NEW OCTOPUS INKING

[otto13]

I have two bimacs in a 55 gallon aquarium. One of them gets scared when it sees the other one and inks. They are both about 2.5-3.0 inches. How bad will this effect the water quality? Is the ink poisonous or does it just change the water composition? I know I have to seperate them, but in the meanwhile?? Is it almost impossible to keep two together?

 

[joefish84]

you need to seperate them if thats the case if not it wont be a matter of water quality it will be a matter of them killing each other or dying of stress from each other

 

[otto13]

I agree I must seperate them, I stated that in my post. I was wondering if anyone knew if the ink was toxic or would it just effect my water quality.

 

[Armstrong]

No, it's not poisonous (toxic), however...depending on the volume of ink thats released, it can harmful to either one of the octopuses if one gets close to the ink or if the ink isn't filtered out in time. A build up can cause some issues. The ink can clogg their gills and they can die from it. But this is only if your filteration isn't good, and if you arent taking the ink out in time. Make sure you use a net to get excessive ink out of the tank. And dont let it release multiple amounts of it, or the volume can increase and be harmful. Dont worry that much though on the ink cuz their in a 55 gallon which isn't so small...just worry about getting them seperated.

I recommend..buying an aquarium built "divider." My friend owns one, and what you can do is place it in the middle of the tank and block off half anf half. I also recommend getting a solid colored divider, not see through so they cant see eachother. Once they get bigger though, you will have to seperate both octo's in seperate tanks eventually.

 

[DHyslop]

I recommend..buying an aquarium built "divider." My friend owns one, and what you can do is place it in the middle of the tank and block off half anf half. I also recommend getting a solid colored divider, not see through so they cant see eachother. Once they get bigger though, you will have to seperate both octo's in seperate tanks eventually.

Some dividers use a metal clip to hold them in place. Stay away from those ones like the plague.

Dan

 

[corw314]

Do you have a protein skimmer on your tank? This will remove it. Also the volume of water compared to the probably miniscule amount a baby puffs, shouldn't affect them or the water quality. But I would worry about the one baby being so stressed by the other.

Carol

 

[Jean]

Some researchers reckon that the ink does contain a mild neurotoxin to stun potential predators (can't remember where I read that ) but any way it does contain melanin which will contaminate the tank water.

Also 55G is awfully small for 2 bimacs! The minimum recommended for 1 is 50G! The bioload is going to increase horribly as those animals grow and your filters will be quickly overwhelmed!

J

 

[otto13]

Wow! Thanks for all the information. I really was only planning on keeping one of the kiddos. I was going to keep both for about one month until I found out which one was the healthiest and most interactive. My lfs was interested in one too so I was going to give the second one to him.

I have found a temporary solution. I went out and bought a hampster running ball and filled it with macro and liverock. This way he can be in the tank until I get a divider setup. It has lots of airholes in it and I put it in an area with good water flow.

I put my emergency carbon filter and protein skimmer on the tank after the two inkings. They were not a large amount. I will keep them on for a day and then go back to just a bubbler. I dont use any filtration on my tanks. I set them up as macro algae gardens which doesnt require filtration. Nitrates always at zero. All water tests a-ok even with a large bio-load.

I will probably be submitting a lot more questions soon. Thanks for being so helpful.

 

[Jean]

I put my emergency carbon filter and protein skimmer on the tank after the two inkings. They were not a large amount. I will keep them on for a day and then go back to just a bubbler. I dont use any filtration on my tanks. I set them up as macro algae gardens which doesnt require filtration. Nitrates always at zero. All water tests a-ok even with a large bio-load.

I will probably be submitting a lot more questions soon. Thanks for being so helpful.

You're welcome!
but tis best not to use a bubbler if you can....the bubbles can get into the mantle cavity which can be fatal. And to be honest an octo tank with no filtration.............. As it gets older you WILL need some. Octo's produce immense quantities of waste and they're messy eaters. Leave it unfiltered and your system will crash! Macroalgae gardens do work but the load an octopus produces is enormous. Ours is in a 3600L flow through system with sand filters (containing nitrifying bacteria) and the tank is siphoned every other day in winter and every day in summer plus it is scrubbed every week but it still gets yucky from time to time (anoxic muck on the bottom), every 6 months is is drained and we climb in with the cleaning gear...and yes this is a public aquarium not a home one!!!!!!

J

 

[otto13]

I will definitely start skimming/filtering it if my nitrates ever get to the 5-10 range. I have put large puffers in this same environment without every having an increase. I am talking about a massive amount of 15+ varieties of macro. I have a tiny submersible power filter that I will put in place of the bubbler. It isnt strong enough to suck in the octopus. Even a small one.

Wow!!! A public aquarium.... that sounds dreamy. Especially one that big.

Thanks

 

[Feelers]

I think lots of people here dont reccommend power filters as the octo can get its arms caught in the impellor, if you use one make sure there is no way for its arms to get into the intake, I think pantyhose is a covering many people use. If you have a sump use that for all the equipment.

 

[otto13]

Oh..... there is absolutely no way for anything to get in this one. I doubt a copepod could get in there. There is a vent, screen and then two filter chambers before you get to the powerhead mechanism.

 

[Jean]

Wow!!! A public aquarium.... that sounds dreamy. Especially one that big.

Thanks

It can be dreamy.......but we're not all that big! Quite small in fact but what we lack in quantity we make up with quality We're part of the University of Otago's Marine Science Dept...so heaps of expertise to fall back on!!!!

Check out www.otago.ac.nz/marinestudies

for the aquarium

Cheers

J

 

[otto13]

I used to donate livestock and aquariums to the marine science center on Tybee Island. I like those types of places. Very interactive with the public.

UPDATE ON BABY BIMACS:
The very shy picked on baby went to the lfs in his hamster ball full of sea lettuce and snails. The very aggressive baby stayed in the tank at home and ate his/her first live ghost shrimp today. I have mysis, krill, snails and ghost shrimp right now to see what works best.
I named the shy one Inker and the mean one Stinker. I dont think the name will take though.

 

[otto13]

here is a pic

Stinker