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Octo for 35 corner bowfront

Joined
Oct 2, 2009
Messages
1,462
What kind of octo can live happily in a 35 gallon corner bowfront? I purchased a tank thinking it was a 45 and it wasnt. Now I am stuck with this tank (my husband loves it) and I dont know that I can even use it to keep one of the larger octos. Is there a friendlyish octo that can live in a 35 bow front?
 
35 is too small for any of the Larger Octos, like A.Acleatus, O.Briareus, O.Hummelincki, or O.Bimaculoides. A pair of Mercatoriss would work but the season for finding them may have ended already.
 
BOO thats stinky dinky. Now I have to either sell it or convince my husband to let me have a seahorse tank AND an octo tank. Would be cool for me but hes a man that embraces change VERY slowly.

I thought about mercs but like you said it will be winter before they are back. Plus we arent night people AT ALL. I would never get to enjoy it but still have the to pay to feed it. Is it true what I have read that if you have a few in there they are more active? If I got like 3 of them would they come out more in the day and/or be more social?
 
Mercs won't come out in the day. If you can make early night in the room and light the tank with red light you are likely to be able to see them earlier. IME they are more active with multiples but nothing like the larger ones and human interaction is very, very limited.
 
The practical answer is no. It takes a minimum of 3 months to cycle an aquarium to have it stable enough to handle the waste from an octopus. It is unlikely that you will find a very young one (keep in mind that virtually all are wild caught) and their fastest growth rate is in the first 6 months. The cuttles max out at about 4-6 inches where a medium octo will have a combined mantle, head and arm length of over a foot at 6 months old.
 
One other thing, is the extra 5 or 10 gallons needed for room in the tank or just the amount of water running through the system? The reason I ask is because I was just reading "Yes, I am an absolute newbie..." and he had a 40 gallon tank and people suggested O. aculeatus. Im wondering if I set up a 10 gallon refugium would that be a better set up for this kind of octo or is the space in a 35 gal (36.2 actually) corner bow that is the problem? I'm just trying to understand the whose whatsits and whys of it all. What makes one system better than another and what not.
 
Both. A 40 gallon is pushing it, anything smaller is too small for most medium octopuses. Do remember that you will not likely have one octopus but will set up at tank for keeping octopuses over time. The only time I ever had an escape issue with any that I have kept was keeping a favorite hummelincki in a 35 gallon aquarium (it was sold to us new as a 45 gallon and only when I noticed he seemed to be outgrowing it did I actually take the measurements and discover the actual gallonage. We were in the process of outfitting a larger tank when his last escape - my carelessness - eventually proved fatal). That tank has since been replaced by a 65 gallon tank using the 35 as a sump.
 
I had started looking for a 65 or 75 gallon the other day. I too, bought this tank thinking it was a 45 gallon. I'm glad I found out before all the labor to get it ready for my octo. I was just curious is all. I actually had the thought that I could take my 55 gallon reef and move and convert it to an octo tank and then use the 35 as my reef. (we would want the octo tank in our bedroom as we have small children) My husband object for the moment... like I said before... SLOW to change. Anything new and diffrent is bad lol. God love him, but I enjoy changing things up lol.
 
we would want the octo tank in our bedroom as we have small children
For the safety of the octo or the kids? The species we have mentioned are not dangerous to humans and your lid should be secure enough that a small child would not be able to open it (or the octopus can). Most kids enjoy watching them as much as adults.
 

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