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I know this subject is beat to death at times, but I've read several posts and can't find the answer I'm looking for.

Sisqo doesn't eat the cuddle bone if I leave it in the tank, he only wants it if I drop pieces in. My question is, how much should I give him? I usually give him one piece (usually the size of a penny, give-or-take) every other day.

Can too much be a bad thing in this case?

Are you sure he doesn't eat it when you leave it in the tank? Just leave it for a week and you'll notice bite marks on it. I always just throw mine in and see it sink after a few days and then after a few weeks it gets entirely consumed.

I'm almost positive he doesn't eat it. He just pushes it under the dock and leaves it there. But I can't be 100% sure, of course.

My little monster only eats it right away when I put it in. I give him head-sized pieces, about two at a time, every other day or so. If I gave him a full sized piece, he'd have it crunched in no time.

And as far as too much, you really can't give too much. It's been noticed that female RES can go through one or two pieces a week, esp around egg laying time. And if you watch them eat the cuttlebone, each time they crunch a piece, a poof of calcium dissipates into the water. So I figured they don't get the full amount each time.

Thanks CG! I didn't want him to get too much but I wasn't sure if that was possible in the first place. Thanks for clearing that up

After doing much reading on cuttlebone throughout this forum, I decided I best get Zoe one. I picked up two at Wal-Mart and those are 6-8 inches long, 3 inches wide, and not even an inch thick; and only 88 cents each. I put in a big chunk, thinking it alright, but Zoe didn't want to eat it. So I broke it up, and was still worried she wouldn't eat it. She tried a piece or two. Then I decided to make them bite sized, sort of. She still has to chomp on them.

Does anyone normally do this or do they put it in whole? It just seems to be a bit much whole, in my opinion.

And as I type this, she still grabs a small chunk and takes it to the bottom of the tank. . .

I usually break it into head-sized pieces.
Don't forget to peel off the hard backing. You can tell the hard backing by running your fingernail across it. On the soft side, your nail will leave an impression. On the hard side, it won't.

I peel the backing but put big old chunks in. I put a half of one in a veggie holder and he chomps on it when ever he wants. I can see bite marks all over it!

I let the whole thing float. Im too lazy for anything else.