im so excited let me start by saying that he is going in a 240 gallon tank that has been cycling for 4 months, , and every parameter is correct.

however Its going to be very difficult to catch two yellow tangs and 4 damsels, and a shrimp

I also do not have a sump yet, I have my skimmer, bu its just sitting in the tank and I dont want it to suck the octo up , so I think it can manage in this big of a tank for 2-3 weeks without a skimmer until I get my pump for my sump, lol , which i was thinking about a amp master 3000 , unless someone can sgtire me in a better direction

say if i wasnt able to catch a damel or two , or even my tangs

THEY THEMSELVES wont kill the octopus woudl they , I mean , I know that they would eventually be lunch , but im definatly not wanting it the other way around

WOW! huge tank. You dont have to worry about the damsels. They wont hurt the octo if you keep them in.But he WILL eat them. Not sure about the tangs. Im not that experienced with pumps either :|

you dont have a sump?

what about a protein skimmer ?


when my water gets stireed its gets a little brown and stinky
but i think its diatoms
because i have checked my nitrate , nitrite, and ammonia and all are 0

Wow! That's a huge tank!!! Damsels can be a problem especially for a young baby like you're getting. Think it's been known for them to pick at the octos eyes. Simple would be to set up something inside the tank for the time being. Think there's pics on site when Lil P arrived.

Carol

well i have a protein skimmer in teh tank

its just he could get sucked up the intake on the water pump that feeds the skimmer

i guess i could take soemthign like panty hose or something , im not sure ???

Yes, cover all intakes with some sort of net - the kind used in the little bags for carbon, the kind used in fish nets, even the kind some veggies come in. We have had little bimacs get sucked in before.

You can use rubber bands or other sorts of ties (no metal) to fasten the netting.

Nancy

im not sure what time he will be here

i ordered some crabs and snails once fedex overnight and they got here before 10::30 but octopets sent it DHL , and I dont know if they have a "arrive before so and so time" policy

i could wait all day on it .
and i hope I dont have to do that

i am acclimating him right now , his mantle is a little bigger than a quarter and his 2 inch legs lol

he inked just a bit in the bad , but its not real blacok water still looks clear

anyways, im just hoping he doestn escape i have every hole and any wat to get out covered except by the filter which i cant make escape proof

unless i have some astroturf or somethign i can find

i have a really good picture of him , but its too big to post i think

anyways , he wondered around for about 20 minutes, and he hate 3 nassarius snails , but now hes under a rock and not moving and hes been that way for about 4 hours

i hope something isnt wrong with him

Don't panic! They rest after their trip. Sometimes they don't come out for a week, especially if there's plenty of food in the tank. You can reduce your picture in your photo software to 1000 and it will post. Usually theres a resize option.

Glad he made it ok!

Carol

Octos don't move around the tank all the time, and after such a long trip, I'd think your octo would be tired. They remain still in one place for defensive reasons - it's hard for an enemy to spot them. You may have trouble spotting him because he can make himself look so much like the live rock.

Nancy

ive got to come up with a name,
my sis
im 20 , she is 10
sjhe wants to name him squidward
adn I want to call him doc octavius lol


anyways i just got home here at 8 p.m and I still cant find the little guy

I JUST HOPE HE hasnt escaped or anything , there is no way for me to make my tank escape proof where the filter is, everywhere else is fien , but not there

I did notice him eating a cojple hermit crabs and 2 nassarius snails , cause i saw him gliding on the glass and he had the shell under his legs

but that was when i first got him

so far no sign

i hope he at least comes out a little tommorow

Why can't you make your tank escapeproof around your filter?

Nancy

cause its a hang on emperor 400 filter
there is no way to get all the crevices ect cover, wihtout it looking absolutionly junky

I have two big pieces of glass covering the top utnil it gets to the filter and the reason i have glass insstead of say perhaps screen is so the water fromt he bubbles dont ruin my lights

i mean its better to have it sealed and I REALIZE this

but isnt this species the so called less prone to want to escape ?

I found him by the way , he was right in front of me blended 100 percent into the rock

here is a picture of him

Well, you can do a lot of things with some hot glue or duct tape, and a little bit of screening, (nylon, of course) to make it look "not junky"...better than worrying all of the time about an escaping octo!
It might ruin your digestion, after all !!!! :D

is there a place u can buy a maybe 3 foot wide by 9 foot roll of some type of screen then ?


imean i dont want to go buy a screen door and just use the screen haha

I would do this if I coudl find the screen somwhere

the two glass pieces i have on the tank , cover all but the back 4 inches of the aquarium , so i can screen that in , , and then I only have the filter part to worry about

and when i get my overflows and my sjmp set up

i am some how going to have to come up with somethign to glue or something on my glass overflows to keep the octo out of the overflows
when i bought my tank , it came with the overflows, but not teeth

maybe i coudl use screen on it to or something

Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, etc all sell nylon screening by the roll...it will probably set you back about 4 or 5 dollars...you can attach it to the glass or plastic with duct tape, or hot glue...don't use silicone, as your tank has already got an occupant, and the outgassing is toxic!!!
good luck on your mission, if you choose to accept it...this message will self destruct in 5 minutes...

ok , i have a ace hardware real close
Ill go and ask about it tommorow and get hot glue , or soemthing

I think I can get it to where it will work really well

I could even do this to my overflows


im worried about him gettin gout tonight though

, hopefully he wont , he hasnt moved very much today

did u see the picture that I posted of him

I hope he grows fast, cause in this 240 , its hard to spot him , even when he is out

it was a very nice picture...and you were right in stating that bimacs aren't too prone to venturing out above water (perhaps due to the habitat...more gulls than a convention there), but to be safe, I would recommend fastening some nylon screen to the exposed areas...
good luck !!!! I am sure it will work out just fine...
greg

Yes, bimacs are less prone to escape. However, another case of a bimac escaping and perishing was reported to me this week. That makes four that I know of.

