Tom's assorted crabs?

[DWhatley]

You octo is less likely to eat clean-up crew that is already established in the tank (except when first introduced sometimes). Sometimes it is problematic afterwards because the octopus is expecting food to come from you putting stuff into the tank (this has been observed with fish tanks as well). Once it knows you are going to feed it regularly with food it likes better, it will usually leave clean-up crew alone since they don't pester the octos. In the meantime they will eat the bits of decaying matter on the LR and enhance the cycle with their eliminations. About a month after the tank is stable you can add a serpent star. These are nocturnal but learn to come out at dinner time and can be entertaining in their own right. We have one in our largest tank that will "run" across the substrate during feeding at speeds you would not think possible. My favorite, however are the red brittles that have personality, are sometimes seen during the day and will take food from your hand (and occassionally try to beat the octo to the food - no problems though, the octos just shove the arms away).

 

[Ryan Smith]

Thats pretty cool. Thanks. And I believe a main problem is cleaning the sand. Any specific cleaner that does a good job with sand?

 

[DWhatley]

Bottom substrate is always a nitrate problem so it is essential that you stir it regularly and get the waste into the water column where it can be filtered (I stir and siphon as I stir to vacuum up as much as I can directly). Snails and hermits are probably the safest helpers followed by common clams. Even with the clams and with all substrate living creatures, you have to be careful to watch for death and remove them quickly. Most LR will add brissle worms to the substrate (both the LR and the sand are technically substrate) and they are considered helpful but are also considered a nuisance and over populate easily.

 

[bluespotocto]

I keep a sea cucumber in my tank. They eat dirty sand and poop out clean sand! You do have to worry about them die because when they die they release all of there guts and it is very bad for the tank. If that happens when an octo is in there you could have a sticky situation on you hands about water quality.

 

[DWhatley]

I avoided mentioning some of the sand sifters because a new tank won't support their food needs. Cucumbers internals are toxic, so death removal is not just a waste pollution issue. Some are more of a problem than others and the size of the animal in addition to the species weighs in on how much of a problem death will cause. Cucs bury so they are hard to monitor and a thin bottom substrate combined with a new tank that does not yet contain much food is courting a problem. Sand sifting stars (not toxic) are also recommended by some people but they rarely live long and are thought to starve to death even in an established tank.

With clams and a shallow substrate, you can monitor them fairly easily and you can replace them from the grocery store. I don't know that they are overly helpful to water quality in small numbers but they are interesting and add variety to the clean-up crew.

Hermits are great little cleaners and come in a variety of colors. The ones I like the best for cleaning (and seem to be more likely to be eaten) are the ugly brown ones (I don't know the species name). I avoid blue legs because IME they are more aggressive with the snails and each other but the red legged ones are attactive and seem to be the least aggressive. I would avoid the larger ones altogether though because I have seen them take off the arms of serpent stars.

 

[Ryan Smith]

Ok, and reccomendation on snails? turbos sound like the best and they are fairly cheap.

 

[Lmecher]

For snails, I usually go with the cheepest and I am always on the lookout for sales.

For stirring the sand nothing beat nassarius snails. I have a bunch in Ollies tank and he hasn't touched them. I did have to remove the sand sifting cucumber, my peppermints were picking at it. But as D said, wait till your sand bed matures.

 

[Ryan Smith]

Thanks, will do. Im getting closer to owning an octo. I got the stand today. Went to Lowes to see wood prices to make one, and we found a TV stand that is high quality and will hold 500lbs easily marked down from
$179 to $20.

 

[DWhatley]

We lucked out on a stereo cabinet like that for our nano. One caution though, it is likely to be made of pressboard and not wood (mine is) and even a small amount of water will start having negative effects early on. Depending upon the veneer (the part that you see covering the pressboard) it might be wise to spray a coat of protective varnish on the top and more importantly where the bottom meets the floor (usually not sealed).

 

[brandy g]

just got the crabs in today, the lastness was made up for with 10 decoritive crabs with 2 hermits

 

[Lmecher]

just got the crabs in today, the lastness was made up for with 10 decoritive crabs with 2 hermits

Not really sure what you are saying
You ordered 5 if I remember correctly and you got 10 decorator and 2 hermits. Is that right?

 

[brandy g]

you got it, sorry if that was confusing =)

 

[Lmecher]

You got a good deal 12 crabs for $5.
Thanks for getting back

 

[CaptFish]

Your the one that got all the crabs!...just kidding I got mine yesterday, when I got my new octo. I got 6 and they were all in separate bags. My hermits were all together, so were the snails.

I wonder if it is on Mondays, when he isup here in my direction that he does all his shipping. Last time I saw him he had a box trailer full of goodies, this time he was in his truch witha back seat full of fun. Both times the transaction is so fast that I did not get to see much.

 

[brandy g]

hehehe, mine all came in one bag