• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

A few Q's before i get my octo tomorrow.

Chef Reef

O. vulgaris
Registered
Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
93
I have a few questions before i get my octo tomorrow.

1. do i need to cover my koralias?

2. i have corals in the tank and need to know if any i need to move to a dif tank for octo saftey.
a. rics, yumas, shrooms
b. hammer coral
c. tube nem
d. kenya tree
e. xenia
f. monti caps
g. zoanthids

3. will it eat sally light foot crabs? iv been picking them up for it but never heard of them eating them. (they were free)
a. if not i have other things to feed it.

4. is it ok with a SSS (sand sifting stafish)?

Thanks for the info.
 
:welcome: How big is your tank? You need to cover any intakes, out-takes, holes, cracks or anything else your octopus could reach. Think of it like "baby-proofing" your tank. The octopus may do some rearranging of your corals and rocks to make a den. Anything that might sting your octopus should be removed.
 
I would get rid of the Hammer. Euphyllia's have pretty potent stings.

Yes, it will most likely eat the sally lightfoots.

The starfish will be fine as far as the octo is concerned.
 
I have only kept two octo species (so far :biggrin2:) and have only attempted a few additional critters but so far I have found that anything with longer tentacles seems to irritate the octo's skin (immediate reaction like touching something hot) but shorter tentacled zoos/polyps don't seem to be a problem. However, I have only put a few polyps in the tank so the generalization might not hold up. If you see your octo touch something and react, I would suggest removing it.

Most starfish tend to ignore and be ignored by the octos and they make good clean-up crew for a critter that is hard to have clean-up that is not snack. Animal Mother had a potential issue with a Bahama Star that may have trapped on octo in its den and killed it and the reputation of the green serpents is worth noting but the SSS will be fine.

There are several of us that use the koralias and have had no problems leaving them uncovered, however, the size of your octopus, the size and location of the pump may be something to consider. I did not have one in with my Mercs but have one, uncovered, in Octane's tank (Octane is a mid size octo, the Mercatoris are dwarfs) that does a good job collecting sucker shed but has not been a problem with arms.

Kenya and Zenia should not be a problem for the Octo but may get dislocated or pulled up. If a tube nem is a feather duster (?) with a soft tube, it may also suffer damage from the swimming/climbing but otherwise not be a problem. If it is an anemone with sweeping tentacles, I would remove it.

I have not heard of anyone trying a sally lightfoot as food or tank mate. Chances are pretty good that the octo will attempt a catch, especially if they are common to their natural environment. Feeding has been an interesting topic in that almost all species seem to like fiddler crabs but everything else is kind of hit or miss, fresh shrimp coming high in the list for the larger species.

It is helpful to all of us if you would start a single thread in the journal section, titling it with the octos name and species and maintaining it through the life of the octopus.

Welcome and good luck with your new buddy.
 
thanks for the info. i will watch with the zoa's and stuff i have about 500+ zoa polyps in the tank. . and its not a feather duster its a tube anenome. its not that strong stinging i dont think. and it is a 55 gal tank that is covered. im hoping that the octo will be a bimac, but like every LFS they really dont know what it is. I "THINK" he said it was mid atlantic species
 
Chef Reef,
If it is a mid-Atlantic species, it is not a bi-mac as they are from the colder Pacific Ocean. An Atlantic species is likely to be better for you though as it will acclimate to the assumed 75-78 degree reef where a bimac needs temperatures below 72.
 
what type of octo could it be? how large do they typicaly get? i had a feeling it wasnt a bi-mac but was hoping it would be. i have a chiller if needed as well. any way to get a good general idea what it may be by paterns or eye spots?
 
Chef Reef;122440 said:
what type of octo could it be? how large do they typicaly get? i had a feeling it wasnt a bi-mac but was hoping it would be. i have a chiller if needed as well. any way to get a good general idea what it may be by paterns or eye spots?

Question B can't be answered without first knowing the answer to question A :smile:

Take a look at the Journals and Photos Forum to see some of the octopuses kept by members (Here is a link to Octane's journal: [Octopus]: - Octane - O. Hummelincki (filosus) ).

When you get him, post pictures in the ID Request forum. Usually it is a good idea to try to get a few photos while you are acclimating as often an octopus will stay hidden for a week or two until it is comfortable in its new environment.
 
If it's Atlantic, and it's not a dwarf, it will most likely be an O. hummelincki (like Octane) an O. briareus (like Kalypso) or an O. vulgaris (no current journals at this time). There's always the chance that it could be another species but these are the most commonly collected octopus species at the moment.
 
im just trying to decide what to get. i can get a atlantic speices that "could" be a dwarf today. or i can get one thats not a dwarf on tuesday. im just trying to see which would be best to get as it is my first octo. also i would like to get something that is daynural. (sp)
 
Or i can get one from the pacific but they will not give me a guarantee on it. if it arrives live or dead i still have to pay for it. i just don't want it to arive dead and me be out of money.
 
If those are your choices, I'd recommend "Atlantic not dwarf" although it seems like this supplier has a pretty bad attitude. The drawback of "not dwarf" is that it's likely to be a large adult closer to the end of its life... but the "dwarf" is probably a full-grown dwarf near the end of its shorter life, too. This dealer sounds kind of shady from the "we'll send you a pacific octopus that might be dead" thing, although at least they admit that they have no idea how the ID octos, which is a bit more responsible that people who just lie about what species they're sending instead of admitting they don't know how to ID them....
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top