Are there any ceph keepers on here that breed them? I would like to get mine from a credible source. I would also like to see pics of other people's pygmys and tanks. Thank you in advance.
You often can get O. mercatoris this time of year from Sea Life, Inc. or Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, they are breeding right now so they won't live very long, but it is possible to rear the juveniles. We have half a dozen females hatching babies this week. I have posted several shots of dwarfs and pygmies on this site. Roy
Is O mercatoris the only species I could have in a 10 gallon? I know that they are very dull and don't interact more so I was hoping for a different species. Are there any others I could keep in a 10g and if so which ones. Thank you. I will post pics of my tank later if I can figure out how.
I kept an O. Mercatoris in a 10 gallon. He NEVER came out in it. He would wait for the food to walk up to his shell, then pull them inside. I kept him in a large critter keeper inside my 75 gallon and he was out almost every night. Soooo, I would advise against the 10 gallon. Probably 30 gallon minimum with a couple of small gobies for entertainment. Just speaking from my experience. They are nocturnal, and I haven't heard of anyone having any luck getting one to change it's habits as far as that goes. Also, they only live 6-8 months, so you want to try and get one that has been reared from birth so you have an idea of how old they are.
I'm still looking for an octopus, but I wonder if it would be worthwhile to get a few O. Mercatoris. Seems that a few can live in a tank somewhat.. peacefully. I have a 40 gallon (thats plumbed to another 40 gallon and a 20 gallon sump) thats been empty for some time now. I wonder if I had 3 or so pygmies in there if I would ever see them (ie, does having more than 1 make them come out more often?)
Not really, what they're most likely to do is sort out some sort of dominance hierarchy and then all find separate hidey holes. You may see some action before they sort themselves out, but it they're night active they tend to stay that way. (we've done this with our small species) J
Lockburn, Three months ago I ended up with a pregnant female Mercatoris as my first ceph and found that she liked the giant barnicle shells (the kind that are purple and white) that are very common. The big advantage to these shell clusters is that they offer viewing but still give security. You will need to provide plenty of smallish shells or lr pieces so that the octo(s) can create a "door" and I don't know how well a non-brooding merc will accept the den but several in a tank may be ideal for a multi-octo tank. They will not, however, offer any filtration so you would still need to include LR or some other form of biological filter media. Do note, as Neogonodactylus, points out that any Merc you find now (and you will have difficulty finding them at other times of the year) are in their breeding and brooding season. Mine hatched far fewer eggs than is normal and may have done as Lev's and laid eggs in a den she found unsatisfactory and only brooded these few in her den of final choice (she moved dens about every 3 days for the first two months before I put the shell cluster in the tank). It is unlikely that you will find a young pygmy unless it hatches in your tank.
