Hello Octo lovers

29g is way to small for an octo, even a small species.
i'm glad you posted that, i wasn't sure if we were really talking about a 29g tank.

History has told us time and again, an octopus needs 55 gallons+. Depends on species, but our general rule of thumb has been, better safe than sorry 55 gallons and up. In many cases 55 gallons will not do, either.


My question to you guys is "does 6 US gallons make a difference?"
Yes it's a 29gl biocube and if you read the entire first post, I have a total of 49gls with a custom sump. Or were you referring to a med size octo in a bio29?

Currently the merc is in a 10gl and doing very well. 24/7 food source and I am checking params every 3 days.

For the mediums sized species we keep, a 55 with sump (or larger) is definitely strongly recommended. HOWEVER, a 29 gallon is a GOOD size for dwarfs (even for a pair of mercs, I have raised a pair in a well filtered, often water changed 15 very successfully - the largest I have used for mercs is a 45 and kept 3 of them in the same tank with lots of live rock). A 55 gallon tank is really too large for a dwarf species unless you are trying to keep a small community. A single dwarf in a 55 would never be seen and there would be no way to ensure it was eating. A 29 is also quite appropriate for a baby octopus of a larger species. As the hatchling grows larger, it would then need to be moved but the smaller tank is preferred while they are young for the same reasons it is appropriate for a dwarf.

Wow that is awesome. How long did you house them and what size were they at their biggest?
 
Wow that is awesome. How long did you house them and what size were they at their biggest?

Here is my longest set of stories about the O. mercatoris I have kept I have kept others but you will find more than you want to read in Trapper, her offspring and her grandchildren's threads (all linked from Trapper's original Journal). I don't recommend anything smaller than a 15 gallon for them and would highly suggest a 20 - 30 just because of the water issues (this species does not tend to wander much even in the wild). The smaller tanks need more water changes and MUST be very well cycled. There MUST be hiding places for them that are dark (early on, I may have caused another to die prematurely because it stressed out not having a proper den and have been extremely careful to provide one ever since).

If you read along long enough to find Sistrurus (In the Trapper's Babies journal), you will see that a few of them will interact somewhat with humans but Sisty was the only one of all I have kept that looked for me every night. They are a pretty reclusive species. I have found that if you provide a giant purple barnacle cluster mounted about 1/3 of the way up the tank, females will often take one as a permanent den and males will visit the dens often enough to see them more often than without.

@gholland also has a detailed set of multi generation journals (starting with Varys) that may interest you.

You can also use our search feature using the keyword, mercatoris (check titles only) for other journals and experiences with the Caribbean dwarfs.
 
My question to you guys is "does 6 US gallons make a difference?"
Yes, for the medium sized animals. I would also maintain that you should also have a 15-30 gallon sump in addition to the displaced (ie it is not really 55 gallons) water in the larger tank. You also want to provide the extra size for movement. O. briareus can span a 55 long with its arms.
 
Or were you referring to a med size octo in a bio29?
I'm no expert (never owned a sw tank) so we should start there. :smile: I defer to our resident experts.

...after the fact, I'm not sure what the best actions are, or if any are warranted. If I understand correctly, the tank size recommendations are as much about movement and "personal space" as it is about water quality. Based on everything I've read here over the years, unless you are very sure about the species (and don't necessarily take LFS's work for it), I do feel it's good to advise anyone thinking of keeping an octo to baseline at 55 and further evaluate from there. Always want to make such statements in a thread like this for others who may be reading and considering octo ownership.

It is a learning experience and that's why we share. Very much appreciate you sharing your experiences here as well -- very interested in your take on your octos health and well-being in your tank config as you go forward. Thanks!
 
Octo update...

50% wc and tossed in 12 red claw hermits (which seems to be his food of choice). 2 week vacation out of state...

Just got home yesterday and noticed a few shells and a few hermits alive (shocked and yet scared).
Serpent star is alive and hungry!
Emerald crâb is alive and well!
Few corals are alive and well!!
But where's the octo?
Took a few minutes and BOOM! There he is! Alive and well. This morning I woke up around 3am and walked near the octo tank and seen him walking around the back wall. He's starting to come around! Still nocturnal as ever but nice to see him out and about :smile:
Btw, yes I just got through doing a 50% wc :wink:

Have a safe and happy New Years all!!
 
Got around to finalizing my Octoproof overflow:biggrin2:

Things Needed:
Smallest zip ties
eggcrate
plastic mesh

First I cut out the eggcrate as close as possible to fit the overflow and having very few legs of the eggcrate go through the overflow for support. Then I purposely made the mesh long and cut very thin slits so the eggcrate legs can fit in the overflow teeth with no interruption. The purpose of cutting the mesh long is so it presses inside the overflow, giving the smallest of Octos no space to crawl through. A lot of zipties anchors the mesh... Its a tight fit, I literally have to play with the eggcrate to remove it.

This did cause my silent herbie overflow to have splashing since water now flows across the mesh. Easy fix was closing the drain by a hair and raising the water level. I have to play with it more as my emergency drain now has water going through it, nothing alarming just a me thing. Also, I added mesh to every whole in the BC29 canopy. The last thing I need to do is put some netting around my return lines. Octo is currently in the voss water bottle until I can buy the netting today.

BTW, impulse buy! Seen a 2 spot octo and picked him up. I could not help myself!!
My brother will take my current pygmy octo

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