Cylindrical Acrylic Aquarium

[skywindsurfer]

I just got my culture area set up. It consists of one ten gallon tank and three five gallon tanks, one of which has a half gallon pseudo kriesel for planktonic hatchlings.

 

[cuttlegirl]

You might be interested in this article... http://www.columbuszoo.org/drumcroaker/pdf/2002.pdf It's at the end of the document. Both Tina Chan and Norton Chan are good friends of mine.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Thanks for that article it was very informational.

 

[skywindsurfer]

I spoke with my wife, and because of the high cost of feeding each squid along with the fact that we still have no one that can get them for us, she has agreed to let me try my hand at breeding small egged octopus. I still have that small pseudokreisel that was originally intended for my O. Hummelincki who unfortunately was unable to breed before passing. Now that I have several culture/holding tanks to use I have both the supplies and money to afford this endevore. As soon as I get this cylinder tank up and running I'll place the order for about five or so octopus. The people I'm getting them from cannot tell me an exact species, only that they get them from the Pacific coast near CA and the Caribbean. I figure that if I get a hand full of them chances are I will get a male and female of the same species,..hopefully. This does not mean that I am abandoning squid, it just means I'm going to prolonge it for this opportunity to raise small egged octopus.

 

[DWhatley]

You might consider trying a large egg species first since you have not yet raised cephs from hatchlings.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Well like I said, they don't know the species just where its from, so what ever I get is what I'll breed but I have raised S. Pharaonis from eggs before at my work.

 

[neurobadger]

Re: the other thread on cephalopod ethics, this may be a better use of the tank anyway.

If you have any success breeding small-egged octopuses, let us know!

 

[skywindsurfer]

Trust me, the folks here at TONMO will be the first to know. And if I am successfull I'll either be looking to sell or give them away after a few months of age.

 

[skywindsurfer]

When I spoke with my wife about it she said she enjoyed having octopus and really enjoyed Bubbles. Guess I'm going to have to get another hummelincki just for her lol.

 

[skywindsurfer]

They sell them as common brown octopus and get them on the Pacific coast so I'm assuming either species of bimac.

 

[Joe-Ceph]

Are you going to be able to chill a 440 gallon tank down to 63 degrees or so to keep bimacs? They might do okay at 75, but in the wild the water temp almost never gets that high, and then only for a few days per year.

The vast majority of the bimacs that are caught are bimaculoides, which are large egged. That's because they live in the intertidal zone. Bimaculatus, the small egged species, lives deeper, and is harder to find because of that.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Well the plan is to move everything from my 250 into the 440 and sell the 250 tank and stand. I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of $500 - $800. With that money I'm going to get a chiller to put on the system. I'm expecting the animals to be small enough to fit in little tanks that I can easily keep cool with ambient temperature. I asked for five, but it all depends on how many they have availalbe. I was wondering which species was the small egged and which was the large egged. I really hope that I get the Bimaculatus then because I really want to try my hand at small egged species as well as use my psuedokriesel. The guy is starting on the tank soon. I asked him to have it finished by next weekend if he can. I'll keep you posted on his progress.

 

[Joe-Ceph]

I'm expecting the animals to be small enough to fit in little tanks that I can easily keep cool with ambient temperature. ...I really hope that I get the Bimaculatus then because I really want to try my hand at small egged species as well as use my psuedokriesel.

Do you mean that you'll use AC to keep the ambient temp low, and keep the five octopus in five small tanks? That'll work, especially if you put insulation board around the inside walls of the "chilled" room, and keep it closed off. Without AC though ambient temp will not be cool. Any tank you chill below room temp can easily be insulated on the bottom by just putting down a piece of 1"-2" thick foam insulation board (like 3M brand Styrofoam). It is easily strong enough to support the weight (1.33 lbs/sq in with your 36" deep round tank) without being crushed, and the more you insulate the less electricity you'll use with the chiller.
I think the odds of getting a bimaculatus through the normal chanels are slim to none. When will you be ready? If I find one while scuba diving, there's a good chance it will be bimaculatus, and I'd be willing to catch it (if possible) and pack it up for you.

 

[skywindsurfer]

I'm not sure as to an exact date. Like I said I asked the guy today if he could have it built by next weekend (July 1st), but I'm not sure if he will finish by that time. I would say not much longer than the week after that. I asked my step dad if he could build the stand for me and he said he'd do some research and see if he can. I may end up asking the same guy that's building my tank if he can weld a metal stand. It won't be as pretty, but it will be strong. I'll take my chances with with the common brown octopus first. I'm curious to see exactly what species they have. If it's not Bimaculatus then I'll give you a shout. Thanks for the offer though. That's very generous of you, and of course I would pay for shipping. Do Bimacs (either species) get along together like Rubescens?

 

[skywindsurfer]

How can I tell the differense between Bimaculiodes and Bimaculatus? Also information on where to find them would be helpful as well. My friend said thst they are still collecting and I can ask them to try and find a specific species. The sooner I get this information to them the better. Thanks.