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Mimius five month anniversary/tank stand

Joined
Dec 3, 2004
Messages
73
Well, I apologise for the absence but with the house move and a few family emergencies, I was unable to take the time to post much lately. Mimius's new tank stand is finished. The lighting hood will be made as the new tank cycles. Included is a picture of Mimius with eyes above the water directing the construction of his stand...
 

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Glad to see that Minimus is doing so well. Happy fifth anniversary! He's looking good - what are you feeding him?
I'm sure he's looking forward to the new tank.

Nancy
 
Hi Nancy, Mimius prefers lobster which is his/her staple food. In addition it also gets frozen blue crab meat and shrimp. Fiddler crabs are hard to come by this time of year in the pet stores, however, Mimius also likes to hunt and eat the large turbo snails. I always have several in the tank and restock when the LFS has sales on snails. Mimius is now hidden alot and has taken every rock it can move to build an incredible den. It is still taking food but I suspect maybe infertile eggs may be in the den. Mimius spends alot of time in the den now blowing sand out and cleaning. Rarely comes out over the past several days. I guess we'll see...
 
Thank you for the compliment. The whole idea was to downsize from my original 180 gallon reef to something simpler and smaller. I will have the tank on the stand in the next couple of days and am awaiting a new R/O membrane (2 months and counting!) to begin filling. The sump will be behind the wall in the "furnace room" where I have already installed all needed stuff such as sink, water, electricity, GFCI etc. After such a long time and so much planning, I can't wait to get Mimius's new quarters up and running. Should be cool...90 gallon cube shaped tank etc.
 
I think so Nancy. Mimius if O. aculateus, then is adult size i.e., armspan over three feet. Behaviour is uncharacteristic the last week to ten days. Mimius used to be out in the open almost all the time. Now she(?) stays in the den and cleans the interior constantly. I've also noted using funnel to propel fresh water through the den - maybe aerating eggs? In any case she/he still eats but with less enthusiasm and does not leave the den. The arms come out crawling and searching, however, the head and mantle stays hidden. It will take at least 6 weeks to get the new tank up and cycled si I have time to observe Mimius's behaviour without having to worry about disturbing the den and perhaps destroying a clutch of eggs. Unfortunately, I can't see the interior of the den and have no way of knowing if there are eggs or not. Have to wait and see.
 
It would be a bit sad if Minimus did lay eggs and never got to move to the new tank. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened to a TONMO.com member. Perhaps she would live some after the eggs hatched (or were infertile and she grew tired of eggs) and could enjoy the new tank.

And, it's always there for Minimus II.

Nancy
 
Agreed Nancy, however, thats the risk we take when we get one of these amazing creatures. Mimius has been with me for almost six months now and was pretty large when I got her/him. In any case the new tank will be set up regardless even if its only to house a few soft corals and someplace to start stocking up various crabs and snails for the next octopus. From what I can understand though, even if Mimius did lay eggs, I hope I can expect it to survive another month or so. I don't know how long the eggs for aculateus take to hatch.
 
Egg hatching depends on temperature - somewhere around 4 to 6 weeks. Minimus could live some weeks afterwards, too, especially if she keeps eating. I guess that might vary by species, but some of our bimacs continued eating.

Nancy
 
No unfortunately, no changes yet. Mimius refuses all food and will not leave her den. The new tank/stand/hood is finished and I am filling it with R/O water. But as things look, I don't think I will transfer Mimius when the time comes as I don't want to disturb her. A few pics of the hood. Its pc lights with actinics and moonlight and is hinged to allow the front or back to fold up and over.
 

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