Be creative and you'll find lots of ways to cover your spaces. I used netting and ductape and kept a roll of fresh ductape right by the tank so I could easily replace any piece that was getting damp. I put some fresh pieces on every night. You can't use the ductape underwater or where it gets wet, but you usually can find a workaround.

Nancy

He's beautiful!!! Makes me want another bimac!!!!!! :mrgreen:

Carol

i saw him this morning in a different spot, but he doesnt move, the only movement he has is him breathing

I know weveryone says its normal ,but I am still worried lol

I did notice him eating a few crabs and stuff though when I firt put him in and I guess thatts a good sign , becasue I have heard that some people's octos wont eat for like 2 weeks

oh and another reason I may not be seeing him crawl around is because I didnt catch all the crabs and snails out of there before he came in , so he may be doing his eating when I am not lookin g

Your octopus is being quite normal. He's keeing himself hidden to make sure nothing finds and eats him! He doesn't realize that he's safe now.
Not a bad idea to have a bit of live food in the tank, either.

Nancy

well he has that

about 60 or so hermits and 30 snails, and hes got 3 damsels to eat whenever he gets ready

and i think there are 2 emerald crabs isn there as well

hey again guys

hm ,

when i get this nylon netting in

I got told to glue it down

what is the best kidn of glue ?

JUST ANY KIND??

or do i need to get hot glue , like the glue you put in the guns and squeen it out , ?

whatever it is , I want it to be stron , cause im going to rig my overflow boxes with this netting so the octopus cant get sucked down into the sump

You might want to try the mentioned duct tape instead of hot glue at first...it is easier to figure out how you want the whole thing to work...and it is easily replaceable!!!
greg

no sight of him today , im dissapointed i was really wanting to at least know he was in still in there

today is the 4th day ive had him and now he doesnt hide everytime i walk in , but he stays in the same spot , he is eating at night,
i noticed today that there are two emerald crab claws laying on the ground with the rest of the crab missing , so HE IS EATING. which im excited about becasue , i hear some peoples new octos dont eat for two weeks.

im trying to get my sump and everything hooked up asap , and my skimmer
but im n ot really worried about it now as he is young and little, because i had three messy tangs, and 8 other fish in there with no skimmer and my nitrates and everything read 0

Glad that all is going well, but yes, get that skimmer hooked up ! One ink and you can crash a system!!
Merry Christmas!
greg

one little bitty ink in that huge 240 can crash a system?

i can put my skimmer in the tank , but im worried about him getting sucked in the intake

I thought the skimmer was going in the sump???will have to re read this bit...
the chances of a full blown crash are small, but better safe than sorry...I have seen tanks larger than yours crash in the space of half an hour, while everyone watched in horror...amazing, really...
greg

it is going in the sump
but I dotn know how to plumb and Im not sure how im going to make my overflows to where he cant get in them, cause i dont have bulid in teeth , they are just glass overflows with nothing on them

so I stuck the skimmer in the tank,

i dont think its that hideous looking

he doesnt seem to mind., plus it puts more oxygen in teh water correct ?

thats a big plus

hows things now?

he reached out for a crawdad yestrerday but it swam away, he didnt get enough of a suction on it ,

i didnt see him eat the other two , and may not have , they were laying on the sand dead, it looked like their stomachs were eatan ,

do they not eat the whole thing?

if they do eat the whole thing , its likely that my snails ate them when they died.

ILl take soem more pictures tonight if everyone will come back and look

oh, also, he sstill doesnt venture around and crawl eveywhere ive had him i think over a week now

They don't eat the shell and sometimes they leave other parts, too.
So you have plenty to clean up after a crawfish!

As for not moving around a lot, give him a little more time.

Nancy

i just have been reading everywhere where others are crawling around after about 4 or 5 days and mine doesn tdo that , but it could be casue he has such a big tank to look out for enemies for

Bear in mind that octopuses have different personalities - maybe yours isn't ready to come out on his own much yet.

Nancy

also, its worth taking out uneaten food and the shells too as leaving shells of crustaeceans can increase phosphates

really , how does it do that

im not even sure what my phosphatea re to be honestl

thats one parameter i dint have test for ,

though she is fine and has been for a week and a half

ok im dissapointed, this octo is the most boring thing I have ever put in my tank

How long have you had him now? It was a baby from Octopets right? Didn't you say you have damsels still in the tank? Maybe he's threatened by them. Or maybe he's too well fed! Mine started coming out when the food was all eaten and then he started to associate me as the food God!!! I just looked back and he's been with you a little over a week. Patience!!!! He'll come around!

instant gratification? Dont buy an octopus...

hehe , im a big fan of instant gratification , anyways yes i guess I will have to wait for the food to be eating cause he still has a very very well good source of it