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Honestly, I think you should let him go and catch another one in a few weeks.
The tank isn't at all cycled, so all the ammonia the octopus produces is staying in the tank and not getting processed. That means that the ammonia level will only go up and the only way to keep it from killing the octopus is doing daily water changes. In a functioning system the ammonia level should be zero--any waste the animal produces should be converted the instant it hits the filter. Even 0.25 PPM is a lot of ammonia.
If you did daily water changes like that the tank would eventually cycle, but it might take a long time.
Don't worry, I don't think anyone is saying you're selfish; just that it would be selfish to keep him.
I understand its hard to let him go, but there's plenty of fish in the sea! Its a hobby that really does reward patience. I first discovered TONMO about three years ago, and I've been waiting that long for an octopus! You're very lucky in that you'll have another one in your tank in just a month or two!
Now, after your octo is out of the tank, you need another source of ammonia in it to get the tank to cycle. This can be a fish (that you can get rid of when its time for the octo to come back), or a dead cocktail shrimp to decompose in the tank.
You always do the right thing - you will get another octopus (maybe even the same octopus...). Thanks for being so mature and putting the health of the octopus over your desire for a pet. You are going to make a great marine biologist one day .
Yes, now is the time to work on your tank so it will be perfect for your next octopus. You're learning so much about keeping a saltwater tank -it will be a lot easier the next time.
Most of us really wish we lived so near the ocean and had the opportunity to find our own octopus.
oh, sorry for not posting in a while I was busy. But yes, I did let him go a while back.
Thanks people for your support guys, and a special thanks to cuttlegirl, that was very nice of you
OK, I have a problem though. Just recently I checked all my parameters and found that the ammonia was down to 0 and the pH and Nitrates were fine but the Nitrites were WAY up!
Is there a reason they would have done this? Im going to do a water change but I am wondering if the tank still isn't ready...
Your tank is in the process of cycling. Bacteria are going to convert the nitrites to less harmful nitrates but you don't have a large enough population of bacteria yet.
See this link - there is a diagram of a tank and you can see the animation of a tank cycling.
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