Welcome to the Octopus Care Q&A Forum

Hello, I set up everything with the live rock. I think I went a little crazy on the live rock. I also bought a refugium and wet dry filter with a powerskimmer for a 200 gallon ( I have an 80). Once again, I think I went a little crazy with that as well. I do not plan on adding my octo until early September. Keeping in mind I just set up the live rock yesterday, when is it okay to add hermit crabs? other suggestions? Should I add pods? I will post a pic of my set up later. I have not received the refugium/filter/skimmer yet. I am filtering the water with a canaster right now.
 
Faaborg;115891 said:
Hello, I set up everything with the live rock. I think I went a little crazy on the live rock. I also bought a refugium and wet dry filter with a powerskimmer for a 200 gallon ( I have an 80). Once again, I think I went a little crazy with that as well. I do not plan on adding my octo until early September. Keeping in mind I just set up the live rock yesterday, when is it okay to add hermit crabs? other suggestions? Should I add pods? I will post a pic of my set up later. I have not received the refugium/filter/skimmer yet. I am filtering the water with a canaster right now.
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Never can have too much filtration for a ceph tank! :smile:

You can probably add hermits and what not in 4-6 weeks safely. I would suggest serpent or brittle stars (not green brittle stars though) and nassarius snails. The octopus won't eat the stars and the snails will hide in the sand most of the time. The hermits will all eventually become food, but until you get your octopus they'll give you something to look at and they'll help keep your sand and rock from looking gross.
 
Help with choosing Octopus

Hello Nancy. I am currently taking a marine biology 2 honors class in school and we are doing research projects on any organism that we want. In class we have 25 gallon aquarium tanks and i was very interested in doing an octopus. My partner and I are very interested in buying an octopus, but we are not sure what kind to buy. Do you have any sugestions?
 
I'm not Nancy, but I'd have to say a 25 gallon is too small for most any octopus. O. mercatoris would be your best candidate for a tank that small, and considering its nocturnal nature, it wouldn't make for a very good research specimen.
 
I'm Nancy, and Animal Mother has given you good advice. In fact, I know someone who tried using a mercatoris for his school project, and all that he could see was a little arm waving for food from time to time!

So maybe this isn't the best project for a small tank. Why not try another invertebrate such as an interesting crab?

Nancy
 
There are also very interesting shrimp that can see more colors than humans and have been compared to octopus in intelligence. You may want to look into mantis shrimp to see if they interest you and your project partner.
 
Hi
I am just getting ready to get a bimac for christmas. I need to know where i can get some live and frozen food for the octo? Also how often are you sopuse to feed the little guy.
THanks
 
The most reliable source, by far, for most members who are inland has been Paul Sachs for live fiddlers and shore shrimp. For frozen shrimp, we use Public's (best fresh we have found close by) but if you have an Asian food market, you are likely to find a better selection and the freshest raw that you can then freeze.
 
Hi, I'm in a Marine Biology class at my high school and we are planning to get an octopus for a 29 gallon tank we have set up. I was wondering if anyone can give our class some pointers regarding basic care and the type of food our octopus will eat , as well as how often it does so. Any input would be helpful.

This is where we are thinking about getting the octopus:
http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_1...ategory=4&category_search=63&root_parent_id=4
 
The aquarium will be far too small for a briareus. Please read fully through this journal to understand the size tank requirements for this animal.

Unfortunately, the only octopus suited to a small tank would be a dwarf species and the only commonly available ones are either nocturnal (mercatoris, also Caribbean) or a blue ring (deadly poisonous, Australian). It would be a good idea to ask your teacher (or read and print some of the info) to read through the octopus care articles (see link in menu at the very top) to help the class find an appropriate animal for the tank or build out an appropriate aquarium for the animal.
 
Marine Biology;132915 said:
What would be the result of putting such an octopus in the tank I suggested? (29 gallons)
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Water quality issues, cramped in small space. You do understand that an O. briareus grows to about a 4 foot arm span? A standard rectangular 29 gallon tank is about 30 inches across. The 29 gallon biocube is almost half that, deeper, but still just not big enough for the long term (which is actually short term considering the growth rate/lifespan of the creature). In a year mine has grown from about 1.5 inches to at least 40 inches across.

Octopuses create about 3 times more waste than a similarly sized fish.

So, all humane things considered, it's just not fair to the animal.

What is the care/maintenance routine for the aquarium itself?
 

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