• 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.

Hi, I'm new

ceph_dude

Cuttlefish
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Mar 24, 2005
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18
Hi, I'm Bruce and I need a little help. Frist of all, I have no idea where I can get an octopus :-/ . I live near Stoudsburg PA, if it helps any. Will a 30 gallon tank be good enough for a small octo? Thank you for helping me, It would help a lot!
 
:welcome: Check out our Ceph Care thread. And you live near my favorite LFs in Lancastor Pa - That Pet Place. I have gotten probably 5 octos from them over the years.

Carol
 
Welcome to Tonmo!!! It is going to take you a minimum of two months or so to cycle a tank anyway, so you have plenty of time to search for your new pet !!! A 30 is a little small for a captive bred bimac...is there a chance you could get a 55 ? It is much easier to keep one in that size of a tank !
greg
 
Although I will probably be reprimanded for saying this :biggrin2: ,

Yes they can be kept in a 30 gallon tank. However, be advised this means they will require even MORE work than with a larger tank.

There are many reasons larger tanks are better, however for those of us with size/cost/location factors (such as myself) that can only get a max 30 gallon tank, you can still successfully keep Octopuses.

Larger tanks have more room for the octopus, allow for more surface area (and thus more dissolved oxygen content), and in general are more forgiving water condition-wise (say if the octopus inks or the power goes out and you lose filtration).

Having said that, what are the keys to keeping an octopus in a 30 gallon?

Priority # 1 is filtration.

Priority # 2 is water condition (full strength sea water, colder temperatures, high oxygen content, NO ammonia or nitrites).

Priority # 3 is enrichment and environment (does the octopus have different toys to play with? Does it have plenty of hiding places so it can relax and not feel threatened? Do you feed him mostly live food so he has to hunt it? Etc, etc).

If you succeed at ALL 3 of these things, an octopus can be kept in a 30 gallon. :cool2:
 
Thank you for the information. We already have a 30 gallon salt water tank and I didn't think my mom would get a 50 gallon tank for an octopus (she don't really like the idea of feeding live crabs and fish to another animal, but I'll talk her into it). Yea, she don't like the exotic pets, but i think she'll let me. By the way, where would be a good place to get octopus supplies (filters, skimmers ect.), and what kind would you suggest? Thank you


P.S. I hope that you don't get reprimanded! lol!
 
Are you going to be using your existing 30 gallon Saltwater tank and converting it to an Octopus tank?

Or are you going to buy a brand new 30 gallon tank?
 
Good! Well right now PetCo online is probably the cheapest place for supplies, because there's currently a special on if you spend $45 or more you get 20% off your total order, that's a pretty good deal! Here's my order:

PetCoCheckOut.jpg


As you can see, for just over a hundred bucks you get an eclipse system, protein skimmer, and air pump. I'll continue in the next message....
 
Why Eclipse? Well some do not like it. I love it, however, and I'll explain why. First, take a look at my current setup, I just received my PetCo order tonight so the tank is finally setup and ready to begin the cycling process:

EclipseSystem.jpg


What's the first thing you notice? The tank top is completely enclosed! EVERYTHING, INCLUDING THE PROTEIN SKIMMER, is INSIDE THE TANK :smile:. While not as important with Bimacs, still, better to be safe than sorry :wink:. I did have to cut a little bit of the plastic from the inside of the lid to get the skimmer to fit, but it was no big deal :smile:

Continuing....
 
A lot of people are under the false impression that Octopuses require excellent water quality. Technically, this is not the case. They are very tolerant of Nitrates (for an invertebrate). However, they are still intolerant of what I call "The Big 3" - Ammonia, Nitrite, and Heavy Metals (especially Copper). In addition, they require more oxygen than a fish the same size (remember, they do have 3 hearts).

So here's where the Eclipse system comes in. As we know, it does an excellent job (specifically the bio-wheel) of removing Ammonia and Nitrites from the aquarium, however it does its job so well you end up with more nitrates. However remember what I said earlier, it isn't really as big a deal as all that. Regular partial water changes will keep them at very acceptable levels.

Now take a look at this pic:

TankTop.jpg


Look at the first item (1.) - Water enters the Eclipse system via a magnetic impeller, and drops down onto the filter media. Here is your FIRST air/water exchange (that's GOOD for keeping tank Oxygen levels up).

Next, look at the second item (2.) - The spinning bio-wheel. Here is your SECOND air/water exchange. If you look closely towards the middle of the bio-wheel, you can actually see air bubbles forming.

Next, look at the third item (3.) - The exit flow. The water is shot out and drops down yet again into the tank water. This is your THIRD air/water exchange.

Lastly, notice the blue filter cartridge containing a long strip of carbon (that's GOOD for removing harmful items from the water and absorbing ink if the octopus inks).

Continued in next message...
 
Continuing from last message....

Octopuses require more oxygen than marine fish, and they are messier as well. This is where the protein skimmer comes in handy.

Take a look at this pic shot with the flash on:

Aquarium2.jpg


Look at all the Oxygen in that tank! Notice on the left the airstone-driven protein skimmer is providing more than enough Oxygenation. It's hard to make out in this pic because it was shot at an angle from above, however there's also a decent water flow from right to left from the Eclipse exit tube as well.

And the skimmer has the added benefit of keeping the water conditions at acceptable levels by removing waste materials from the water (remember that messy Octopus I mentioned earlier :mrgreen: )
 

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