S. officianalis tank size and other requirements?

[Michael Blue]

Hey there!

With some new stirrings about the possibility of officianalis availability in the US, I thought I'd go ahead and ask about system requirements for this species.

For instance, if a person was going to keep 2-3 in a single tank, what size (and shape?) would be recommended.

I know food is going to be a major concern with an animal this size...What kind of food requirements would officianalis have?

What other requirements would be worth noting here, so other newbies (like me) have a single place to look got officianalis info.

Maybe a "per animal" ratio would be best for some of this...

Thanks!

 

[marinebio_guy]

The smallest tank size would be around a 120g a bigger tank would be much better for the animal though, remember they can grow to ~15 inches long but in small tanks they do not grow as large.

You will need live food for babies-juv. once they reach about 3 inches you can try to switch them to frozen shrimp.

Most husbadry info is about the same as bandesis, which you can find in other posts. The only main difference is they like to dig into the substrate so I would have a deeper sand bed (around 2-3 inches).

 

[Paradox]

This is not an easy species to keep.

They get very large. As adults they can be over a foot. However, from my experiences, you can keep one maybe two up to the age of about 6 months in a 55-75 for they will be 3-4 inches. After 6 months, they would easily require a 125 or higher for two.

They also prefer cooler water which for many requires the use of Fans or chillers.

They do eat much more then bandensis, this will get $$$ very quick. When young, Ive used ghost shrimps, marine shrimps, shore crabs, fiddlers. When larger, grass shrimp from my local bait shop was a perfect food for it was cheap!

I always preferred live foods, but they arent as difficult to ween them to dried or dead foods.

 

[Michael Blue]

So we're saying 120g+ per animal?
I'm looking at 150g tanks currently, so I may only be able to keep 1 at a time, so no breeding. How long do they live?

Nice to know chillers could be required, I plan on purchasing one in case no matter what species I keep.

Any estimates on feeding costs per animal? And does this expense go down when they reach adulthood, or does it continually grow with their size?

Thanks!

 

[Paradox]

Ive not housed two adults together myself, but my general understanding is that a 150 would bw the minimum size for 2.

Food expense would be most expensive for the first 3-4 months since live foods will be necessary unless you are lucky enough to get an individual that will accept dead. Usually whenthey get a little older, switching thier diet from live to dead becomes easier. if you choose to use dried or dead food, then your costs will drop dramatically of course.

Its probably best to keep a varied diet of dead as well as live. Its always entertaining to have different live foods available. With shrimps, they seem to extend thier feeding arms to grab the prey. With crabs, they will strike with all thier tentacles, to ensure they can control the position of the crab in a manner to avoid the claws.

Live marine shrimp can be shipped at 100 counts for 70-80$$
You will need a dedicated tank or separated portion connected to your main tank.

When young, I fed 2-4 a day. They can easily eat a lot more. A 100 count would last me on average 2.5 weeks.

I fortunately live very close to an abundant source of live crabs, so I used these as a main food source.