• 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 question from a new guy

rj10018576

Cuttlefish
Registered
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
23
hello everyone i am planning on setting up a tank for a octopus(preferably a Bimaculoides) and i plan on getting a 75 gallon tank with a wooden stand. after reading the tutorial i need a little bit more of straightforward answers as to what i need to accesorize and how much it'll cost me when i start saving and where can i get them. aside from the sand and the live rocks.
1. what am i looking at for a price of a 75 gallon tank with a wooden stand. and where can i get a good deal on one online?
2. as far as filtration, protein skimmers, water care ect is concerned what do you guys reccomend i get? and like before where can i get a good deal on it online?
3. i live in chicago so do i need a heater or cooler?
4. what other fish possibly can i put in with it without nobody dieing.
5. i plan on having another small tank for petstore fish and food for my octo and i was wondering whether its better to just buy live food or try to breed in the smaller tank.
6. with this whole reverse ionization water process is there any way i can buy whatever it is and hook it up to a faucet or do i just need to buy the water from the pet shop. and if i do how in the world am i gonna get 75 gallons of that from the pet store to my tank?
7. whats a good diet for my octo?

somebody please help me out if i'm gonna do this i wanna do this right!
 
Welcome to Tonmo! Most, if not all, of your questions can be anwered in the excellent articles written under "ceph care"...peruse those items, and come back with any follow ups you may have ! Glad you decided to join us, a rabid pack of cephophiles!!!
greg
 
now i know octopets sells clams and i'v also checked out the live shrimp feeder link. but do u guys know of any more live feeder rescources?
and will my bimac get too big to live on the shrimp and clams listed above?
 
RJ, I get my water to and from the petstore in 6 gallon water carriers I got in the camping section in Wal-Mart, they are 6.77 or something each... I bought 4 of them and make a couple trips :smile:
 
rj10018576 said:
now i know octopets sells clams and i'v also checked out the live shrimp feeder link. but do u guys know of any more live feeder rescources?
and will my bimac get too big to live on the shrimp and clams listed above?

Pet stores, as you already know. But also asian markets and live bait shops. Any place that has live shrimp, crab, or fish. If you widen your search to include other places besides pet stores I'm sure you'll find something in your area assuming you live near a decent-sized town or city. And Wal-Mart may sell ghost shrimp (but I wouldn't buy anything else live from there lol!) :wink:
 
Your bimac will get too big for the baby clams, but it will always like fiddler crabs:

Aquaculture Store

They're about an inch across, but apparently very tasty.

Your bimac will also like the shore shrimp from this store, as well as the shrimp from the other site.

In addition, you can offer fresh scallops, live mussels (cracked), and thawed frozen shrimp.

Nancy
 
rj10018576 said:
what about filters i know i need a protein skimmer and air pump, but i'm wondering if the filter that comes with my tank is strong enough?
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3363264
Is that the tank you're getting, or something very similiar? Assuming you get a skmmer as well, it looks like you've got the chemical and mechanical filtration set with the skimmer and that power filter that comes with it since it uses a pad with carbon inside I assume, but you're still missing the biological filter aspect of things, such as a bio-wheel or live rock.

Also, I'm not sure how powerful that filter is, but I think you'll need something more to move the water around in the tank a little more since your tank is a decent size, such as a power head, or maybe use 2 power filters instead of just the one. Remember Octopuses require more oxygen than fish.

Lastly, did you get all your questions answered in your first post above?
 
You might want to have a look at the first thread under Tank Tank (What do you have.....). A lot of people have listed their tanks and other equipment and what it all costs.

In answer to some of your other questions:

Most people don't buy their tanks online because of the difficulty and risk of shipping. Since you live in a large city, you should be able to find a good deal on a tank and stand at a local fish store.

Have a look at the Bimac Care Sheet. It depends on your room temperature, but most people have to worry about keeping their tank cool enough, not warm enough for a bimac.

You shouldn't keep any fish with your octopus, but you can keep a small brittlestar or starfish, lots of snails and hermit crabs (your octo may eat a few of these as first, but as he gets bigger, he will most likely lose interest). You can also keep a small pencil urchin (urchin with blunt spines) but be warned that it will eat your coralline algae.

So did we cover all your questions by now?

Nancy
 
i'm getting that exact tank (but not over the internet) i have a walmart by my house thats overstocked with them.
i plan on getting live rock. i even got this cool cave shaped formation off ebay for my bimac, would serve great for a den when he gets bigger.
yeah thats pretty much it with the questions.
 

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