very cool. Take a minute to watch this stunning slow-motion video (with their real-time counterpart clips) of the cuttlefish feeding and changing color and you'll know what we're talking about.



This super-crisp, slow-motion video was a collaboration between New England Aquarium, an underwater photographer, a physicist and a local tech company. At 500 frames per second, the footage appears about 17 times slower than it occurs to the naked eye. The result: a spectacular new window on cuttlefish in action. Did you see how this cunning cephalopod captured its food with two shotgun-like tentacles? Once it snagged the fish, it pulled it into the grasp of eight waiting suction-cupped arms. Learn more about this stunning video.

Cuttlefish are related to squid and octopus. When they feel threatened, they can change color and skin pattern in just a few seconds. The lighting-fast color change is quite subtle in the slow-motion video.

Cuttlefish change colors and patterns to blend into their surroundings.

The Aquarium’s cuttlefish tank currently houses nine cuttlefish patrolling the water column, wary of some of their pesky neighbors—rays and guitarfish. Come by to see these amazing creatures in action. With special construction pricing in effect, you'll save when you come belly up to this exhibit to marvel at their tentacles and color changing expertise.

Cuttlefish are fascinating for any age!

Can't get enough of these cephalopods? Check out these fun facts, and meet some former Aquarium residents—dwarf cuttlefish.

Some animals reproduce pretty routinely in aquariums. But it's extremely rare for a nautilus. So imagine the surprise of our staff and volunteers when they spotted not one, not two, but three bouncing baby nautiluses while cleaning the Deep Pacific Coral exhibit.


The nautilus belongs to the cephalopod family (along with the squid and the octopus), and it's sometimes called a living fossil because it has evolved relatively little over millions of years. It lives in water that's nearly 1,000 feet deep, so its exhibit is kept very dark, making it even tougher to spot the babies, which are only about 2.5 or 3 cm (about 1 inch) long.

The photo at the top shows what an adult nautilus looks like, and the photo below shows one of the babies alongside an aquarist's hand.


Read this blog post to learn more about the nautilus and to see a video of the unusual way the nautilus moves.