• 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.

I have some beginner questions

Good that you got the ammonia test! I know you're trying to make this work.

What will you be feeding your octopus - emerald crabs are expensive!

We recommend crabs and shrimp as the food to start with. You can try thawed frozen shrimp to start with, and live crabs.

Nancy
 
let me put it this way...

money really doesn't concern me.

So yes i was going to feed him emerald crabs. I have a guy shipping 6 to my doorstep each week.

saves me time going to the LFS
 
todays readings.

After a five gallon water change....not the best but still not bad.

Nitrate 15-20 ppm says safe for invertabrates on the test kit.

Nitrite .15-.25

alkalinity 300

PH 8.4

Ammonia 0

I added a half capful of prime to the new 5 gallons but should i do another half capful to see if it helps?

I swear by prime i know you guys dont like chemicals and shit but that stuff is sold everywhere and i have never heard a bad thing about it.
 
What kind of water are you using? Is it RO/DI? If so, I would recommend daily water changes for awhile. It will help reduce the toxins in the water. More chemicals in the water will not help at this point. The octopus is producing waste that needs to be removed. In a cycled tank, the waste would be converted/removed by the bacteria. In your tank, the only way to remove it is by water changes.
 
Keep up the good work. Hopefully this nitrite will quickly go!

Talk about ironry! I helped sort out a few comments on a fishkeeping magazine in the UK and guess what they sent me as a small thankyou? A big bottle of 'Cycle - a super concentrated formula... with beneficial bacteria to consume ammonia'!!!!!!!!!

:/
 
Did another 5 gallon water change and the water is at 5-10 ppm nitrate and 0-.15 nitrite.

He is still doing good but has been hiding all day.

just like yesterday. but i fouund another craked open crab today.

Is that how octopus eat? do they crack the thing in half and eat out the inside?

Becuase every crab I have ever pulled out has been cracked open and empty inside.
 
Yes, that's the way the octopus eats crabs - you'll have to clean up after him!

You really need that ammonia test kit. Could you buy another?

Nancy
 
A member here, Not going to say who but if the person wants to come out and tell he or shes is they can,

but anyways they are sending me one that sits in the tank and monitors the ammonia level 24/7. It was very kind of them. Thanks again.
 
thats great news, I have used one of them before and they will give you an early warning!
 
Ok, Did a 5 gallon water change today.

I did a poor job mixing the salt today becuase when i measured the salt level this morning it was a little low. like 1.20 - 1.19

but i quickly brought it back up. How does low salt levels affect them?

second water conditions are still great.

third hes been eating. all his crabs are gone.
 

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