Jump to content
Top Shelf Aquatics

Want to start cold water octo tank


Radixx

Recommended Posts

Ive been seeing some pretty cool cold water octopus tanks here and I'm trying to get some more info on the whole thing.

 

Is coldwater the same principle as regular salt, just cold? Does it follow the same cycle?

 

Also, what size tank would I need for the octo. Where can I get one online? Is he best left alone, or is there things I can put in with him? How can I octopus proof the tank. What do they eat?

 

Is there any good guides I can read? (read the sticky up top, that said articles, wasn't sure if it would actually be a guide)

 

Thanks and all help is appreciated.

Link to comment
AquaticEngineer
Ive been seeing some pretty cool cold water octopus tanks here and I'm trying to get some more info on the whole thing.

 

Is coldwater the same principle as regular salt, just cold? Does it follow the same cycle?

Coldwater tanks will take much longer to cycle, treat it more along the lines of a fish only tropical marine tank as far as filtration. Make sure and get a quality chiller, or at least one you trust, since that will be the heart of your system.

 

Also, what size tank would I need for the octo.

Size depends on species. An E. Dofleini can get 20 feet across and 160 lbs, where as an O. Rubescens maxes out around 24 inches and 6 pounds.

Where can I get one online?

You can purchase them from me B)

 

I will be licensed and permitted to collect and sell marine fish and invertebrates from the state of Oregon as of January 1st 2012. PM me for more details :)

 

Is he best left alone, or is there things I can put in with him? How can I octopus proof the tank. What do they eat?

Anything you put in there with him is a potential food target that is a fish or invert. They wont mess with anemones and corals really but larger anemones may damage your octopus. I have several slipper cucumbers and small patches of corynactis in with mine, as well as lots of live shrimp (which he seems to ignore) and lots of shore crabs which is his food source.

 

As for octopus proofing it, best rule of thumb is that if their eye can fit through so can they. ( People always say their beak, but how many times are you going to see that really?) Make sure and make a good lock down top.

 

 

Is there any good guides I can read? (read the sticky up top, that said articles, wasn't sure if it would actually be a guide)

 

Thanks and all help is appreciated.

Check out www.Tonmo.com for alot of other good info.

Link to comment

At Tonmo.com forums you'll find lots of knowledgeable people who can steer you in the right direction, and answer any remaining questions you have.

 

What are you most interested in keeping? A cold water tank, or an octopus? You can do both, but it's easier to do one or the other. Water temp depends on the species you get. For a few years I've kept Octopus Bimculoides, known informally as a "Bimac". Bimacs are native to central and southern California (and Northern Baja) and so like water that is about 60 degrees F (In the wild: 58 in January, 68 in August). For a bimac you need a chiller, which can add cost, and use electricity, and almost nothing that you can buy at the LFS can live in water that cold (but everything you buy from AquaticEngineer can). Very few people on Tonmo keep bimacs, or cold water, because there are no public sources where you can buy bimacs (I catch my own). Warm water species of octopus are available to buy, and you wouldn't need a chiller.

 

Aquatic Engineer can probably get you O. Rubescens, but there's some debate about whether they make good pets or not (might be nocturnal). He has had one for about a month, so at some point soon he'll be the expert on their husbandry and behavior.

 

Do all your homework and preparation before you get an octopus, so that it won't escape, get eaten, eat something you care about, or die some other way.

 

All that being said, I've really enjoyed keeping my bimacs.

Link to comment

I think I'm more interested in an octopus than coldwater(sounds too expensive for me right now)

 

I looked at the site but it's hard to follow as for information. Too many subforums with no central knowledge

Link to comment
I looked at the site but it's hard to follow as for information. Too many subforums with no central knowledge

Most of what you need will be in one of two places on Tonmo.com:

 

Start by reading the articles HERE that apply to octopus

 

Then, for the questions you still have, browse through the "Octopus Care" forum. Most of what you need to know has already been asked, and answered, there. After reading, you can post questions there, and fill in whatever blanks are left.

 

There is also a book (just one) about keeping cephalopods in home aquarius: "Cephalopods: Octopuses and Cuttlefish for the Home Aquarium" by Dunlop and King (big Tonmo.com contributors). For $22 on Amazon, that will answer 80%-90% of the questions you will have, and the Tonmo forums will answer the rest.

 

"In my day..."

When I was a kid, in about 1977, I caught a couple of desert iguanas in the southern California desert. It took me months of trial and error to learn what they would eat in captivity (dandilion flowers). I simply had no way of getting any information at all about how to care for them. I found a "desert iguana care sheet" in about fifteen seconds using Google just now. I couldn't help smiling a little when you wrote about how "hard" it was to get information from Tonmo.com because it didn't have any "central knowledge". Cowboy up kid! (And stay off of my lawn!)

 

I guess it's time for me to apply for my crotchety old man card.

Link to comment
AquaticEngineer

All of what C-Rad says is the truth, I just went through most of that info on TONMO when I was setting up my coldwater octopus tank.

 

I couldn't help smiling a little when you wrote about how "hard" it was to get information from Tonmo.com because it didn't have any "central knowledge". Cowboy up kid! (And stay off of my lawn!)

 

I guess it's time for me to apply for my crotchety old man card.

 

I was just laughing about something similar the other day.

 

I couldn't remember something about my coldwater tanks so I googled it and found a response I had written about a year ago that answered my question. Guess I dont have to remember anything anymore since the internet does it for me, lol.

 

Only a couple more years and I can start shooting kids with my pellet gun from my porch.

Link to comment

I think I'm just going to go with a mercatoris, it's small, and fairly easy. For some reason I learn extremely differently than the norm, but tend to retain the information better.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...