OCTOPUS AND SNAILS

[otto13]

Can my octopus live off snails alone? I have a few hundred generic gulf coast snails in my quarantine tank and they breed like nobodys business. I was hoping this could be a good food source for my bimac.
Oh... the adult snails are a little smaller than a marble.

 

[OCTO OAKLEY]

i would imagine they would make for a good snack i dont think it would be so good as a meal and by tha time your octo is an adult it probablly wont have much to do with them well aleast my bimac didnt but you could always try it as a treat who knos maybe he will like em alot and you could put a few in a few times a day also you could top that with some shrimp or mussel meat! but the size you say is smaller than a marble wow that would take quite a few to fill him up i do kno astrea snails work good tho!

 

[Nancy]

Bimacs eat mostly crustaceans. A young bimac may eat a few snails, but it's shrimp and crabs that they really like. I had no problem keeping snails in my bimac tank as soon as she was a bit older.

Also, it's not really good to feed octos just one food all the time, either. They get tired of foods (never crabs or shrimp, I think!) but mine grew tired of fresh scallop and wouldn't eat it anymore and there have been similar stories from others.

Nancy

 

[otto13]

I live near the coast and if you go out at night with a lantern, tiny clams/mussels come to the surface of the wet sand in the thousands. I think they mistake the lantern for a full moon. Would this be cool food? I would probably keep them in the quarantine tanks sand beds and feed as needed.
How about ghost shrimp since it is just a baby?
Are fresh chilled shrimp okay from the seafood market?

I think I am getting a little worked up tonight.
HA!

 

[OCTO OAKLEY]

clams and mussels would be awesome if ya could get em! and yeah even ghost shimp would do great but watch out cuz there fresh water and they might have been treated with copper! so ask and see if they have been otherwise stay away from live freshwater food as much as ya can! ha yeah cephs can do that to you every moment is exciting with them!

 

[Nancy]

Octo Oakley is correct, the clams and mussels would be excellent octo food, as long as the area they're taken from isn't too polluted.

Freshwater ghost shrimp aren't good - see Jean's posts on freshwater food for octos.

Fresh chilled RAW shrimp from the seafood market are OK. Just rinse them off and bring them to approximately the temperature of the water.

Nancy