Hello I am new here

saltwaterdad

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Jun 14, 2009
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Hello everyone I am new here and would like to get some direction on researching which octo would be good for me. I currently have a 90 gallon setup with T5 lighting and good filtration all the standard setup for a successful reef tank. Currently all I have in the tank is a few soft corals and a small rose anenomie, couple of hard coral frags and a clam. I am assuming I will have to sell the calm as this will be a great meal for any octo. But as far as everything else what would be a good sized species for my setup?
 
:welcome:

a 90gal should be good for most of the species we recommend... I'll leave it to the experts to say more, though.
 
Thanks for replying. Can someone be more specific on what types of corals could be in a tank with an octopus. I read alot of the articles on the home page but that question was never really answered.
 
Well, some people recommend not keeping an anemone in with your octopus because of the sting, as for the coral I am pretty sure that most people keep mostly soft corals (I think it is to keep the octopus from getting scraped up) and ones that don't sting. Again, Most of the recommended species can fit in a 90 gallon. But I am no expert, just filling in until they step in. :smile:
 
I have a 6" crocea clam in my tank currently. Is there a species that will not try to eat it? And lastly what species would be quite hardy, a good size not tiny since it will be the only inhabitant in the 90 gallon tank?
 
Personally I have always found Briareus to be a great species. Unfortunately I do not have a tank large enough (35g). I am pretty sure the recommended tank size for them is 75g, a little extra room never hurts. I understand that there are some smaller species that will prefer a crab or shrimp over a clam, and if well fed the clam might last a while, but I would remove it just to be safe if you don't want to lose your investment. Most octopuses like crabs the best, then shrimp,... clams are not at the top of their preferred foods list, but they will eat them.
 
Tommycs;137965 said:
Personally I have always found Briareus to be a great species. Unfortunately I do not have a tank large enough (35g). I am pretty sure the recommended tank size for them is 75g, a little extra room never hurts. I understand that there are some smaller species that will prefer a crab or shrimp over a clam, and if well fed the clam might last a while, but I would remove it just to be safe if you don't want to lose your investment. Most octopuses like crabs the best, then shrimp,... clams are not at the top of their preferred foods list, but they will eat them.

I can't seem to find any species info on the site. Can anyone direct me?
 
One of the best ways to learn about octo experiences is to start reading the journals (click forums on the top menu then journals and photos on the subject menu). It is helpful when members title with the octo name (to keep up with the individual) and species (to locate experiences) but often times one or both are not known at the time the journal is initiated.

The best Briareus journal of recent times will be Animal Mother's about Kalypso. AM got Kalypso as a very tiny baby and journaled his life over 18 months.

Hummelincki would be another excellent choice as they are the most interactive of the warm water species (IMO) and are fully diurnal (scan the journals titles for hummelincki. Octane, OhToo and Serendipity were mine but there are others noted as well). You can't beat the Briareus for beauty and elegance though. Hummelincki is stubbier and has a wider variety of color and skin changes but the briareus flows like no others I have kept. I enjoy keeping both and keep an open tank when I don't have one of them (currently the hummelincki tank is empty and about to be transitioned into a larger aquarium with the current tank becoming a large sump). Either will enjoy a 90 gallon tank and not get lost.

I keep a few softies and gorgonians with mine but no anemones, only sun polyps (NOT the nocturnal kind, the brown and white ones) and red mushrooms. Other polyps I have had with my octos cause a reaction when touched and were removed. There are numerous serpent and brittles that work well and I insist on a thorny starfish for clean-up. The thorny's have been written up as vegetarians but that is not correct and they do a great job asthetically (some are very bright orange), are diurnal and clean up leftovers (definitely meat eaters and would starve without meat scraps).

AM had a clam in with one of his octos (I think it was Kalypso but am not sure) and I don't remember if it survived, hopefully he will respond or there will be notes in the referenced journal.
 

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