looking to house octopus,,have a question about species

[Chele]

I am thinking on housing a octopus and am wondering which species stays small and what the size is. Can anyone give advice?

 

[Nancy]

Many of the octo keepers on this website have bimacs (O. bimaculoides) which is available as captive-bred from southern California. They require about a 50 gallon tank.

Are you thinking of a smaller octopus?

Please give more details and we'll try to give you more information.

Nancy

 

[Chele]

more info

Ok sorry about not giving more info, I have a 30 gallon tank that I want to house a octopus in. I know most octos need a larger tank, but I have heard of people getting smaller sized octos and keeping them in 15 gallons. I want to know what type of octo this is and its size and where to get one.
I havent got one yet,, just thinking about it. I am very willing to upgrade to a larger tank with no problem at all. I am an experienced marine aquarium keeper, just doing my research like a good little fish owner.. 8)

 

[neptune]

Welcome to TONMO.

there are a few species of dwarf octos than can be kept in a 30 gallon, but there a few negatives to them. i.e. life span, and age at capture.

to answer your post, research mecatoris, joubini, bocki among a few.

there are definately other species of octo's to keep but there are differences with each one. tank size, water temp, life span, size etc.

Howerver, I think you will find that a captive bred bimac will fullfill what you are loooking for as a first octo.

I am partial I just got my from right near you! :P

 

[joel_ang]

Just to elaborate on what neptune said, dwarfs usually have short lifespans of about 6 months. To make things worth, most of the dwarf that you'll find are probably full grown or near full grown adults which means they have a very short time left to live.

Getting a bimac would be great though they will need a larger tank (50+ gallons). Bimacs are diurnal, playful curious and they are captive bred. You get them at about 2 1/2 months old from the farm and they have more than a year with you.

 

[Chele]

A few more Questions...

Neptune, Do you have a link or address to this place in California that I can get a bimac? I have decided to turn my 50 gallon fresh water into a octo tank. My hubby is going to be mad cause I promised that tank to his bull head cats. They can have the 30 gallon for now.
Anyways, in my research I have read that silver sand is the best substrate for octos, that coral sand can cut the octo. Do you know how to get this sand? What type of subsrtate do you use? And what do you feed and where do you get the food? What type of filter system are you using? I am still stuck on that. Would a fluval 404 be a good choice? That is what we use on our 50 gallon reef tank. Also what type of skimmer is best? I read that a cheap model will be sufficent, is that true?
thanks again,
Chele

 

[Nancy]

There are two places providing captive bred baby bimacs:

www.octopets.com

and

www.fishsupply.com

Our Tonmo members have ordered from both, and you can read about this under the Journals and Photos Forum.

Nancy

 

[neptune]

Your research is right about coral sand, however a fine sand will do. You can order sand online, or are your lfs may have it. Thats where I got mine.

I use a wet/dry "trickle" filter and find good results. I have these filters on my reef and F/o tanks and love them. (Bio-balls are removed for the reef)

Octopets is where Ochi came from, they sell "kits" that will iclude food, but you can also go with crabs, shrimp, etc. and then move into frozen food as they get older.

I use a ventri style skimmer on all my tanks and they work great. I have a 100 gall spec for my octo 55 and it works excellent. Paid 80 dollars locally for it.

Hope this answers yuour questions, and if you have any more fire away!

BTW- congrats on your decision, and hope the b-friend understood. He will when it arraives thats for sure.

 

[Chele]

Thanks for the info..

Neptune and everyone, thanks for the information. So are you talking about a standard backpack filter for the octo tank? On my reef tank I run a Fluval 404, cost me close to $300 and runs like a charm. Would a Fluval be ok?
My main concern is how to keep the octo from getting inside the filter, backpack filters leave a pretty large space for escaping. A Fluval has one intake hose and one outlet hose. Think this will be ok if I cover the intake with a sponge or a pair of nylons?
In my research I have also read that octos like deep sand, so that leads to another question if ya dont mind,,,
When setting up my reef tank I went to the hardware store and bought a 75lb bag of sandbox sand, this I cleaned well and added to my tank first, then added live sand on top of that, giving me at least 5 inches of substrate before i put in my live rock. Question,,,would this be okay for the octo, or should I use all live sand?
Once I told my husband about the 50 gallon being donated to the octo he had no problem, he sees how much I want one (doing all this research) and is ok with it, I had to promise to make his catfish tank look spectacularlly natural so he happy.

Thanks again,,
Chele

 

[neptune]

Fluval will be fine. I did have a problem myself octo proofing the intake. Finally found that a weaving mat from a craft store (sorry not a better disc) worked best, as everything else i used restricted flow way to much. I tried fiberglass screen, for windows, nylons, they all blocked to much water. May not be the same for you but, for 89 cents and a cable tie I was done!

Sand, I don't have mine that deep, just over an inch 1/2. Have heard of other using playground sand, but I have not tried.

Keep the questions coming, and glad to hear your husband agreed!!!!

 

[Colin]

i have used playsand for all my tanks.. i like it a lot and has caused no problems, but i do mix a wee bit of coral sand through it just to buffer the water a bit