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Pygmy Tank ?s

Keith

Vampyroteuthis
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Jun 5, 2008
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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 :banghead:. 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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
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.
 
Keith;121422 said:
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.
 
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.
 
Keith;121449 said:
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.
 
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?
 
Keith;121431 said:
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?
dwhatley;121438 said:
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,
We currently have 5 of the Biocubes (two 29s, one 14, two 8s) and 1 Nanocube (12), and although I think they are great for reef and mantis setups (after a relatively simple modification of their hair-brained filtration scheme), I don't think they are the best choice for an octopus, particularly a merc.
1. It is difficult to proof the back chambers. There's just no practical way to screen them off and still be able to reach the filter. Also, you will effectively kill the normal surface skimming action by covering the water pass-through slits with screen.
2. You will have to operate with the water level right up to the top of the back wall unless you make some significant changes to the compartments in the back. This makes it easy for an octo to slip into the pump chamber or out of the tank unless you do some heavy octo-proofing which kinda ruins one of the best things about have a merc in the first place.
3. The lighting is built into the hood and makes it difficult to switch between normal white lights and the red filters that D and I both use. This will limit you to red LED spotlights which limit your vision and make mercs much less comfortable.​
I would suggest saving yourself time, effort, and money by just buying a standard 30 gallon glass aquarium and a cannister filter and leave the water level about 3 inches below the top. Then get several layers of red vellum and cut them to fit under the fluorescent lighting hood. That has worked much better for me than the Biocubes did.
Greg


dwhatley;121438 said:
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.

D, from what I've read, I think the Joubini occur in deeper water than mercs, where collectors are less likely to work. (Correct me if I'm wrong anybody...)
 
from what I've read, I think the Joubini occur in deeper water than mercs, where collectors are less likely to work. (Correct me if I'm wrong anybody...)

I can't say for sure as one hasn't turned up (that we know of) since I have been on TONMO. I CAN say that Trapper was caught in a crab trap in 30' of water - part of the reason she was not "supposed" to be a merc :hmm: (nor Joubini for that matter).

oh by the way, i have never kept starfish or urchins. what do they eat? and which ones can be kept with mercs? any special care requirements?
Starfish are a little goosey, not because of the octopus (although there is some question about the large Bahamma Star being octo safe) but because of their eating requirements and many starve for lack of proper vegetation. The serpent stars (other than green ones - there are many colors but only the green tend to grow large and aggressive) and knobby stars (IME but other have stated otherwise) both do well, eat meaty remains and act as excellent and attractive clean up (I add cyclop-eeze to the tank to be sure they have enough but many just let them scavenge). We have a bright orange serpent that will investigate a finger at supper time, the others are relatively shy but all come out for supper. It is recommended (and I have not tried others) that you only use pencil urchins because of the dull (mostly) spikes and lack of "velcro". However, I have found that mine have become aggressive over time (lack of algae) and had one to pin Octopus Prime and munch on his arm. I think the stress of being pinned ended up killing him but his condition almost had to have been weak to have allowed the attachment in the first place (the urchin had been in with my original Merc and three of her offspring without problem but it did eat a sand sifting star once).

Note that I have only had success with Caribbean starfish and serpent stars. The "recommended" Fromia were a disaster and I have never tried the attractive but not "recommended" linkia.
 

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