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The odd couple

delosa

O. vulgaris
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Apr 27, 2007
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76
Just to update everyone on Felix and Oscar. It has been three days since I divided my tank and put an octopus on each side. Both are small so at this point I don't think room is an issue.

They don't seem to be bothered by each other. Neither one is going up to the plexiglass which separates the two. There is a plastic mesh canvass in the center of the plexiglass to allow for water movement.

Oscar has been pretty active and Felix has made his presents known.

I put a couple of fiddler craps on each side and each side has a supply of snalls and hermits.

I'm still planning on getting another tank in a week or so. Keeping them in one tank is just a quick fix.

If I use live rock from an existing tank, sand from my reef tank and water from a water change to set up the new tank, do I need to let it cycle for three months? I could join the two octopus tanks together so the water flows between the two if it would be better to break in the new tank
 
:welcome: and :fingerscrossed: for them... do you have a species ID on either or both? Do they look like the same species?

- M
 
So long as you are quick about getting the LR and LS back in to water you don't have to recycle your tank, you will not however get the benefits of a DSB for at least a year if you set one up. Also plumbing the two tanks together can be difficult but goes a long way towards making both tanks alot more stable.
 
There is no real reason to use the old water for the new tank other than convenience and ensuring same water parameters. Adding clean water will not add an excessive load of negative bacteria and dirty water will provide almost no good bacteria. As Opcn alludes to the substrate (DSB or not) will have an impact on the cycle more than any other one element in your planned proceedure. With your guys being so small, I would suggest cycling for a month and see where you are. Since you are using precycled LR, any problems will not show up right a way and the tank will show ready immediately, two weeks later, however, you might find a minicycle taking place because your substrate is not yet fully populated.
 
I'm with DW. The rock is a lot more important than the water in terms of filtration bacteria, but depending on how much rock you have there will probably still be a cycle.

Other than the live rock, what are you using for biological filtration? If you're using bioballs or other growth media you could move some to the new tank. This would shorten the cycle further.

Dan
 

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