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Whatelse can be kept with a Oct

rdefino

Hatchling
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Oct 22, 2004
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I'm looking at getting an Oct. I would like to give him a buddy to hang out iwht, but I don't want the Oct to eat him. Any thoughts?
 
Serpent Stars seem to do well. Mine has outlived 2 octopuses! Only thing is not to get too huge a one as sometimes they can be a pain in stealing the octopuses food. Ink, actually learned to steal from the starfish!

And if I didn't already say it, :welcome:

Carol
 
Hi and welcome to TONMO.com.

Keeping your companions small is a good idea. Starfish are OK. Pencil urchins, too, but beware, mine ate my pretty purple coralline algae.

Some of the snails will probably survive (not get eaten) and as soon as he gets any size, your octo will ignore hermit crabs, so they can be used.

Nancy
 
i am finding that while people say you cant keep anything with them, there are quite a few things which do well.

BLUNT SPINED urchins - but beware of ones with new growth which is still sharp

Sea stars and serpant stars - good for cleaning up scraps.

Snails and Sea slugs

Im not sure about sea apples with octos (they are ok with cuttles) better ask Nancy (if they are too stressed, ie. octo walks over it, they release toxin)

Some people keep non stinging corals but octos tend to damage them

Plants such as red macro algae and caulerpa, maidenhair, turtlegrass, moneyplant can do well too - I like these because of their great colours - bare octo tanks can look boring

BUT BE SURE TO AVOID - spiny urchins, stinging corals, anemones, crabs and shrimp (unless they are meant as food) any agressive animals.

GOOD LUCK
 
Welcome to Tonmo ! Good suggestions from the crowd above...if it isn't food, it's a friend! :biggrin2:
greg
 
Hi all,

I guess the real rule is, put nothing in the tank that could harm or sting the octopus, could stress him or take his food.

Take the pencil urchin - it gets along fine with the octo. My bimac did not appreciate it when he moved through her den, but she tolerated it. I bought a small urchin as a companion to my little bimac. After about a year, and after Ollie had passed away, he had grown a lot and was doing significant damage to my coralline algae. I started reading about urchins in tanks and learned that one urchin per 200 gallon tank is about right. So, if you have a larger tank to put him in when he grows up, or you don't have coralline algae, a small pencil urchin works quite well for the life of a bimac.

There are lots of things that make the tank look nice - feather dusters, for instance. I read of one octo who snapped off the feather duster and put it by the entrance to his den. Octopuses are not ecologically minded - they use stuff for their own purposes. They think nothing of turning over your rock with mushrooms on it. So, when they get about half grown and start enjoying themselves by rampaging through your tank, nothing is sacred.

Yes, you could try small pieces of coral or feather dusters, but don't be surprised if they don't survive. I have seen some tanks with (non stinging) gorgonian corals and the octo tolerates them. Guess that depends on the size of the tank and whether he has room do his thing in other parts of the tank.

I would avoid sea apples and sea slugs. Some snails will eventually survive. To make your tank look nice, use seashells, maybe some plants, coralline algae. I liked putting in 10 or 15 shore shrimp, since they're not easy for your octo to catch and they add interest. Hermit crabs will survive after your bimac grows up a bit, and they can add interest and color, too.

So no, you don't have to have a bare tank, but your octo is a natural builder and decorator, so you tank may end up looking quite different from the design you started with. (Mine certainly did!)

Nancy
 
Might I suggest maybe some nudibranchs as well? I had a sea hare and a few small nudibranchs with my octo they never hurt each other... Cept' one time the sea hare got curious and went into the octos den and was sent flying backwards, when the octo sprayed it with a powefull jet of water... lol yeah... It was funny. Nudibranchs are great. And are pretty easy to keep well, sea hares are at least cuz they eat algae.
 
I'd go for blunt spined urchins (as Nancy says great for algae!) Scavenging stars are great for helping to clean up!!! Limpets, Chitons, maybe even some small sea cucumbers. I'd be wary of nudibranchs....they can secrete toxic substances, seahares can actually secrete a deep purplish black ink! Also nudibranchs can be somewhat delicate, with the exposed gills. If you have a big enough tank you ay be able to add in a small wrasse, but some have been known to harass octis and vice versa!

J
 
i have seen pictures with the center being live rock then on the side an anenome with a clown and they seemed to get along. so is that okay?!? because i got a 150 gallon tank with a lot of live rock then i have 1 wild clarki clown(3 inhces) with an anenome (greenish color) but i hope the tank is big enough for the both of them. what do you guys think about it? yes, no, maybe so?
 
most of these tankmates, I've heard of.

My octotank also houses a brittlestar. aside from that I've got a few small anemones, about 1 -2cm big. but when they grow larger, I'm gonna take them out.

but how about fish tankmates? I still have a few black mollies in my tank. put them in for maturing it, but never took them out. the octo never bothered them, allthough they stayed away from his hide-out.

a friend of mine said the octo doesn't touch them because they have a bitter taste. don't know if this is true.

anyone else had success keeping octos and fish together?
 
My first (and so far only) bimac left the two 'tank-starter' damsels alone. I read in some thread though that damsels my may actually pick on an octo!?
 

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