Complete newbie requesting help with first octopus setup!

[cuttlegirl]

I'm guessing that they are copepods, little crustaceans with one eye.

 

[djkaty]

It was frozen in blocks so it's not possible to tell what it was originally. Just tried to feed some krill to the anemone but George snatched it off me.. will have to put something in the way I think or the anemone will never get fed.

 

[CaptFish]

once george has eaten he MAY feed the anemone. I have had some clowns that were grat anemone care takers and some that were not.

 

[djkaty]

I have seen him dragging a bit of shrimp to the anemone once before (I videoed it) so I guess he tries to feed it. In 2 days I will have had the anemone for 1 month and it hasn't eaten anything from me directly, but as I said before I've seen it excreting waste two or three times so it must be eating something.

 

[DWhatley]

Cyclop-eeze are tiny engineered freshwater shrimp. From the name I would assume that the natural base may be cyclops, a fresh water crustacean (copepod) but the website does not give details.

 

[djkaty]

Ok, some assorted questions today!

1. There is alot of salt build up on the glass lid on one side of the tank only (near the return pump), and on the light stand around there. How does it get there? Best way to clean?

2. Is it important to keep the algae off the back pane of glass or is it just for aesthetics? The other three panes are easy to clean but I have left the back, it's going to be a pain to get to and it doesn't look particularly bad because the background I chose is mostly a print of dark rocks.

3. Fish. When I get the octopus, what on Earth am I meant to do with all the fish I'll have collected in the meantime to bring the bioload up? I can't afford to buy a 2nd tank of adequate size with all the equipment it needs.

4. Fish again. Is there some way I can determine (or see online) which fish are compatible with my maroon clown and BTA? I have so far mostly just read forums to see what other people are keeping with them, but fish availability here seems limited, many species are not available or only available periodically, so it would be easier to have a list in mind or in hand when going to the pet store.

Thanks Everything is going fine with the tank AFAIK, it will be about a month since I set it up in a few days.

 

[cuttlegirl]

1. It's called salt creep, and you can just wipe it off with a moist cloth.
2. I leave it on the back of the tank, it makes it look more natural.

How many fish do you have? Sometimes you can trade the fish in at the fish store. I traded my maroon clown for a bunch of hermit crabs.

 

[djkaty]

Right now I only have the maroon who I adore and am going to keep in a separate little tank I got for him with the anemone, especially since he's my first ever fish, but I was under the impression that once the water parameters are stable I need to buy one or two fish every couple of weeks until the ammonia production equals that of one octopus. It is those fish I'm worried about - but I don't have any yet.

Thanks for the other tips!

 

[cuttlegirl]

You don't need to use fish to cycle your tank, you just need something that produces waste so that the bacteria have something to feed on and then the bacteria can multiply. You can use hermit crabs, shrimp or other invertebrates. Some people add a dead raw shrimp. Oh, and some people dose with vodka... (http://glassbox-design.com/2008/achieved-through-observation-and-experimentation/).

See message 9 of this thread. The My Frugal Home™ Forum - Index page

 

[djkaty]

Read those, very interesting stuff, although the idea of throwing vodka in my tank (and it is a material I have on hand :P) is amusing, mixing those ingredients up and doing it right makes me nervous to say the least - I will get some more crabs (there's 4 in there at the moment) and such, and just one or two fish for decoration perhaps because the clown nearly always stays in his anemone except when it's feeding time.

 

[CaptFish]

Oh dear, Katy's going to be doing shots with George...

 

[cuttlegirl]

We need a photo of that!

 

[djkaty]

George was most interested in the availability of vodka. I can assure you we both got very drunk

 

[DWhatley]

Terrific picture! Did you photoshop George or did he come looking on his own accord?

 

[djkaty]

That is why it was so funny, he almost never comes out of his anemone but he immediately came to investigate the vodka. I didn't edit the pic at all (don't know how). When I was having a cup of hot chocolate later in the day and put it next to the tank for him to look at, he showed absolutely zero interest. That fish has got good taste!

Thomas saw the picture and said I should put a speech bubble over George's head saying "OMG It's a party tank!"