Nano Cube 24G

[xsamx]

let me start off by saying what a wonderful site! im a soon to be octo owner! ive owned a salt water tank before. always wanted an octo, but i knew it would have eaten all my fish anyways.
does this tank sound suitable for a octo.. its the nano-cube 24g. says it comes with everything.. but theres always a catch. and another question i have is, am i gonna need a chiller? i understand these creatures love cold water and its vital for them to live in cold water for them to survive. just how cold of water though? where do you get food for them, only solution i see is buying crabs from the local pet shop. i really think im ready for one! im just skeptial on that particular tank and the supplies i'm going to need. can anyone help me out?

 

[Barnstorm]

I have an NanoCube and I love it but I am just keeping soft corals and very small fish.

I will let the experts here answer your questions, some of them like the food question can be found in the FAQ and in searches.

I CAN tell you however, that the water flow in the Nanos is very strong and you will have to adjust this by setting the pump to it's lowest setting. If that is still too much you may consider wrapping a woman's leotard materal around the pump.

Also, you would be advised to have a protein skimmer. I have seen on some of the nano forums that people have done this but it kind of ruins the atractive case, but you might find a better way to do this yourself by sending the water out of the cube to a skimmer then back in?

Lastly, a bimac octo has no serious light needs. Your Nano is designed to give enough light (standard) for soft corals and (deluxe+lamp upgrade) with the upgrade hard coral. This might be alittle over kill on the light. I do not know but I suggest that as a question for the experts.

 

[xsamx]

anyone?

 

[Nancy]

Hi xsamx,

Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think your idea of a nanocube will work well for a bimac. If you read the articles on our Ceph Care page, you'll see that we recommend a 50 gallon tank for a bimac. They're very small when you first get them, but they grow much larger and produce a lot of waste. They also need room to swim and move around. The biggest octo you could put in that size tank would be a dwarf and those are hard to come by (and usually not as friendly).

It's correct that you'll need a protein skimmer, both for keeping the water clean and to remove ink - and your octo will at times be startled and ink.

As for food, if you buy the tank bred bimac, you can order baby clams to go with it - that's what it's used to eating. Then you can begin to offer other food, such as small hermit crabs, freshly thawed frozen shrimp, small snails, and so forth. It's good to continue feeding some form of live food. When your bimac gets larger, you can order fiddler crabs from this place or others:
Aquaculturestore

A bimac does not need bright light. Also, probably you won't need a chiller, but you need to try to keep the temperature in the lower seventies - you may be able to do this with a fan on the sump (provided you have a sump).

If you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Nancy

 

[xsamx]

i was going to get the dwarf i also have the option of a blue ring, but im going to pass on it.. something about keeping an animal with very toxic venom doesnt settle right with me. i dont plan on playing with it much. i just think they're fasinating creatures, and i'd just watch it for hours upon hours. so, do you think the nano will be okay for this species? the dwarf that is? its the 24 gallon not the 12.

 

[Barnstorm]

i was going to get the dwarf i also have the option of a blue ring,

Blue ring? really. Is this from a pet store?
I can't get one myself as I don't have the option of risking my life in this particular way just now but it is neat to know they are around.

 

[xsamx]

Blue ring? really. Is this from a pet store?
I can't get one myself as I don't have the option of risking my life in this particular way just now but it is neat to know they are around.

my roommate works at a fish dealer.. i seen the things. they're out there believe me! they're also babys, well about 4 weeks old