Are their any coral that are octo safe?

if so which ones?

thanks

Nothing stingy, just softies. Mushrooms, etc.

It will probably tear them up though... easy fragging.

i was told nothing fleshy at the LFS

Haha, yeah, well I hope that's not the same LFS that sold you the octopus and a new setup.

I keep thinking we need a sticky about successful tank decor. You should be keeping low lights so that is a consideration in addition to stinging and uprooting.

With the lower lighting (I only use LED's - 100 of them in 5 dome lights attached to a board) serpent stars (OK so it is not a coral) are more enjoyable than in other tanks because you will see more of them. They come in a variety of colors from red, to striped to yellow (common lore is to avoid green and I know there are some agressive greens but I have one that is not but is of a different variety than the ones that get large).

Feather dusters will not harm the octo. The jury is out on whether or not the reverse is true. My pencil urchins ate my feathers - as well as a non-photosynthetic gorgonian - when there was not enough algae (imagine that) in the tank to sustain them (I now add sea panseys every couple of months but did not add new feathers). Nancy has read reports that some octos will decide to decorate with the feathers causing their demise.

Red mushrooms work well in the low light (they won't get huge like the one in my reef tank but they will live a very long time) but will look more brown than red. My dwarf never bothered the couple I have in there.

There is a nonphotosynthetic sponge that is a light bright orange (Ken calls them frilly sponges but I don't have their proper name at my finger tips. Check with Dan or try www.sealifeinc.net to look them up.) These are the only sponges I have ever been able to keep for a long time and they seem indestructable unless they start getting covered with algae.

For additional color, you can try the purple and white barnical shells. These do well in the aquarium and may serve as a den for the octo. Be sure that anything dead you buy has not been treated or coated to "preserve" it. Clorox treatments are ok as long as it has been declored for at least 3 weeks (you may want to do this with anything purchased dead to be safe. Anything picked up on the beach you should consider a 2 week clorox bath followed by 3 weeks of declorination - old school SW tanks :razz:).

what about a sea apple?

what are some low light corals?

I know they are out there.

How about these corals?

Carnation Tree Coral

Trumpet Coral

Candy Cane Coral

Tube Coral

Red Candy Cap Coral

Sea Apples will wipe all life in your tank out if they get stressed. They dispell their guts releasing a toxin. I know all about it. It wiped out our Seahorse tank. Must have gotten damaged on a powerhead. An octopus would surely stress it out.

Carnation corals do prefer low light areas, but they have a VERY poor survival rate in captivity, they require a high nutrient diet, constantly, making your water quality terrible for an octopus.

Trumpet and Candy Cane are the same coral. They both have stinging tentacles. Tube and Candy Cap I'm not sure about.

kk thanks

I think we're approaching this from the wrong direction - since the beginning we've said that an octopus should be kept in a "species" tank - your octopus alone.

Then, when we think what we could add that's safe and reasonable, we come up with:

a small pencil urchin
small hermits and snails (your octo will get to the point that he's eating larger food and will leave these alone)
small shore shrimp
mushrooms (put them in protected places)
small things on your live rock
a brittle star or serpent star (not green) of reasonable size

Notice that fish are not on this list. Fish can bother an octopuses eyes and make him stay in his den, Or, they soon become dinner.

It's possible to have a beautiful tank by arranging your life rock attractively and alllowing for many den sites of various sizes, making sure you have good coralline algae growth, adding some colorful shells and even a few glass marbles. Barnacles are attractive, too. You can use flowerpots as dens or pvc pipe, if you choose. Some have even bought resin decorations, such as sunken ships for their octopus tanks.

If you want more lively activity in your tank, buy a few one-inch shore shrimp. They move quickly and it's unlikely your octopus will be able to catch them for a long while.

Do pay attention to the size of the tankmates - don't have a tiny octopus and a large serpent star.

Nancy

Avoid all carnivorous starfish altogether, including green brittle stars. I just had to learn that the hard way.

what about a sunshine coral?

Well, if you feel you really have to experiment with adding other things to your tank, I would say I don't think they're dangerous. They stay retracted into the rock most of the time. On the other hand, they require direct feeding with a baster or pipette, and they usually only open their polyps at night, although some will begin to respond to feedings during the day. This however, could be detrimental to your water quality, and in turn, your octopus.

