Cerianthis anemone?

[philc21]

I know there are very few tankmates for an octopus. im thinking of putting in some urchins and maybe some very cheap peaceful fast fish and hope for the best. but i was staring into a tank at work and was watching a cerianthis anemone and realized hwo damn cool they are. would it be alright with the octopus since theyr so smart it would probly stay away or do you think the octopus would wind up getting stung.

 

[TidePool Geek]

was watching a cerianthis anemone and realized hwo damn cool they are. would it be alright with the octopus since theyr so smart it would probly stay away or do you think the octopus would wind up getting stung.

Hi Phil,

At the marine center where I volunteer we've kept GPO's with various species of Urticina and Metridium anemones without any apparent problem.

The direct answer to your question is that your octo will almost certainly be stung - that's how they learn to stay away. A few hundred nematocysts probably wouldn't do any real damage though. The crap shoot aspect of the question is whether the octo will learn his lesson in time to avoid a 'serious' contact involving several million stings. If you do go with an anemone/octo combination take EXTRA care to not startle the octo for a few days in order to give him a chance to locate the hazards on his own terms.

OTOH: The idea of putting a fish in the tank deserves further consideration. Most small fish are going to be at serious risk from both the octo and the anemone.

On the up-side; Cerianthus anemones apparently don't harbor zooanthellae so you wouldn't need to overilluminate your tank.

Cohabitationally yours,

TPG

 

[cthulhu77]

Having tried a number of different mixtures of sealife, cephs, and fish...the end result is usually rather poor. I say "usually" because some octo/ceph keepers have had mixed bags and done o.k....but the tendency is for things to spiral out of control like Courtney Love out of rehab, and turn into a right mess.

Octos really are at their best in a single denizen tank...'cept for food and some cleaners, of course.


greg

 

[Nancy]

The problem is that the octopus is confined in a small tank (small compared to the ocean, even if its a 240) - it's hard to avoid harmful things in such a small space. I had a small rock anemone and my octo was stung several times until I removed it - I could tell because I could see her jerk away from it.

Octopuses belong in species tanks, not reef tanks.

Nancy