- Joined
- Sep 25, 2006
- Messages
- 572
I live in San Diego, and I've been keeping bimacs for over four years, so I can tell you a lot about them. I've never tried keeping more than one in a tank, and even though I can catch bimacs locally, for free, I wouldn't try it. A local public aquarium recently had a bunch of bimacs hatch, and all the babies ate each other within the first few weeks, except for the three that the staff plucked out to raise (each) separately. It's a beautiful dream, but I don't think it's reasonable to try it.
My estimate on food cost is about 30 to 50 cents per week, which I round down to zero dollars per lifetime. I feed my bimacs mostly thawed pieces of raw scallops; the large ones (rock scallops (2"-3" diameter "pucks")) not the small ones (bay scallops). I also feed thawed raw shrimp. As a treat (not often) when I'm at the beach I'll catch a small shore crab, muscle, or clam.
Bimacs have great personalities, and are mostly dirunal, are large enough to get a good look at, but not too so large that they are hard to keep. I keep mine in a 65 gallon tank, which is borderline, but big enough. a 125 will be luxuriously large for most bimacs, and sufficient for even a very large one.
The two big problems with bimacs are:
1) They require a chiller (water between 55 and 65 degrees. I keep mine a 60-62). It can be use a lot of electricity to keep the tank that cool, and if there is humidity, you can get condensation on the tank. Condensation doesn't just obstruct your view, it lets water accumulate in hidden places OUTSIDE your tank. That can cause wood stands to rot, fail, and cause tanks to crack. It can also damage floors, promote mold etc. Bimacs have been kept at 72 degrees (not by me) and seem to do well, although I think they go through their life spans faster, and die sooner. At 60 degrees, with light feeding, I get two years out of a baby bimac. If you use AC to keep your house at 72 degrees, and run a small chiller (1/5th Horse Power?) to keep the water at 65-67 degrees, you won't have condensation, and probably won't spend too much on electricity. Acrylic tanks insulate better than glass, but either will benefit from insulation on the bottom, back, and maybe one or two sides. Put 1"-2" thick rigid Styrofoam insulation under your tank (it can easily support the weight). I wrapped Styrofoam panels in black vinyl and attached them to the side and back of my tank too. Also, use the lowest wattage pumps you can find (external (Iwaki) pumps add much less heat to water than submerged ones) and use cool lights (fluorescent or LED, a few inches above the tank).
1) They are hard for most people to get. I'm willing to catch a wild bimac and pack it for shipping for free, but you'll need to pay for fast shipping (via Southwest Airlines Cargo), which can be $50 - $100 (?) (COD). You can also come to San Diego and pick it up yourself. I've done this twice before, for other TONMO people, and the shipping worked great. I've kept three bimacs, each of which lived a long time and died of old age, but each of the ones I shipped to TONMO people died after a few months. Bad luck? I use local sea water; maybe mixed water, which is used for tropical fish, is significantly different than the local water in Southern California. I'm willing to try it again, so let me know if you want a bimac. The easiest time of year to catch one is over the next few months (Nov-Feb), so let me know if you want one (but get your tank ready first!)
From what I've read, an O. hummelincki also has a great personality (maybe not as great as a bimac, but maybe, ask around) but it's from the Caribbean, so you don't need a chiller, and they are sometimes available from dealers. They are a little smaller than most bimacs, and diurnal too, so consider that.
FYI, at least around San Diego, it's not too hard to find a used 1/5th to 1/4 hp chiller used on Craigslist for $300-$400
My estimate on food cost is about 30 to 50 cents per week, which I round down to zero dollars per lifetime. I feed my bimacs mostly thawed pieces of raw scallops; the large ones (rock scallops (2"-3" diameter "pucks")) not the small ones (bay scallops). I also feed thawed raw shrimp. As a treat (not often) when I'm at the beach I'll catch a small shore crab, muscle, or clam.
Bimacs have great personalities, and are mostly dirunal, are large enough to get a good look at, but not too so large that they are hard to keep. I keep mine in a 65 gallon tank, which is borderline, but big enough. a 125 will be luxuriously large for most bimacs, and sufficient for even a very large one.
The two big problems with bimacs are:
1) They require a chiller (water between 55 and 65 degrees. I keep mine a 60-62). It can be use a lot of electricity to keep the tank that cool, and if there is humidity, you can get condensation on the tank. Condensation doesn't just obstruct your view, it lets water accumulate in hidden places OUTSIDE your tank. That can cause wood stands to rot, fail, and cause tanks to crack. It can also damage floors, promote mold etc. Bimacs have been kept at 72 degrees (not by me) and seem to do well, although I think they go through their life spans faster, and die sooner. At 60 degrees, with light feeding, I get two years out of a baby bimac. If you use AC to keep your house at 72 degrees, and run a small chiller (1/5th Horse Power?) to keep the water at 65-67 degrees, you won't have condensation, and probably won't spend too much on electricity. Acrylic tanks insulate better than glass, but either will benefit from insulation on the bottom, back, and maybe one or two sides. Put 1"-2" thick rigid Styrofoam insulation under your tank (it can easily support the weight). I wrapped Styrofoam panels in black vinyl and attached them to the side and back of my tank too. Also, use the lowest wattage pumps you can find (external (Iwaki) pumps add much less heat to water than submerged ones) and use cool lights (fluorescent or LED, a few inches above the tank).
1) They are hard for most people to get. I'm willing to catch a wild bimac and pack it for shipping for free, but you'll need to pay for fast shipping (via Southwest Airlines Cargo), which can be $50 - $100 (?) (COD). You can also come to San Diego and pick it up yourself. I've done this twice before, for other TONMO people, and the shipping worked great. I've kept three bimacs, each of which lived a long time and died of old age, but each of the ones I shipped to TONMO people died after a few months. Bad luck? I use local sea water; maybe mixed water, which is used for tropical fish, is significantly different than the local water in Southern California. I'm willing to try it again, so let me know if you want a bimac. The easiest time of year to catch one is over the next few months (Nov-Feb), so let me know if you want one (but get your tank ready first!)
From what I've read, an O. hummelincki also has a great personality (maybe not as great as a bimac, but maybe, ask around) but it's from the Caribbean, so you don't need a chiller, and they are sometimes available from dealers. They are a little smaller than most bimacs, and diurnal too, so consider that.
FYI, at least around San Diego, it's not too hard to find a used 1/5th to 1/4 hp chiller used on Craigslist for $300-$400
