Pygmy Tank ?s

[Keith]

Hey everyone. So i've been puttin lots and lots of cash into setting up for a Briareus, and it's just gettin to be too much right now. I'm waitin on a better payin job, but its still a ways out . What I think i'm gonna try to do is get a 29 gallon Oceanic BioCube and a pygmy octopus. With that particular tank they have bioballs and carbon filters. Do you guys think i'd also need a refugium? I'd be putting live rock in the tank still, so I dunno what extra ends I need to go to. Also, I don't know what temp to keep pygmys at. Anyone know of a good pygmy care page? I'm sure theres gotta be somethin here. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time.

-Keith

 

[typenn187]

i think that you can replace the bioballs and put a skimmer in the compartment. i think that it is cpr that makes the skimmer to replace it. if it were me i would put on a skimmer to help out with the bioload.

 

[Animal Mother]

Gholland and Dwhatley both have journals on their pygmies. O. mercatoris is probably the most likely pygmy you would end up with, ~75 degrees F.

 

[Keith]

i didnt know i'd have to take anything out to put in the skimmer, but its more important, so whatever. i saw mercratoris and jouboni (spelling probably wrong) and i dont know the difference.

 

[Keith]

So I dont know what kind of nano to get. I really like the 29 gallon Oceanic BioCube, but my local LFS has a really nice 20 gallon aquapod for $199.99 with a stand. Anyone have some suggestions for good nano tanks?

 

[chaostheory]

OH, You didn't say that it was a 29 gal, I thought that it was a 14. I have a nanocube and a biocube and even though the biocube had an octopus in it, it still did a much better job. It is also easier for the octopus to get out of a nano. I still recommend Craigslist.com

Another thing, since keeping aquatic animals is such a dent in a person's budget, you could try working at your LFS. You get an employee's discount. If you tell them about you're plans for an octo and explain you know how to care for all of their stuff because you've got the experience, then you should get the job.

 

[DWhatley]

i didnt know i'd have to take anything out to put in the skimmer, but its more important, so whatever. i saw mercratoris and jouboni (spelling probably wrong) and i dont know the difference.

Most of the little guys you will see for sale will be Mercatoris. I am not sure why but this seems to be the case even though both are supposed to be common in the Caribbean. Both Greg (GHolland) and I have fully enjoyed keeping them and their offspring but you need to understand that many people have been disappointed in them because they are strickly nocturnal (Greg's wife posted that she was glad he took such great pictures because she rarely saw them in person). I was extremely lucky to have one of my 5 young become very human friendly, it is not common, but he was still a night time creature.

If you do decide to keep a dwarf, remember that you will need red lighting to be able to see them at all. One small advantage to the dwarfs is that they require a minimum of octoproofing. If you can lower the water level about 2 inches from the top (this may be a problem with some setups) and have an overhang of about 2" around the top of the tank, a locking cover is not needed.

 

[Keith]

yea i was planning on getting red lights. im gonna put a locking cover on it anyways. kids come over every once in a while and i barbecue from time to time, so there are drunk people here every so often. i dont trust anyone here enough to not mess with it, so im doin the whole 9 yards. do you think i can get away with no sump or refugium? im still going to put live rock and everything in. maybe an urchin and starfish. I just have to double check on what kinds are cool to have in there with the dwarf.

 

[Animal Mother]

yea i was planning on getting red lights. im gonna put a locking cover on it anyways. kids come over every once in a while and i barbecue from time to time, so there are drunk people here every so often. i dont trust anyone here enough to not mess with it, so im doin the whole 9 yards. do you think i can get away with no sump or refugium? im still going to put live rock and everything in. maybe an urchin and starfish. I just have to double check on what kinds are cool to have in there with the dwarf.

As long as the tank is over-sized for the dwarf I don't think you need to worry too much about all that as long as the filtration you have in place is functional. One individual merc isn't going to do much damage to the bio-load BUT you will need to be adamant about removing any leftover meals so you don't have rotting carcasses in the tank.

 

[Keith]

i know what you mean. i had pirahnas for a while. theyre really messy eaters. the tank im lookin at is 29 gallons, is that a good size for a merc?