Infected arms

[Tako_Poke]

Hey all,
I just got an octopus and it seems to be adjusting well except for one thing. Its arm is wounded and Im worried it could become infected. What should I do?
-Nick

 

[corw314]

I've had different octopuses that have come to me with missing legs, different injuries and as long as your water quality iis good, they have healed really quick. Maybe someone else may have a recommendatation on something to help the healing along, but I know I have never added anything and they have healed just fine. Good luck!

 

[Tako_Poke]

Thanks,
It doesnt seem to be bothering the octo to much. But I am worried about water quality. I dont have any means of knowing if its good or not, I rely pretty much on color and clearity. And then I do water changes. Btw does anyone know how to prevent algal growth? I can never seem to get rid of the stuff...

 

[Illithid]

Bare minimum would be ammonia and nitrite kits to test water parameters. Color and clarity is only affected by nitrates. Algae blooms are caused by lots of things- including phosphates, nitrates and newly/poorly cycled systems.

 

[monty]

Bare minimum would be ammonia and nitrite kits to test water parameters. Color and clarity is only affected by nitrates. Algae blooms are caused by lots of things- including phosphates, nitrates and newly/poorly cycled systems.

Check the ceph care articles for other testing and water change issues-- I know making certain there's no copper is extremely important, and most people recommend using RO (reverse osmosis) water for water changes to make sure it's free of contaminants.

 

[Illithid]

Check the ceph care articles for other testing and water change issues...people recommend using RO (reverse osmosis) water for water changes to make sure it's free of contaminants.

Yup, and these are just the bare minimums if you really know what to look for and are just out of the testing solutions.

Do you have alot of experience with saltwater/reef tanks?

If so - more power to ya...I have been doing saltwater for more than 20 years and still refer back to test kits.

If not - do refer to lots of instructions from the web and books. It does take some getting used to -to know what you are looking for and what is causing what to happen. It's alot like electricity - you can't see it happening, but it will knock you on your ass if you don't know what's coming.

 

[Tako_Poke]

Well I have some expreience. The problem is I dont have any kits and besides that I dont kno whow to use them. But I better get some fast.

 

[Illithid]

Well I have some expreience. The problem is I dont have any kits and besides that I dont kno whow to use them. But I better get some fast.

I use Red Sea Marine Lab. This has a bunch of kits together. Each test has a little laminated card that has simple instructions to do the tests. Using the tests is very easy-knowing what the results mean is the tricky part.

The Marine lab test kit isnt cheap, but it isnt expensive either compared to the livestock you will lose without it. I have the lab and seperate tests for copper and calcium for my corals. The "Lab" is the same as the seperate Red Sea kits-they are just bundled in the lab packaging.

www.wetwebmedia.com and www.reefcentral.com are good resources for testing and nitrogen cycle information, (TONMO is pretty specialized in cephs only.)

There is one major trick to cephs/reef keeping/life that all successful people do....
ask tons of questions.

 

[Tako_Poke]

Thanks so much. But now I have another probem. The octo just inked the tank!

 

[DHyslop]

What provoked him to ink? Your protein skimmer should be able to handle it.