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Octopus Cyanea 55 gal???

Holu

Hatchling
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Apr 20, 2008
Messages
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Hey guys!
I waited 3 months to get my octopus. Now hes in my shop and its a cyanea.
But i dont know if i should take it.
I dont know if its too small for him or something else.
Well ife got much life rock for him to hide, but is it ok if i put him into a 50 gal tank???
Know that it gets up to 30 inch arm to arm.
Has someone more info for me. About size and reef care and something like this?
Thanks
 
Yeah, I'm confused as well Animal Mother. According to that link they're about the same size as a bimac, and I've been told 100g is fine for them. Is that just not true?
 
Certainly, the "common wisdom" around here is that cyanea needs more tank size than either type of bimac. I think the experience has been that both types of bimac rarely get that big (although Norman's guide does say bimaculatus gets to 20cm ML (mantle length) and 80cm arms, while cyanea gets to "at least 16cm" ML and "at least 80cm arms." By all reports I've seen, though, bimacs never get that large, although most bimacs kept here have been bimaculoides, the large-egged smaller species. I'm less sure about this, but I think cyanea is also a more active swimmer, and may need more space to move around, and also may weigh more for its size, and consequently produce more waste.

For vulgaris, which reaches 25cm ML, 100cm arms, we recommend 200gal, but there's less data points for that. Remember, too, that 55gal is the minimum recommended size for a bimac, so a bit larger, e.g. 75gal, is probably preferable.

Hopefully, Nancy, Carol, or Colin can chime in about cyanea specifically, since they were around when the "treat cyanea as comparably large to vulgaris" suggestions were formulated... that's just been the common wisdom while I've been around.

Nancy and Colin's book (p. 156) lists cyanea in the same section as vulgaris in terms of requirements.

I suspect some of what's going on here is that the large size of bimaculatus reported by Norman occurs rarely, and hasn't been seen in any of these kept by TONMO members. For comparison, Nesis lists bimaculatus at 10-18cm ML, and bimaculoides at 7-20cm ML.
 
I am actually waiting for my tank to cycle so i can get a cyanea too. i think 50 gal is way too small like everyone else, but ive seen some very varied estimates on just how big a tank they need. my tank is a 6x2x2, so about 180gal with a 4 ft sump, and i know i may have to upgrade it eventually when the animal gets big enough, or release it. ive seen estimates as low as around 80 gal and some people saying they would need something swimming pool sized.

i have talked to someone on here whos kept them though, and i was told something around the 200 gal mark would be enough to keep one happy. they are also prone to inking ive heard, and can turn a 200gal tank completely black, so id hate to think what would happen in anything much smaller.

i hope there is alot more discussion on it though, ive been trying to do alot of research so there arent any unforseen problems once i get it.
 
I've heard that larger octopi generally lay on the ground all day waiting to be fed. Also once they obtain that size they don't like to move much and can be put in a smaller tank(or atleast my LFS said) Maybe you could keep it in colder water and see if that affects its metanetabolism.:snorkel:
 
aristocat;127983 said:
I've heard that larger octopi generally lay on the ground all day waiting to be fed. Also once they obtain that size they don't like to move much and can be put in a smaller tank(or atleast my LFS said) Maybe you could keep it in colder water and see if that affects its metanetabolism.:snorkel:

Misinformation is a big problem in this hobby. A lot of that misinformation comes from LFS's. A lot of livestock dies from this misinformation.

O. cyanea is a very active, large octopus. A very active, large octopus from tropical waters, with tropical temperatures.

My Great Dane is not an extremely active dog. My walk-in closet is big enough for it to live in. Should it LIVE in there?
 
i actually thought something similar when i was picking out a tank. would i be happy confined in the same reletive area as im providing my pet.

while the great dane analogy is good to highlight how a large octopus would feel in a very small tank, but i think its a bit misleading. i dont think anyone would recomend the same sized tank for a squid as they would for a similar sized octopus. more space is better of course, but you need to look at the specific animal thats going to occupy it for a really accurate idea of whats suitable.
 
It would seem that many people have opinions on keeping Octopus cyanea, but how many have actually kept one? Yes, this is an octopus that can get very large, certainly up to 5 kilos or more. However, my experience keeping several is that they do not grow nearly that large in captivity. You can view that as a positive or negative, but I had no problems keeping them in a 100 gal dedicated system for a year. They grew and fed actively, but certainly their behavior was not equivalent to what we see in the field. Given that they normally range over 10's of meters and use several dens, I would not expect "normal" behavior in a 100 gal syetem - or even a 500, but they do survive well in captivity. The trick seems to be to get them small (5 cm mantle length) and acclimate them early to captivity.

Roy
 
kind of off topic but still related, im finishing up all getting all the extras for my cyanea tank (the octopus should be here next month) should i bother getting moon lighting being that their diurnal?
 
Decay;128353 said:
kind of off topic but still related, im finishing up all getting all the extras for my cyanea tank (the octopus should be here next month) should i bother getting moon lighting being that their diurnal?

I like the looks of moon lights, but it's not necessary.
 
Roy, what do you think is the limiting factor for size in captivity? is it the tank size? the amount we feed them? nutrition? something else? Would you say this is true for most octos or just the larger ones?

has anyone kept both cyanea and vulgaris to maturity? big difference?
 

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