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How much do you feed a bimac?

Aaron

Cuttlefish
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Mar 2, 2007
Messages
17
I just got an adult bimac .... He's currently eating pieces of clam and shrimp. I don't want to overfeed or underfeed him ....

Too little food and he'll be hungry ... Too much food and I'll be putting a lot of waste into my aquarium ...
(besides I think all animals live longer when they eat just enough as opposed to too much).

So - all you guys out there ... How often do you feed your octopuses?

What's best - once a day, once every other day, one - or two or three times a week ??
 
In the marine fish world, it is definitely better to feed just enough - not just for waste issues, but also stress issues, etc. Keep in mind though, that marine fish tend to eat whatever you put in front of them, for as long as you keep putting it in front of them - they are certainly capable of overeating; my lionfish would swallow my hand whole if she could figure out how.

Regardless of the amount of food you offer your bimac, they are prone to creating a tremendous amount of waste naturally, hence the need for a good protein skimmer and at least reasonable filtration, so if your only wondering about this to avoid waste, I don't think it will matter much. Even if you fed what you thought was the bare minimum, the octo would still cast uneaten pieces about and cause waste that way if you don't clean up after their messy habits.

I would say base it on their size. They will generally eat one to two fiddlers per day. When they are full, they usually toss the rest to the floor anyway and go about their business. :smile:
 
Feed everyday, and watch what happens. If there is a lot of uneaten food, feed less the next day. Keep watching and adjusting up or down until you know the right amount to feed.

As others have said, be sure to remove uneaten food and other waste, such crab shells.

Nancy
 
I always want to post a caveat that my observations are solely with the Mercatoris (dwarf species) and there are significant differences with the larger varieties. As Nancy mentions, I adjust the food supply through observation of how throughly they consume their food and how eager they are to eat at feeding time but I have found that it changes over their lifespan. With the little ones, I have noticed a difference in feeding depending upon age and stage of development. My tank raised babies ate well once a night until they were about 4 months (juveniles) then needed less food (eating about half as much) until preparing for reproduction. Two of my females (the mother and currently brooding offspring) then started eating more actively just before brooding. At 8 months (full adult) I see the males nightly anticipating small (large zoo plankton sized) food AND there are fewer live shrimp in the tank. Between 4 and 8 months the males ate only roughly once every other night, sometimes less and I rarely restocked the live shrimp.
 

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