Octopus Food

[Ryan Smith]

I dont have the book, but i do plan to get it. I dont know why it was bothering me? i expected octopuses is correct, but i wondered why i said octopi?


edit* I wish i had never gone to that fish store... My parents wont listen to me when i say that i cant get the tank and stuff in 3 months because then i need to let the tank sit for 3 more months, and by that time they will be outta season.... The guy at the petstore said that i could just use the culture and i wouldnt have to wait for the tank to culture. So when i say that doesnt work they dont believe me... So it looks like ill have to wait another year... And theres no convincing them to read anything. They figure a guy at a petstore would know more than some people on a online forum........

 

[DWhatley]

Hence my suggestion to get the book. It nicely documents your arguments and books are usually considered a higher authority.

 

[Lmecher]

You could introduce her to this forum. I would however not let her see the entrys where you talk about hitting the tank w/ baseball bat.
I am the mother of 4. I have 2 boys who are grown now and I understand her concerns. I always tried to show interest in the things they were pasionate about. Maybe you could select a few pages here (something on tank setup and a few pages from a well written journal or 2) I think she'd be impressed at the knowledge and experience these folks possess. Select a time when she would be receptive. I would keep the mood light and don't push her too much, make it fun, show enthusiam. Tell her this is something really cool you want to share with her and I'll bet she'll find it fascinating. I'd never refuse to sit down with one of my kids have them explain something even if I find it dull as dust. (over the years I have learned about skateboard's, dirt bikes, welding, rebuilding engines etc..... I even took a coast guard aux. boating course w/my daughter so she could operate a waver runner, had no idea what I was getting myself into, that was especially hard because I was not interested, with my help, my daughter passed) Parents are usually willing to listen if you approach them in a a nice undemanding way.
You sound like a terrific kid, I am impressed by your dedication and willingness to make sacrafices for something you want so badly. Good luck and lastly don't complain or sulk, that would always make me less receptive to a discussion.

 

[Joe-Ceph]

If your mom's fear of water damage isn't completely irrational, it might help to suggest ways that you can make the tank fail-safe. If she's worried about the tank stand tipping over, then explain that you can bolt the top of the tank stand to a stud in the wall, the way people do with tall narrow book cases, that would make tipping over impossible. If she's not willing to let you put a screw hole in the wall, you can use a piece of furniture with a much larger footprint than the tank, like a dresser, assuming it is strong enough to hold the weight. If the tank is going in your room, or someplace where it doesn't need to look too nice, you can put a kiddie pool, or a large Rubbermaid container on the floor, and put the tank stand inside that. If the tank spontaneously cracks, or dissolves, or your plumbing leaks or anything at all causes a leak, the container will catch the water. Make sure that the fail-safe container is larger than your water volume, and maybe put down a piece of plywood on the bottom so the legs of the tank stand don't poke holes in the container.

Your mom might have some reasons that she's not willing to admit, because they are a little selfish or embarrassing, or impossible to defend. Try to guess what these might be (or ask your dad) so that you can address them. My wife was concerned about how it would look to visitors having (an icky) octopus in the house. She was also afraid of it getting out, and being surprised by a live octopus crawling across the floor. If you can't find a way for your mom to feel comfortable having your tank in the house, it ain't gonna fly.Try to guess what other fears she may have, and have valid fixes ready to suggest when she brings them up. Maybe she's heard that fish tanks are so heavy that they damage floors. Water weighs 8lbs per gallon, so a 40 gallon tank weighs about 320 lbs. That's about as much as two average sized people weigh, no big deal.

Be calm, reasonable and persuasive. If you are whiny, combative, or sulky then it might cause her to dig in her heels and shut you down. It might also be a good idea to talk to her and your dad together, if you think that he's sympathetic to your cause. I like the suggestion of getting the octopuses in the home aquarium book to back up your claims

Good luck!

 

[Ryan Smith]

Thanks guys. That would work normaly mabye, but for some reason my mom wont talk about octopi at all. If i bring up anything about octopi she tells me to be quiet and walks away. I have had mabye 2 words about octopi in the last month. I havent been sulky or whinny. Im in no way a winny kid. But a problem i have is i cant even calmly discuss anything about them. The most frustrating part was until a few days ago they wouldnt even tell me if i could get an octo or not. I spent a month researching and then they said no octopus. They did change their mind i think. That or my mom is letting
me get a tank but no octopus. It will be bad again once i get the tank. Im $26 away from the tank. And my dad and I are goin to build our own stand. (using a hardwood) I have an old ipod to sell and a guitar and snare drum. I can probably get $120+ for them. Probably closer to $200... I hope so anyway. Well we will see how it works anyway.