It really is best to keep it as simple as possible. There is a large variety of mushrooms, in just about any color imaginable, and they are easily split/fragged to make more.

kk

hes at my work and its working out great but people just wanna see more fish and colors.

hes at my work and its working out great but people just wanna see more fish and colors.

Yeah, I know how it goes. I maintain a tank at work too, no octopus there though, most of the nurses would flip out. They complain that since it has 8 legs it's like a spider. If anything happens to the fish though, that's going to be the next inhabitant regardless.

Swimdude,
My dad is like that too. The only tank he likes is the one with the corals AND a couple of colorful fish. My seahorse tanks and octo tanks make him shake his head and he just cannot understand my enthusiasum. He asked me the other day how long I had been "doing this" and I asked him, "which time". It made him think back and realize that we had been aquarium people for over 30 years so he rephrased the question and asked how long I had been a "fanatic" (he thinks Neal is more rational and just agrees to spending the money rather than an active participant). I think he was asking how long had we had a house full of tank and not just one normal aquarium :mrgreen:

I was thinking, i dont understand why you cant have stinging corals...
I KNOW that octos can be found out on the reefs or in tidepools with coldwater anemones and other weird critters. And im sure that the octos brush up against 'stinging' coral and anemones every once in a while...

I was thinking, i dont understand why you cant have stinging corals...
I KNOW that octos can be found out on the reefs or in tidepools with coldwater anemones and other weird critters. And im sure that the octos brush up against 'stinging' coral and anemones every once in a while...

I'm pretty sure the philosophy behind this is "Better safe than sorry." and not just an absolute. The risk really isn't worth it. Consider as an example... people keep anemones in reef tanks. Sometimes they do fine. Sometimes the anemone decides to find somewhere else to hang out, and stings as well as kills every coral it touches in its path. Sometimes fish get eaten by anemones in aquariums... that's the risk taken.

I have kept stingy corals like Frogspawn and Torch, with fish, and in observation I can say the fish totally avoided the corals, minus a clownfish that would host anything. I think these creatures instinctually know which other creatures to avoid, but accidents do happen. Accidents that could have been avoided.

These animals we hold captive depend on us to provide them with a safe environment, and that should be our primary goal.

I could leave some silverware in the floor, next to an electrical outlet, with a small child, and most likely it will be fine... but what if it decides to insert the shiney object into the hole? Best to just completely cut out the risk.

Look carefully at photos of coral reefs - they don't look anything like reef tanks. There are less densly populated or populated by less harmful animals, so an octopus can avoid stinging corals. It's much more difficult in the close confines of a home aquarium.

Nancy

In addition to Nancy's statements about an aquarium NOT being a true reef and AM comments about accidents will happen (including in the wild) and can be avoided in an aquarium, Roy Caldwell has mentioned that an octos skin is sensitive. Seahorses have a similar sensitivity on parts of their body and any damage to the sensitive skin can lead to a secondary, lethal infection. Infections and aquariums don't make a good mix and generally the animal will die. There are some marginally effective treatments for seahorses and fewer known for octos. Avoidance is definitely the best policy.

So, the point of all this is, why introduce any sort of risk into your tank when it can be avoided. You can have a nice looking tank without stinging corals or other hazards (such as urchins with sharp spines).

Nancy

You can't have it all in one tank. You have to either decide between a ceph or a reef, and can't mix the two. The only exception is certain corals with Cuttlefish.

I do agree with the philosophy, I was just throwing that out there...My octo will not be in any type of reef tank....

and thus the reason for the ever contagious MTS

i know octopus tank arent reef tanks but what about marine plants(algea)? are thier any with low enuff lighting need that can take the rearanging of an octopus?

i know octopus tank arent reef tanks but what about marine plants(algea)? are thier any with low enuff lighting need that can take the rearanging of an octopus?

Sure. Caulerpa is just about impossible to kill. That being a good and bad thing.

There are many types of macro algaes that would be great for a ceph tank. Many require less light. I would advise types that are non-rooting for they will take over your live rock and be difficult to control once established in the tank.

http://www.marineflora.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2 has some for sale..

Have you (or anyone) had experience using macro algae in a ceph tank?

Nancy

I use chaetomorpha in Mr. O's system. I've got a ball of it in the display tank and another in the refugium on a reverse photoperiod.

I keep (more or less) panseys and/or shaving brushes in with the dwarfs but that is primarily for the pencil urchin since there is not enough algae to keep it well fed. A pansey lasts about a month but would live far longer if it were not being consumed.