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New Little Bimac

good luck with your Bimac

an S.G. of 1.021 (corresponds to a salinity of just over 31 parts per thousand salinity) is definitely too low for octopii and most other invertebrates. Nevertheless, I seriously doubt your bimac would have a lot of time (like weeks or even days) to wait for you to rectify the situation and make the salinity right. How long ago was it when you last saw it?

By the way, by 'moraykeeper' , do you mean 'moray eel keeper'. If you like both moray eels and octopii, you should already know that moray eels are mortal enemies of octopii.

anyway, good luck with your bimac.
 
To do this faster, I top off with salt water around 1.030 instead of with fresh.

Yes, I know morays and octopods do not get along, so I keep them in seperate rooms.

I last saw it Monday.
 
hiya moray-octo-keeper

a S.G. of 1.023 sounds a lot better. I think you should aim at 1.024 ~ 1.025 tomorrow. I believe your bimac has been in the tank since saturday. Physiologically, the little guy has been under osmotic stress for 5 days already.

If the chemistry or the quality of the water is not right, a lot of octopus spp. will curl up the tips of their tentacles or arms and rub them against their body (the mantle). When you can see your bimac clearly, pay particular attention to that too.

To observe my octopii clearly, I always provide them with a glass bottle (of suitable size and preferably oval in shape:capacity roughly equals 1.5 times their body volume and an aperture of about 80% of the widest part of their mantle) as their lair. Trust me, they love it and feel secure in it while you can observe their activities clearly. In addition, give it a small piece of plexiglas (clear acrylic, 3mm thick, slightly larger than the aperture of the bottle) as a shield (they use their suckers to hold it against the opening of the bottle). Your bimac will be a happy bimac.
 
Would it really choose the bottle over all of the live rock I added? And I'm guessing I haven't seen him because he's stressing.

Could I fill a nylon stocking with salt and let that sit in the tank??
 
Hi,

You haven't mentioned feeding - do you have a lot of amphipods in the tank? Are you offering food?

It's not so unusual for your new octo to disappear for a couple of days.

I'd just continue your daily water changes until you get to 1.026 - I've added small amounts of salt to the sump, but never to the tank, even in bag. I'd like to hear from Colin on this question, too.

Nancy
 
bimac

I definitely wouldn't recommend you to put salt directly (doesn't matter whether the salt is in nylon stocking or not) into the tank. When the salt dissolve, tiny salt particles will become water-borne (even if you can't see them) and drift around with a pocket of hypersaline solution around them as they dissolve. These will irritate the sensitive skin and gill tissues of the bimac or other fishes in the tank.

Try this instead: transfer one gallon of tank water into a clean container. Either aerate the water strongly and/or use a powerhead to stir the water vigorously. Dissolve salt in the water to increase the S.G. from 1.023 to ~1.030. At least leave it strongly aerated for a few hours until the milkiness disappear and the ionic balance is kinda established (supposed to leave it overnight). Then, slowly return this hypersaline solution to the tank at a corner where the current is strongest over a period of say, 15 minutes. You can repeat this procedure until the desired salinity is reached.

The water chemistry and water quality are the overriding factors which determine whether you bimac will be happy to stay in your tank. So long as the bimac is happy and willing to stay in your tank, it will need to find itself a nice lair. Leave the bottle in a strategic position within the area where it forage. The octopus will explore your tank and inspect the bottle eventually. I have kept over a hundred octopii. Over 95% of the cases, they will accept a bottle as their lair.
 
I have seen an odd worm like creature with a zebra like pattern in the live rock.

I have offered pieces of clam,, but they are always uneaten overnight and I syphon them out.

I have the gallon of super saline going. Would it be less drematic for the octopus if I added it to the sump instead?
 
bimac

as often as you can until the salinity problem is rectified. Don't forget its been under hypo-osmotic stress for over 5 days now. Before you can get the salinity right, some damage could have been done already.

If you have a sump, the hypersaline solution can be returned to the tank through the sump. Nevertheless, it is never a good idea to put salt directly into the sump either (although it is an easy and lazy way of doing it) because of the differential solubility of its constituents and the uneven flow of water inside the sump.

Don't forget the synthetic seasalt is formulated in a way that it 'react' with water to form synthetic seawater. It is not just a matter of the salt 'goes into solution' to form the seawater.
 
1.0245, and the water is a little cloudy and I think I'm filling the system. I'm running a fan over the sump to increase evaporation so I can add more water.

I have another batch made up, and if this proves right, and it goes up .0015 with every gallon, I should rectify it with this next one.

I'm hoping raising it so fast doesn't shock the little girl. But living in such low conditions has proboloy been worse.

Do you think she'll make it after I messed up so badly?
 
I think the octopus will be fine, just be very slow with the water changes... bimacs are naturally found about the coastline and so can tolerate a bit of fluctuation with the SG.

I agree that it is never a good idea to add salt direct to the tank or the sump... even just using a couple of litres of tank water is better to mix it in... this is also true of additives which mostly should never be added directly to the tank. Having said all that i have seen it done and people have got away with it but i dont reccomend it

The worm is most probably a peanut worm
 
All set, I got it to 1.026 this evening. Hopefully she'll make it.

I haven't added any clams for awhile, I figure it might be a waste of time now. any suggestions on good food for a really small bimac?
 
Some suggestions for feeding:

You should try putting in a baby clam or two and see if she'll take them now (I assume you're taking about baby clams).

You didn't say whether you have a lot of amphipods - if so, she may be eating those.

You could try a small piece of fresh scallop or frozen, thawed shrimp - she's pretty young, but might accept those.

Also she would hunt small hermit crabs.

Sometimes baby bimacs come out only at night when they first arrive. This changes as they get more settled in.

Let us know how the attempts at feeding again work out.

Nancy
 
I don't believe I have too many amphipods, I haven't seen any among the live sand and live rock.

The clams I was feeding were frozen clams I got from my lfs in a frozen cube. In my freezer, I also have mysis shrimp, siversides, and krill.

How much longer will it take to adjust and be a little more day active... I just want to see if it is alright and healthy in there.
 
Most likely your bimac came to the LFS from Octopets - If this is the case, she was raised on live baby clams, live amphipods, and live tiny crabs.

Your LFS should have advised you to offer some live food, too, such as hermit crabs or other small crabs. You might also try the mysid shrimp or pieces of frozen shrimp from your local fishmarket. I had good luck with pieces of fresh scallop with my little bimac.

What did Gidget eat at the LFS when she was there? Sometimes that's worth finding out.

At any rate, try offering some food again.

Nancy
 

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