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need a little help

Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
21
hi guys, We were here a while back with a few bobtail squids. We've moved since then and released the rest of the bobs back into the water. Well we now have a 25 cube and a "short arm octo". i found it in the hoover invert book. . the guy at my lfs says that they don't get much bigger than the one we got wondering if anyone has anymore info on it? it's about the size of a kiwi, so far it seems to be eating swimming crabs, comes out @ night, but likes to hide in my filters. is this ok? i tried putting shells in the tank, he used them for the first 2 days and now he just hides in the filter. he does come out @ night. he hasn't tried to escape yet. any tips on octoproofing? i looked in tank setups at some of the pics but didn't see any tanks like mine. the hood doesn't come off, it's on a hinge, and there are small holes in the back for a few of the wires to come out. i can't really tape them up. any suggestions? i would love to post some pics, but can't get my camera to upload. looking foward to hearing from all of you, it's great to be back!
 
you might be able to seal the holes with aquarium-grade silicone caulking stuff, but then your wires would be glued into place.

What kind of filter do you have? (both to answer the "what if the octo lives in the filter?" and to see if you're likely to have water quality issues)

As far as the hood goes, does it make a tight seal with the top, with no gaps? A small octo can squeeze through tiny holes, and they can lift quite a bit, so you may have to weight or strap/velcro/tape the hood and tape any holes.

It sounds like your LFS thinks this is a dwarf species, in which case the 25 might barely be enough (we recommend 30gal, actually) and the behavior seems consistent with a dwarf. Any larger species will quickly outgrow the tank, though. The good news is that most dwarfs aren't too prone to escape compared to larger octos, at least.
 
Have to disagree with you on one point, Monty...my dwarf O. digueti were constantly getting out of my tanks, one so far as to crawl out of the tank, out of the room, down the hall, underneath the front door and about 15 feet down the sidewalk before finally expiring.

I still can't figure out how the bugger got out.

Back on topic, you can use filter floss to stuff the holes...octopus seem to find it irritating to touch.
 
Oops, I was a bit hasty, I should have said mercatoris specifically doesn't seem so prone to escape, probably. My bad.
 
i'm not sure how the filters work. i know that there are like 5 sections in the back of the tank. one has a sponge, one has a couple bags of bio rings, one has a bag of bio rings and a protien skimmer, and one is empty with a pump at the bottom and then there's a section with bio balls. it's all in the tank, so i don't think water quality is an issue. i don't know where he hides, or even if he hides in the same place every night. he's been ok so far, do you think he can handle any tank mates? and also any other food options. i've been doing live white and blue pincher crabs, which h seems to be happy with. is there anything else that i can try? we tried opae, snakehead cowerys, and turbo snails, but that doesn't seem to be working. any suggestions? thanks.
 
You might try saltwater thawed frozen or market fresh shrimp on a skinny stick (bamboo skewer works well). Live shrimp might also be of interest but be sure you remove it dies and any remains of frozen that are not eaten. Live or freshly opened mussles are also an option, and also need to be removed quickly after death. Crabs are usually the best eaten option but some variety is always a good idea as long as you stay with saltwater creatures. Another option that I have yet to to try but recently found may be a possibilty is live chiton.
 

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