Does my Aquarium look Octo-Ready?

[Lev]

Hello Everyone, I am new to this forum. I am 14 and currently have a 65 Gallon Mixed Reef (Some Softies, Some LPS, a little bit of SPS.) I have had it for 4 years. About a year ago, I was diving in Cuba, and saw my first wild octopi. I really enjoyed wathcing them, so i wanted to set up a tank for one. So here goes: The tank is 45 gallons. It is 3 Feet Wide and 1 1/2 Feet high. It was cycled for 2 Months, then left alone for about 5 More months. The Amphipod population has skyrocketed. Here are some pictures, I do plan on adding some more rocks, but does this tank look like a suitable habitat for an octopus (most likely Bimac or Briaeus)? The aquarium has a 200 watt heater (with a heater guard!) and a Marineland Emperor Bio-Wheel 280 Power Filter, and the Skimmer is a DIY model.

The whole thing. The water level is a bit low because I was doing a water change.

I wanted to make it as close as possible to a real octopus territory.

Some nice hiding places.

More hiding places.

A nice large conch shell for Mr. Octo to hide in.

So, I want comments. What to add? What to take away? What to improve on?

Thanks very much in advance,
Lev.

 

[DHyslop]

It looks like you're off to a good start! Most of us recommend 50 gallons as a minimum for a "mid-size" octo like bimacs or O. briareus. Given that, I think you can get away with the 45 since you already have it set up. Some things to consider though: octos generate a lot of waste compared to most things we're used to keeping in aquariums and either species can possibly (but not always) grow to two-and-a-half pounds. Few people would recommend putting that much animal mass in a 45 gallon tank! Given that I'd suggest a bit more filtration. Many of us recommend wet/dry filters because they have a tremendous capability; If you really want to stay sumpless a lot of TONMO'ers have good luck with canister filters.

If you got a small octo you might be able to get away with putting off the canister filter for a few weeks or months.

Good luck,

Dan

 

[Jean]

Also make sure there are NO openings to filters....the outside etc etc! Mesh and duct tape are your friends! Your lid will need to be either heavy (octopus are surprisingly strong) or taped shut!

J

 

[DrBatty]

looks good....you really spent a lot of time on your habitat!
If you're getting a bimac, you probably won't need a heater, as they're a cold water species. I think [but I am not sure, I don't have a cold water octo], that their water temp can be room temperature.
Like Jean said, seal EVERYTHING. They are super strong, even when they're young and they're also quite crafty little buggers. If you leave anything open, they will be sure to find it. If you have the proper aquarium for it, I highly recommend using velcro to keep the top shut. Not only will it keep the tank sealed, but by chance if the octo does manage to pop the top open, they will not like the feel of the velcro on their suckers.
If you have small openings that need to be closed off, hardware stores carry screen door repair kits that work great for patching up small areas.
good luck!

 

[Armstrong]

looks good....you really spent a lot of time on your habitat!
If you're getting a bimac, you probably won't need a heater, as they're a cold water species. I think [but I am not sure, I don't have a cold water octo], that their water temp can be room temperature.
Like Jean said, seal EVERYTHING. They are super strong, even when they're young and they're also quite crafty little buggers. If you leave anything open, they will be sure to find it. If you have the proper aquarium for it, I highly recommend using velcro to keep the top shut. Not only will it keep the tank sealed, but by chance if the octo does manage to pop the top open, they will not like the feel of the velcro on their suckers.
If you have small openings that need to be closed off, hardware stores carry screen door repair kits that work great for patching up small areas.
good luck!

Just a correction, Bimac's as well as Briareus' are tropical water species and I think require temperatures between 74-78 degrees F. Cold water species would be GPO's, some Vulgaris', and ones that live in the northern atlantic and pacific oceans. Bimac's live on the southern coasts of California, and Briareus' live around Florida and the caribbean.

 

[monty]

Just a correction, Bimac's as well as Briareus' are tropical water species and I think require temperatures between 74-78 degrees F. Cold water species would be GPO's, some Vulgaris', and ones that live in the northern atlantic and pacific oceans. Bimac's live on the southern coasts of California, and Briareus' live around Florida and the caribbean.

Having been swimming with the bimacs off California, I can assure you they are not tropical... brrrrr.... Because the ocean currents tend to go clockwise in both the northern Atlantic and Pacific, the East Coast gets nice warm water coming up from near the equator, while the West Coast gets the Alaska pipeline. Bimacs seem to tolerate a pretty wide range of temperatures in the wild; down be San Diego the water sometimes starts to get kinda warm-ish, which is probably why they can do better than some California natives (like GPOs and Rubescens) without a chiller, but most of the year, the ones around Orange County and northwards live in water that most people don't like to spend much time in without a wetsuit.

 

[superwaterguy52]

they will not like the feel of the velcro on their suckers.
QUOTE]


So Octos don't like the feel of cloth? That'll be useful.