setup

[c0mmand3rbob]

Hey guys (and gals), im new to the forums and have gotten really interested into getting something like a bimac. Ive read all the Ceph care articles and such but was wanting to get a list of equipment and prices for such items i need. im wanting to get a 40gallon tank because thats all i can afford as far as LR. anyways, im here to learn from everyones knowledge and glad to be apart of Tomno! Thanks!

 

[cuttlegirl]

Try to get as big (at least 55 gallon) tank as you can, sometimes you can find deals on live rock, or seed your own if you already have some live rock. The real expense of keeping a cephalopod will be the live food... you cannot know until you have your little guy (or girl) if it will accept dead food.

 

[c0mmand3rbob]

thanks for the imput, but i was wondering about what exactly i NEED to have for the tank such as filter and stuff. any specific models would be helpful
also about food. where can you get food? like will it take bait that they sell at a Gander Mountain (sporting goods store)?

Sorry bout all the Questions

 

[cuttlegirl]

Well, everyone is going to have a different opinion on what model works best... so I am not sure you will get much input there. In general, you want to make sure you have adequate filtration. Cephalopods produce a lot more waste than other kinds of animals. I would recommend a protein skimmer (I have one rated 150 gallons for my 55 gallon tank), live rock and some other kind of filtration. That said, there are others that have successfully kept cephalopods with a different filtration system than mine.

Try to find a knowledgeable local fish store to give you advice on how to set up the tank (you will probably not get much advice related to cephalopods there, but that is what Tonmo is for!).

As for food sources, you can go to a seafood market in the grocery store for raw (uncooked) shrimp, scallops and other foods. Some bait stores have food available too. I buy my live food at aquaculturestore.com, it costs me about $80 every 10 days or so...

 

[c0mmand3rbob]

how often would you feed your octo frozen shrimp?

 

[cuttlegirl]

Why don't you start reading some of these articles?

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cephcarejump.php

They may answer some of your questions.

 

[Jean]

how often would you feed your octo frozen shrimp?

They need fed every day, the actual amount depends on the individual Octi. Don't be tempted to feed freshwater shrimps etc to your octopus, it has the wrong ratio of fat to protein and is a bit like us trying to live on candy.......tasty but we wouldn't be too healthy!

You may need to scout round a bit to find all the gear at a price you can afford, be sure if you buy second hand that the equipment has NEVER been exposed to copper (common in fish medications!) this is fatal at low doses to octopus and can leach out of existing equipment. You may want to total up the prices of everything and then decide whether or not you can afford a) the money and b) the time to care for one.

Cheers

Jean

 

[c0mmand3rbob]

Thanks for all the help jean and cuttlegirl. its great that there is a site thats so helpful!

 

[Jean]

You're welcome!!!
J

 

[monty]

c0mmand3r.

I pretty much agree with what others have said. The TONMO recommendation of 55 gallons and extra filtration are based on the experience of a lot of people keeping octos, who found that they die for avoidable reasons more often in smaller tanks. From there, the smaller you go, the more likely your octo won't do very well, but there's no "line" where the octo goes from healthy to unhealthy, it just seems that octos die for avoidable reasons much more often as the tank gets smaller than 55gal. The equipment list in the article link Cuttlegirl posted is a good checklist to start with, although different folks use different types of filtration and tank designs, so there's no "master list." There's also a "tank owner's database" you can get to from the nav bar at the top, which can let you compare what different choices people have made in setting up their ceph tanks.