First Octo, You guys are pro's heeeelp!

[paultanca]

Hey,
I'm new to the site and i've been reading up on the posts and you all seem to know a lot about octos. I am setting up my first tank and am getting alot of hlep from pet stores, but their info seems to conflict sometimes so that makes me kinda nervous. Anyways, i thought i'd ask you guys.
Basically, i'm setting up a small saltwater tank, specifially for an octo. Right now i've got a 12 gallon with live sand, live rock, heater, and a small protein skimmer (lee's brand, i know its small but it works right?) which is an internal skimmer but perfect size for my 12 gallon. Will this skimmer work for an octo? i'm also using a bio-wheel flitration system since that is what was recomended to me by the store. I'm not sure what the salinity and ph levels need to be at, help in that area please.
I'm waiting to purchase my octo until i get my tank setup and aged a little.
Also, i have no idea what breed to get, i mean i don't know a whole lot about octos and i have read the ceph care where they talk about breeds, but i'm still confused, what do you reccomend? which one works best for a small tank? preferably a friendly species that interacts well? If anyone would liek to help, please respond and lemme know if what i need to change. Thanks!!
~Paul~

 

[corw314]

Paul...Please read our Ceph care pages again...That will tell you everything you need to know about successfully keeping an octopus. As to your tank, it's way tooo small and I think you are asking for problems starting with one sooo small. There's no way of being definate as to the species, unless it is a very knowledgable shop or you order from Octopets and even then I would not recommend that size tank for a bimac or even a dwarf. Bimacs are the most popular species as they are compared to being the labrador of the octopus world. Very friendly and being most are captive bred much less stressed on getting used to a new home.

Please rethink your equipment. You will have greater success in the long run!

Just my

Carol

 

[Feelers]

Hi, welocme to tonmo

With any octo questions a pet shop isnt gonna be much help - octo's are fairly specialized, and I doubt many shop keepers know what they are doing, thus the conflicting advice you speak of. Take anything a shop owner says with a VERY large pinch of salt.

Cephalopod Care is just the info you are looking for, particulary the reccommened tank size for the most common starting octopus, the bimac- is 50 gallons.
This is the minimum size for a Bimaculoides, (bimac) , which sounds like the octopus species that has the attributes you are looking for.
Cephalopod Care

I'm still preparing my first ever octo/salt water tank and there's quite a lot to learn, the people here are great, and as obsessed with cehpalopods as I am becoming

 

[cthulhu77]

Can't top any of that advice !!!
Welcome to Tonmo !

greg

 

[DHyslop]

I'd venture that the LFS told you a 12 gallon system would work fine for one of two reasons:

a) they don't know any better
b) they know you'd be more likely to give them $50-100 for a 12 gallon system then $500-1000 for an appropriate system.

Dealing with LFS has always been a source of frustration for me. I'm excited to say that after a month of looking here in the new digs I've found a place about a half hour away that actually knows what they're doing. They propogate their own corals, have reasonable prices, and the underling I talked to knew off the top of his head how many feet of hydraulic head a PVC elbow costs when plumbing a return.

Dan

 

[Nancy]

Hi Paul and welcome to TONMO.com!

The posts below offer you some good advice. Sorry, but your tank's way too small for an octopus. Have a look at the thread (sticky) at the top of the Tank Talk forum where people list the equipment they have for keeping an octopus.

Nice to have you with us!

Nancy

 

[paultanca]

Thanks so much for all the help guys, i will definately rethink my equipment. I'm super picky about the health of my pets and if that means new stuff, well then that's what i'll do. Glad to have you on my side pet stores will do anything for a buck and its sad to see them send animals to people who are misinformed or unprepared. Thanks again! I'll post further once i get my setup started in a bigger tank.

 

[DHyslop]

Thanks so much for all the help guys, i will definately rethink my equipment. I'm super picky about the health of my pets and if that means new stuff, well then that's what i'll do. Glad to have you on my side pet stores will do anything for a buck and its sad to see them send animals to people who are misinformed or unprepared. Thanks again! I'll post further once i get my setup started in a bigger tank.

Hey, you've already got yourself a nice feeder tank!

Dan

 

[tjohnson]

Hey, you've already got yourself a nice feeder tank!

Dan

You beat me to this one.... But you could place dividers in the tank, using sheet Acrylic, with holes drilled throught it, (smaller holes), then keep shrimp in part and have rocks comming out of the water and keep some fiddlers in thats side. I have set up my new sump/refugium in this way with 3 different chambers. In fact you could use this tank for a sump, and even grow macro algae to help with your Nitrates, I use this method, helps since Octi are dirty dirty lil guys.