• 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.

Setting up my 55g for an Octopus

Nah...a little tank with some algae and live rock would be much better...they are still easy to catch out of there, and the tank will be an attraction of it's own.
We aren't talking about a full blown reef tank, just a few pounds of live rock and some macroalgae.
 
Ok, thats cool. Would it be OK if I keep them in a plain tank until I get LR and Macroalgea? Also, can I put a good amount of Macro in the tank with the Octo to help in filtration and make it look better? Which would you suggest for macro?
 
Yay! I just got all of my equipment and water, lus 40lbs. of LR for my tank. I set up a sump also. It is all running now. I just need to put something in there to start cycling. I am sooo excited that this is accually happining!!! I will post pics later.
 
Thanks. Now for future refrences... does Octopets.com have an Arive-Alive guarentee? If not then I am not ordering from them.
 
They have the industry-standard guarantee: If it arrives dead, they'll send you another granted you're willing to pay shipping again.

Dan
 
Shipping is not included in the cost. You can usually expect around $30-40 for shipping from any online fish seller. Most have shipping FAQs on their websites--Most also have extra handling and "box" charges.

As far as I'm aware all aquacultured bimacs ultimately come from Octopets, but they do distribute eggs. Call them before you order and ask them if it was raised in-house from an egg or if it was shipped live from their distributor. In either case, ask how old it is and how big it is.

Dan
 
I got pics!!!

The tank is currently cycling with shrimp. the skimmer is breaking in, and everything is looking good! Trying to decide of I should leave that room in the middle for him to swim or not.

55g tank
10g sump
wet/dry filter
ViaAqua SK300 skimmer
40lbs. LR (live rock)
40lbs. LS (live sand)

DSCN2046.jpg


DSCN2049.jpg


DSCN2047.jpg


DSCN2048.jpg


I am kind of thinking not to get an Octopus. I dont know why. Are they alot harder to feed than fish? Do they die in the mail all the time? This guy at the LFS said that Octo's are practically impossible to keep, and that kind of got me thinking. Help me out! I am just not sure if Octo's are really hard or not.
 
Your LFS guy is probably used to getting blue rings, which have a tendency to do all the things he described. Most LFS don't even know that you can order an octopus that's aquacultured specifically as a pet.

Your setup looks pretty good for an octo, though. Since you're here you obviously have an interest, you're competent at setting up a tank, why not go ahead and order one after the tank matures?

Feeding it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Have clams and little hermits when its tiny, then start working in live and thawed frozen shrimp and fiddlers as it grows.

Dan
 
Should I order it from octopets, or liveaquaria? Can I keep small hermits in the tank for him to eat, like 10 or so of them. So as he gets hungy, he can eat. Will I need live shrimp? It is exspensive and if he doesnt need therm, I wont get them right away. Maybe not at all.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is usually when you see an octo at a fish store, they're keeping it locked in a tiny empty critter cage inside an aquarium so it doesn't escape and customers can see it. You can see why they don't have any luck getting octos to eat or thrive in this kind of a situation.

Now given that, putting your baby bimac in a critter cage in your aquarium for a few weeks isn't a bad idea if you put some sand and rock and PVC in it. The idea being a 55 or 75 gallon tank can be a big and dangerous world for a 1" octo.

If you don't want to shell out for the live shrimp, I don't think it will be a big problem. I'm sure you could keep a bunch of hermits in there and he would enjoy hunting them. Remember the clams like to burrow, so you might try to put a little dish "feeding area" in there that you can set the clams (and later thawed frozen shrimp) on.

Dan

PS - I don't think it matters too much where you order from. I don't know if anyone here has ordered from Live Aquaria, so you may consider ordering from them just to add another data point. Fishsupply.com also sells them.
 
Nice job binaryterror! I like ths stand, rot iron and dark wood would match my wine rack well! Neat set up too, i would have never thought to seperate the Wet dry and skimmer in seperate tanks. Good luck!
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top