• 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.

Bimac Temp

kpage

Wonderpus
Registered
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Jun 24, 2009
Messages
214
Hey Im setting up my tank for a bimac, but I have a temperature question. I know that bimacs like a temp around 66-72, but I have read that people keep them in water a bit warmer than that. I know that the colder the temp, the longer they live and the less active they are. However I don't wanna buy a chiller if I dont have to.

So how high can the temp be for the bimac to live comfortably? What is the temp of your tanks?
 
I would say nothing under 70. I had my bimac at like 68 for a couple of weeks, but then got a chiller. He was a lot more active with a chiller. He lived about a year. So try and get a chiller or keep it as cold as possible.
 
hmmmmm Nancy's Bimac care page says 65-72 so why did you need to bring the temp down with a chiller from 68? Also I thought that cephs get more active and have a higher metabolism when the water is warmer, though they dont live as long. So yours got more active as you lowered the temp? I can get my tank as low as 65, but during the day it may go to 75. I've heard that fans on the sump help, as well as keeping the water oxygenated. It just seems a shame to get a chiller if I don't need one. They are so expensive
 
My motto is: "When id doubt, do what nature does." The average monthly ocean water temp (F) in Southern California (bimac country) ranges between 56 (January) to 68 (August). Sure, for a few hours, on a few days per year at low tide, in summer, the temp of a tidepool might climb above 70, or even above 80 under extreme conditions. Bimacs have evolved to be tough enough to deal with these natural extremes for short spans of time, but being in 76 degree water constantly is way out of spec. Your car's engine can rev to 8000 RPM, but cruises at about 1800 RPM. If you drive around at 8000 RPM all the time your car wouldn't last a week. Is a bimac at a constant 76 degrees suffering? Maybe, maybe not. Even if it's not suffering, it's a good bet that it's "burning" through its life a lot faster than normal. If you ask me, a bimac should be kept below 65 degrees, and so almost alwyas needs a chiller (I keep mine at 60). If that's hard to do there's an easy solution - get an O. Hummelincki (Carribean 2-spot).
 
I agree that it is best to keep the temperature under 70. We keep ours at 60F and they are active, healthy and live at least two years. In fact one just died after living 32 months.
 

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