Feeding a Bimac

[matt]

Hi,

Is there any downside to letting a bimac eat frequently other than the possibility of water contamination? I have a small bimac (2.5" mantle, 6-7" legs) in a 72 gallon with lots of live rock and an aerofoamer protein skimmer so the water quality in not an issue that I can see from testing the water. I want him to have plenty to eat if it's not harmful to him. In the wild, do they hunt and eat constantly?

Thanks, Matt

 

[mikeconstable]

Feeding

With cuttlefish there appeared to be a tendency not to totally finish items of food completely if they were well-fed. It made for less waste (and waste products!) if they were kept SLIGHTLY on the hungry side.

 

[Nancy]

By experimenting with my bimac, I've found one of the best ways is to offer some food on a feeding stick, but also have some live food in the tank. I have some small shrimp in the tank at least half of the time, and Ollie loves to hunt them. I also put fiddler crabs in the tank. He doesn't seem to overeat, and if he has a big meal (or shrimp hunt) one day, he eats very little the next. But he does eat every day.

I have read that some people feel that feeding everyday reduces the lifespan of a bimac, but I have never found the research on which this is based.

Being the food giver is a way of establishing a relationship with your bimac - this is one of the reasons why I think giving some food on a feeding stick is a good idea.

Then, too, there is the argument that your bimac will be happier and more comfortable if he is given food when he's hungry and not made to wait another day.

Nancy

 

[Colin]

They are oppotunistic and will eat as much as they can until they are satisfied... bit like me really....

I tended to feed every other day and that encouraged foraging and as nancy pointed out they soon learn that you are the foodgod and respond to your presence... a fat lazy octopus will just lie and wait for the crab to bump into it! LOL