• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Escaped but alive??

Chia

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Oct 25, 2007
Messages
2
Hi all....I'm new here, but need a little help. We have a bimac in a 125 gallon tank. He's been in there for 6 weeks, perfectly happy, playful, hunting well, and in general a wonderful pet. A few days ago he started getting restless, so I double checked our "octo-proofing" but today, while I was out for about an hour, he escaped (I think he found a tiny hole beside the overflow). Anyway, I found him as soon as we got home (he usually comes out and says hi when we come in the door), and put him back into the tank. He wasn't dry and had himself suctioned to the floor - I really had to work him to get him off. He stayed out for a couple of hours, climbing on the side and sitting on a rock, and then went back into his den. When I tried to feed him, he wouldn't come out to eat and I was worried, so I lifted his rock. When he came out, I noticed that his tentacles were about 1 inch shorter and it looked like he could only use about 5 rows of suction on each one. I'm pretty sure he is chewing off his tentacles, and the two shrimp in the tank with him are already starting to try to "clean up" the dead flesh. Is there anything I can do for him?? Is he definitely going to die? Has this happened to anyone else?

I also have a second question. I have 2 quarter sized bimacs in a smaller refugium (sp?). How long before they need to be separated?

Any and all opinions and help please, I feel sooo horrible!
 
check you water params immediately!

It is fairly common for octos to both try to escape the tank and to bite their arms when the filtration isn't making it. (I forget if it's ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite that causes this the most, but you get the idea)

I think it might be a good idea to do a water change immediately, but waiting for the real octo-keepers to chime in might be worthwhile, since I'm mostly just going on what I read here... but testing can't possibly hurt, and I think the general belief is that water changes can't really hurt either.
 
First, let me say :welcome:

I think there is definitely a water problem as I have experienced over the years, different octopuses I have had trying to get their bodies as close to being out of the water as possible which has always indicated an ammonia spike as this burns their delicate skin. As Monty said, a drastic water change is indicated. When I have noticed an issue with an ammonia spike I have taken my tank almost 1/2 way down.

Please keep us posted.

Carol
 
corw314;103668 said:
First, let me say :welcome:

I think there is definitely a water problem as I have experienced over the years, different octopuses I have had trying to get their bodies as close to being out of the water as possible which has always indicated an ammonia spike as this burns their delicate skin. As Monty said, a drastic water change is indicated. When I have noticed an issue with an ammonia spike I have taken my tank almost 1/2 way down.

Please keep us posted.

Carol

For future reference, is it ever a bad idea to recommend a major water change? I didn't want to say "do an emergency water change now" since I wasn't sure if the octo could be stressed further by a water change... and that seemed a bit outside of my "I actually know what I'm talking about" safe zone, so I just said as much as I was certain of until I heard from someone like you, Nancy, Colin, Thales, Dan, AM, D, or the other "we do this stuff all the time" folks...

oh, and of course :welcome: Chia -- I wanted to get that first post out in time for you to see it before you logged out, so I skipped the niceties.
 
monty;103681 said:
For future reference, is it ever a bad idea to recommend a major water change? I didn't want to say "do an emergency water change now" since I wasn't sure if the octo could be stressed further by a water change... and that seemed a bit outside of my "I actually know what I'm talking about" safe zone, so I just said as much as I was certain of until I heard from someone like you, Nancy, Colin, Thales, Dan, AM, D, or the other "we do this stuff all the time" folks...

oh, and of course :welcome: Chia -- I wanted to get that first post out in time for you to see it before you logged out, so I skipped the niceties.

If the new water is of the proper salinity and its aged, heated and aerated, there is almost never a problem recommending a large water change. There are times when a large water change may be problematic like if the salinity of the tank water has dropped and the new water has a higher salinity, but thats a different problem. The animal may be stressed by the water change, but most often that stress is better than sitting in 'bad' water.
I actually keep 150 gallons of mixed water on hand all the time, because if something goes wrong, the first thing I want to do is a massive water change. :biggrin2:
 
Thanks! :fingerscrossed: that this info is in time to help Chia's octo
 
i know ammonia and nitrites are both very stressful for an octopus, which causes restlessness and attempts to escape, but what would high nitrates cause? I know they do fine up to around 80ppm (according to the article on here) but what if its like extremely high, say around 100-130 ppm. I'm just wondering since i dont hear people talk about nitrates too much on here.
 
simple;103688 said:
i know ammonia and nitrites are both very stressful for an octopus, which causes restlessness and attempts to escape, but what would high nitrates cause? I know they do fine up to around 80ppm (according to the article on here) but what if its like extremely high, say around 100-130 ppm. I'm just wondering since i dont hear people talk about nitrates too much on here.

which article?

The bimac care sheet recommends

Water parameters Salinity - 1.026, pH- 8 – 8.4, NO3 – 0, NO2- 0, NH3 -
 
simple;103693 said:
In the ceph care article Cephalopod Care it says that nitrates are tolerated without any effects from 50-100 ppm..so i was curious what the side effect of a high nitrate level was, since it hasnt been mentioned much.

Death eventually. Nitrates kill inverts quicker than fish. I would freak out if mine ever tested higher than 30ppm. Nitrates might not be AS lethal as ammonia or nitrites but I would not allow a tank to go without a water change if they test anywhere in that 50-100ppm range.

Did I mention I love my refugium? That would be why.
 
simple;103693 said:
In the ceph care article Cephalopod Care it says that nitrates are tolerated without any effects from 50-100 ppm..so i was curious what the side effect of a high nitrate level was, since it hasnt been mentioned much.

Sorry, I mis-read and thought you said nitrites at 80ppm... my bad :oops:

I'm still curious what keeps nitrates from building up forever, though, if anyone happens to know a quick answer...
 
monty;103702 said:
Sorry, I mis-read and thought you said nitrites at 80ppm... my bad :oops:

I'm still curious what keeps nitrates from building up forever, though, if anyone happens to know a quick answer...

Regular water changes! Clams and macroalgae... would be my thoughts.

I don't think it can ever be stopped completely so long as there's life in the tank.
 
monty;103702 said:
Sorry, I mis-read and thought you said nitrites at 80ppm... my bad :oops:

I'm still curious what keeps nitrates from building up forever, though, if anyone happens to know a quick answer...

Biological filtration can 'process' nitrates into nitrogen gas, but the biological load has to be such that the biological filtration can keep up with the nitrate levels. In this case, bacteria convert the nitrate to nitrogen gas, and it floats to Cthulhu. Algae's will also use it as building blocks. Nitrate build up is/can be a very real problem, which is why many people utilize several different methods to deal with it - water changes being very useful.
One of the potential problems with wet dry filters and filter socks is that they can give detritus a place to stay in the system and rot, becoming what some call 'nitrate factories', which is why most reefers don't use either of them.

Like most things...depends. :biggrin2:
If you are using biological filtration, bacteria convert the nitrate to nitrogen gas, and it escapes into the athmosphere. Algae's use it.
Nitrate build up in a tank can be a very real problem, which is why people often use several methods to deal with it. Export via water changes is quite effective.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top