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10 gallon diary

team2jnd

Pygmy Octopus
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Mar 24, 2007
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Well after about a years worth of research, I have decided to finally delve into a new project. My original plan was to get a bimac but because of size restrictions I figured it would be best to start with either a joubini or mercatoris. The tank has been running now for about 5-6 months. I don't plan on actually getting an octo for another few weeks because the settup isnt ready yet. I haven't sealed the top yet because I still haven't gotten a new skimmer and I dont know which one I will be getting yet. I was thinking that I would go with the bak pak. Any suggestions? However, I know alot of people are into getting into this hobby and figured that as a newbie myself it would be good to start a thread like this where others can learn from my experience and hopefully not so much my mistakes. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated as well as any ideas on a reputable place to get a dwarf. Thanks.
 

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I used about 8 lbs of live fiji rock and about 8 lbs of my own DIY rock. I plan to add a few more lbs eventually as well as some assorted caulurpas and other plants. I haven't decided on a method to seal the top yet so any advice there would be awesome. I need something that can be cut to make room for the skimmer and or fuge. I also need something that would allow me access into the tank but would keep the octo from escaping.
 
Thanks for starting this thread. Ten gallons is really small for a cephalopod tank. The minimum tank size is usually about 30 gallons. I know you want to get a dwarf octopus, but the person selling the octopus does not always know what species they are selling, so you could get a larger species. Also, octopus produce a lot of waste, so the waste will affect the water parameters more quickly than in a larger system.

That being said, there are members who have kept octopus in small aquariums. They were diligent about the water quality and did frequent water changes.
 
cuttlegirl;90754 said:
Thanks for starting this thread. Ten gallons is really small for a cephalopod tank. The minimum tank size is usually about 30 gallons. I know you want to get a dwarf octopus, but the person selling the octopus does not always know what species they are selling, so you could get a larger species. Also, octopus produce a lot of waste, so the waste will affect the water parameters more quickly than in a larger system.

That being said, there are members who have kept octopus in small aquariums. They were diligent about the water quality and did frequent water changes.

I plan to buy from somebody who has successfully raised the octos so that I know the species and a relative age. I know a few people who have kept them successfully in 10 gallon tanks so Im not worried about that because I am pretty diligent about water changes anyway. Any advice on securing the top?
 
Yes, people have kept them in 10 gallon tanks, but this doesn't mean that it's a good decision for a home aquarist and the right way for you to keep an octopus. We've had people advised by their LFS who have tried the 10-gallon tank and have come to regret it.

Water quality is an enormous issue for a closed system like you'll have. You would end up doing major water changes daily. An octopus produces a large amount of waste proportional to its size, and the live crabs and perhaps frozen shimp that it will eat won't help the water, either.

But even more, you're octopus barely has room to move and explore. A lot of the space in the tank is taken up with live rock, so it leaves your octo with not much of an environment.

This is why we recommend a 30 gallon tank as a good size for dwarfs.

Nancy
 
You will regret using a 10 gallon aquarium. The minimum I used for my first octo was 30 gallons and even then I thought it was too small--now I am upgraded to a 55 gallon and I hope to upgrade it in the future to a 75.

The cave you built for the octopus is amazing. We had a difficult time with ours. Our octopus was very picky and often threw rocks at us if we tried to stabalize it.
 
They produce a lot of waste from fiddler crabs and general waste. If you are going to continue to use a ten gallon aquarium, regardless of our suggestions, I would hope that you get a skimmer meant for a 20-30 gallon so that it can take out more waste.
 
team2jnd,

The best thing we have found to make custom tops for an aquarium is a plexi-glass sheet (here our Home Depot has it but not our Lowes). You may want to use two pieces, one for the back where all the holes need to be cut and filled then a second for the front for feeding and cleaning. I used a piece of marine Velcro (just the non-fuzzy side) to fashion a hinge. The glue is all but worthless though and you will need to use a more water resistent variety (gorilla glue is what I will probably use to resecure it). I have also found that the velcro that has the hooks on one side and the latch on the other works really well to seal the holes around pipes (you can just wrap it and it sticks to itself). It gives a good seal but allows removing equipment when necessary without a lot of trouble.

