- Joined
- Sep 25, 2006
- Messages
- 572
only kelp has roots like kelp hold fasts, but it can be cultivated, from what I understand, but what a pain.
I think that octopus are a little like people in that they are relatively smart, and adaptable, so if cultivating kelp is too much trouble, they will use whatever you provide. Anything that makes it easy for a tiny octopus to hide from predators, but still find food, would be fine (I haven't raised baby bimacs, so I'm speculating - for what it's worth). Females lay eggs in aluminum soda cans, orange road cones, or whatever has the correct attributes, so just try to provide something with the right attributes for a baby bimac. Assuming that the only potential predators you'll have in the tank will be the other baby octopus, you need to provide lots of hiding places. Kelp roots are made of a dense dangle of semi-rigid strands ranging from 1/8" diameter to about 3/8". There is a little space in between most of the strands, so from a baby bimac's point of view it's like a dense forest of tree trunks. A gallon of bio-balls (held tightly in a mesh bag?) would probably be a nice substitute.. As long as the babies can each find their own separate space, far enough from the others, and there's no shortage of food, you should be able to maximize survival (again, this is my WAG, not a bunch of facts). kelp hold fasts are probably populated by lots of other tiny animals, that 1/4" long bimacs could eat, so it might be good to get such structures into your tank early, and try to encourage the growth of food fauna (that won't eat new-born bimacs).
I think that octopus are a little like people in that they are relatively smart, and adaptable, so if cultivating kelp is too much trouble, they will use whatever you provide. Anything that makes it easy for a tiny octopus to hide from predators, but still find food, would be fine (I haven't raised baby bimacs, so I'm speculating - for what it's worth). Females lay eggs in aluminum soda cans, orange road cones, or whatever has the correct attributes, so just try to provide something with the right attributes for a baby bimac. Assuming that the only potential predators you'll have in the tank will be the other baby octopus, you need to provide lots of hiding places. Kelp roots are made of a dense dangle of semi-rigid strands ranging from 1/8" diameter to about 3/8". There is a little space in between most of the strands, so from a baby bimac's point of view it's like a dense forest of tree trunks. A gallon of bio-balls (held tightly in a mesh bag?) would probably be a nice substitute.. As long as the babies can each find their own separate space, far enough from the others, and there's no shortage of food, you should be able to maximize survival (again, this is my WAG, not a bunch of facts). kelp hold fasts are probably populated by lots of other tiny animals, that 1/4" long bimacs could eat, so it might be good to get such structures into your tank early, and try to encourage the growth of food fauna (that won't eat new-born bimacs).