 

[Omega]

you have a while to convince her on the octopi. get a fish for a while to prove her you can take care of it without a mess or killing it. or be sneaky and buy a cuttle fish..its a fish..but not XD

 

[Joe-Ceph]

My wife was concerned about how it would look to visitors having (an icky) octopus in the house. She was also afraid of it getting out, and being surprised by a live octopus crawling across the floor.

Just about every woman I polled when I was preparing for an octopus thought that the idea of having an octopus around was "creepy", like a pet snake or a pet tarantula. I was quite surprised that they didn't think it was simply interesting. My wife explained that for her, a little, it would be hard to "FEEL" comfortable knowing that there was an octopus in the house (that might get out, and strangle her in her sleep). You might be dealing with that kind of irrational fear, which would explain why she can't talk to you about it (because she would sound irrational). If that's what's happening, your best bet is to take it in steps. Let her get comfortable with your tank, fish, eels, etc. Then adding a small octopus might not seem like such a big deal to her.

If the tank is going to be where guests can see it, she might be afraid of what her friends will think of her if there is a creepy octopus in her house. Maybe the problem would go away if your plan was to keep the tank in your room, out of sight.

After I got an octopus, my wife decided that it was "neat", and now she likes it, but the idea of an octopus was creepy at first.

 

[DWhatley]

I have had far worse reactions to the smallish (even after 20 years Lucy never got very big) iguana we kept than to my octos but maybe that is just the folks that visit my house or maybe they were just being polite.

 

[CaptFish]

Everyone that sees mine thinks its really cool. And the people that hear about it all wanna see it. I have never had anyone grossed out.
I do however think they make for the best pick-up line ever....."Hey! wanna come pet my octopus?!"

 

[DWhatley]

That line could degenerate in a hurry

 

[snowmaker]

Went collecting live food for cuttles a week or so ago, and thinking about octopus foods. We saw some white clams - steamers we call them as we eat them as well. Small crabs were pretty abundant. I am hoping the 3/4" snails we call periwinkles will be good as there can be hundreds in just a few square feet. Saw some mussels as well. Caught a strange eel like fish, about 6" long... not sure what it was. Also saw an anemone in a tide pool, which I didn't know we had here.

Can anyone confirm that the periwinkles would be ok for octo food?

 

[DWhatley]

If your octo (when you get that far) will eat them, there does not seem to be any problem with periwinkles, they are low fat and high protein and they are apparently consumed by humans:

Common periwinkle - Wikipedia

 

[snowmaker]

Oh yea...
Up in Bar Harbor a couple years ago, I saw a sign that said "Lobster, Steamers, Wrinkles", and thought, "What the heck is a Wrinkle?"
Now I see Pickled Periwinkles. Something I might try if I was REALLY hungry or drunk... If octopus will eat them, I will have an unlimited supply! There are some in my live food tank for amphipods and crabs. They have a tendency to climb up to the rim of the tank. I picked up the striped one here as it stood out among all the other snails.

 

[DWhatley]

I have a tendency to "spare" the crabs, snails, etc that are designated as food when they show a particular behavior or coloration. One month Paul sent this HUGE fiddler (I had requested BIG ones) that they found that week. I wanted to put it in its own tank but Neal felt it would be a special treat for the octo and would likely die and be wasted. Usually, I just don't tell him (this one couldn't be missed) and just put the oddities in another tank

Several of the decorator crabs I got last from Tom are still in the anemone tank and one was successful in avoiding Maya and Puddles (it is the only hair algae in the tank so locating it is pretty easy). I may have to move it to the anemone tank when we have another resident octo but its disguise got it through two well fed octos.

 

[nismo]

The book is a brilliant idea! Apart from getting loads of info from it, it'll also be a handy to "accidentally" leave it out, open on the page you've been reading..... nice subtle hints! And yes, I still know guys in their 50's who do the same thing with their wives! Try not to get impatient over the cycling time, it's one of those, got to be done things. If it helps, after I had to get rid of my malawi tank (650 ltr, so just over 170 US Gallon), I got a tiny little 2 ft long tank, and decided to do it as a heavily planted tank, as I when I had the malawis, they ate any plant I put in there. I spent just over 3 months designing how I was going to have that tank before I'd even put a drop of water near it. Ok, probably went a bit OTT, but, the tank looked absolutely fantastic when it was done, and, for me at least, the whole process of designing it, figuring out what would be best where, chosing plants, backgrounds, rocks, substrates etc was really enjoyable and exciting, and the end result was well worth it!