Octopi?

[epidemic]

I have been debating about getting an octipus for my nano. It would be a replacement for any fish and would acompany a few LPS frags. The lighting on the tank is low (24W od PCover 12 gallolns) Any opinions? Besides the fact the only live for a year,

[mtfatwork]

I think it sounds like a pretty cool idea, but I have no idea if it would actually be feasable or not. Just make sure you dont put any of your prize LPS in with it in case it inks and wipes out the tank

[epidemic]

not too many prized LPS left :(

[mtfatwork]

sorry dude, didnt mean to pour salt in the wound :(

[storrisch]

I would build a cover over the back sections so it could not get near the pump.... other than that I would check out www.tonmo.com and get more info from other cephalopod owners.

[GVR-4579]

I heard they can get out of just about anything, so you need that tank to be secure as it can be. Also it would only take an opening half the size of their beak for them to get through so a small octopus woudl be almost impossible to keep in. I dot think they have any fear about climbing out of the tank, and thwy are extremely smart. Just a heads up on the tank security for ya, not saying its a bad idea just that you have to be super careful, id love to have one too but just dont have the tank setup.

[REEFSTOCK]

I think you need something more challenging in your life!

[capman]

Am I correct that this is a 12 gallon tank? Seems quite a bit too small to me.

Energy has quite a lot of experience with octopus, and also has kept cuttlefish in the past. His recommendation to me was that certain species can be kept really well in a tank as small as a 40 breeder (which is why a 40 breeder is set up in the lab....never got around to taking the next steps to actually keep an octopus though). A good, tight cover is a good idea too, though apparently not as critical with some species as with others (I personally want to have this if I do end up getting an octopus someday though).

The best species to keep (can't remember the species names offhand...O. bimaculoides maybe???... ask Energy) comes from cool water (e.g. off the coast of California), and so should probably not be kept in a tank that is really warm. Captive bred specimens of this species are sometimes available. Its best to get young ones, because they do not live very long even under the best of situations.

They apparently do not tolerate copper at all well!

[sea monkey]

and also has kept cuttlefish in the past. !

wish i could have seen that ...

[sea monkey]

juts don't get this one : )

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7004909622962894202

[epidemic]

I believe it is the atlantic ones that get big like that, most stay small. I believe the Bimac. only live a year and get the size of a golf ball.

[capman]

wish i could have seen that ...

Me too...his cephalopods all crashed before I got to see them (he was suspecting maybe copper did them in, maybe from algae fertilizer used to grow algae to feed to his tanks). I was bummed (though not as much as he probably was), since I was hoping to take my invertebrate bio class on a field trip to his house to interact with live cephalopods.

[capman]

I believe it is the atlantic ones that get big like that, most stay small. I believe the Bimac. only live a year and get the size of a golf ball.

My impression was that the Bimacs get bigger than a golf ball, but I'm no expert, and maybe you are talking about just the body?

[capman]

I believe it is the atlantic ones that get big like that, most stay small. I believe the Bimac. only live a year and get the size of a golf ball.

The big octopus in that video is a giant Pacific octopus, which lives along the west coast of the US, and grows to enormous size.

[epidemic]

I guess I was just refering to the bodies

[Energy]

Octopi- one of my favorite animals hands down. Extremely intelligent, Most need a covered tank but I did train one not to leave the aquarium and left it in an uncovered tank. Low lighting and cool water are critical for bimacs or cuttlefish. No copper, phospahtes or any other crap a standard invert would hate. I've had about 5 different species of octopi and 7 cuttlefish. Both are super cool and can't be kept with fish. Call me with other questions.

[capman]

There used to be at least one breeder with a web site (can't remember details), and I have (in the past at least) seen them for sale by Foster and Smith and other similar vendors.

[droinablunt]

I have been thinking of a bimac tank for a while. I found some good info at tonmo.com