If you have access to a heat-gun, it is easy to bend a small piece of the plexi-glass to fashion a handle as well. If you don't have a heat gun, you can drill two small holes and thread a plastic tie through them for an easy lifting handle.

The one thing we have not found is a good set of clips/latches to secure the top. I can tell you that the window screen latches are too flimsy and difficult to deal with :hmm:

One caveat, I have not tried to octo-proof any kind of cascading filter (like a back-pack). You may try to construct a custom box type housing over the cascade area and secure it to the filter (possibly with velcro - can you tell I like the stuff way better than duck tape :sagrin: ). Again, the plexi-glass should work well for this and a heat gun is far easier than purchasing the expensive and somewhat difficult to work with glue (silicone may work but be sure to use the kind specifically designed for aquariums which is vinegar based. The common kind is ammonia based and can be lethal even after several weeks - been there done that :sad: ).
 
Thanks for all the advice. I am not too worried about the small size when it comes to waste buildup because I will be doing 1 gallon water changes daily. (when you take into account all the rock and sand that ends up being more than 15%) I will also be using a bak pak 2 skimmer which is rated to alot more than ten gallons. In August, I will be moving so I will be getting a larger tank and hopefully by then I will be able to get something more like a Bimac. Whitley I am going to try your lid ideas the only thing I was wondering is that with a completely sealed lid, how do you allow for the evaporated gases to escape? I was originally going to go with an eggcrate design with a pin hole mesh wire type of material to coat the top and bottom. Let me know if anybody else has tried this. So nobody in the U.S. knows a good place to order the Marcatoris or Joubini?
 
Jean;90907 said:
The lids are never completely airtight, evap gas escape is not a problem!

J

ok good than fiberglass it is. I actually have some left over from the fuge I made so that is a better option anyway. I really appreciate all the help and I will keep you updated. I should be placing an order in about 2-3 weeks.
 
team2jnd;90909 said:
ok good than fiberglass it is. I actually have some left over from the fuge I made so that is a better option anyway. I really appreciate all the help and I will keep you updated. I should be placing an order in about 2-3 weeks.

Fibreglass, isn't really a good option, as the glass fibres can fall into the tank and are REALLY sharp and irritant (not good for your hands either!), you'd be better with plexi glass or acrylic.

J
 
Jean;90910 said:
Fibreglass, isn't really a good option, as the glass fibres can fall into the tank and are REALLY sharp and irritant (not good for your hands either!), you'd be better with plexi glass or acrylic.

J

I meant plexiglass. Sorry. Dont even think I could cut fiberglass without cracking it. I have quarter inch acrylic that I will use. Anybody have any experience with the bak pak 2 skimmers? I am stuck between one of those and a prizm deluxe.
 
team2jnd,

Your other thread, "Where is a good place to get a pygmy" pretty much has the answers that are currently available.

Lev had 5 out of 100 (at last count - O. mercatoris babies!) of her babies to survive but she is in Canada so shipping would be a major problem (because of customs) and I have no clue if she would even entertain giving up even one if the shipping could be resolved.

I currently have 3-4 one week olds that I am crossing my fingers for the survival of just one to be able to raise myself.

If you buy one from FL it will be adult because it is "that time of year" and will be either going into sesenence or brooding. If you end up with a female, you may be able to raise one from egg and will know its age but it is a shot in the dark. The two recommended sites have excellent reputations but these are wild caught and the vendors will not know male from female unless there are already eggs. If a female is shipped with eggs already laid, she may not brood them (again reference Lev's thread about her female leaving the first group of eggs).

You can email Ken at [email protected] and ask if he currently has a female with eggs if this route interests you as I know he recently sent another customer a brooding female on request but do not know if he has others.
 
team2jnd,
If you use 1/4 inch acrylic, you may want to create a center support so it won't sag. If your 10 gallon has a lip on the inside, cut the piece to fit on the lip and add a support that will span the entire tank so that it fitted and glued to the topside, front to back (you may need a spacer but I don't think so). Thales got creative with his top and you may want to take look at the way his is set up to minimize sag:
Wonderpus - Fontanelle
 

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