Anyone ever think about housing a Cephalopod in their Macro setup?

[NinjaBum]

Seems like it could be an interesting animal to have in a macro environment. I'd imagine it would generate a good deal of nutrients through it's feeding habits.

 

Thoughts?

[keydiver]

Seems like it could be an interesting animal to have in a macro environment. I'd imagine it would generate a good deal of nutrients through it's feeding habits.

 

Thoughts?

It would be sweet. Not too long ago, somebody was selling a dwarf cuttlefish species, I was pretty tempted to try them out. The only problem is, cephlapods ahve a pretty short life cycle that ends once they breed.

[NinjaBum]

It would be sweet. Not too long ago, somebody was selling a dwarf cuttlefish species, I was pretty tempted to try them out. The only problem is, cephlapods ahve a pretty short life cycle that ends once they breed.

 

Yeah I noticed the lifespan after doing some research. Would stink to get attached to one and have it die in a year. They seem like very personable animals. I guess you could just get another after one passes, but it's still sad. It seems like lack of diffused O2 is the biggest problem with keeping them other than plugging up all your holes so they don't get out. It didn't seem like other than that they have hardiness issues from what I saw on the cephalapod forums unless I missed something. Seeing "Expert Only" in their description on Live Aquaria is offputting but I wonder if that's just because they need specialized tanks and some random new aquarist can't just toss one into their reef tank. I try to take LA's descriptions with a grain of salt cause I've kept a few corals that they said were "Difficult" and they grew like weeds. Reading up on their needs, I never thought to myself "Oh, I couldn't handle that."

[yoshii]

Actually I'm pretty sure they don't jump/crawl out

But I think the main reasons people don't keep them are 1)Short lifespan 2)eat other fish/inverts in the tank

[keydiver]

Yeah I noticed the lifespan after doing some research. Would stink to get attached to one and have it die in a year. They seem like very personable animals. I guess you could just get another after one passes, but it's still sad. It seems like lack of diffused O2 is the biggest problem with keeping them other than plugging up all your holes so they don't get out. It didn't seem like other than that they have hardiness issues from what I saw on the cephalapod forums unless I missed something. Seeing "Expert Only" in their description on Live Aquaria is offputting but I wonder if that's just because they need specialized tanks and some random new aquarist can't just toss one into their reef tank. I try to take LA's descriptions with a grain of salt cause I've kept a few corals that they said were "Difficult" and they grew like weeds. Reading up on their needs, I never thought to myself "Oh, I couldn't handle that."

 

Yeah, they would be very interested indeed. You can teach them stuff, so that would be awesome to have such an interactive aquatic invert. I am still very interested in trying a dwarf cuttlefish species or small octopus at one point, but i'm kind of scared to pul the trigger. I definitely would read up on them as much as possible if you are interested.

[RESONANCE]

There's a guy on this forum who currently has a dwarf octopus and has kept various cuttlefish before. I don't remember his name- oh never mind looked it up for you folks: Andrewkw. I don't know if he's shared his cephalopd experiences here, but on canadian forums he's posted pics and stuff.

 

Anyways, one of the main reasons not many people keep them is due to their very short natural life spans. Depending if you're able to keep them in optimal health, both cuttlefish and octopi only live up to 1 year max. Also, they have special dietary needs which turn alot of other people off.

[Rabidgerbil38]

I seriously considered it when I saw THIS. But I dont have the funds to create a dedicated tank at the moment..

[rockhead01]

I think Inklet, my 7 month old bimac o'pus, would really enjoy a macro set up. It would be really neat to see how she changes texture and color with the macros. She lives only with live rock now and to watch her change is amazing. I've seen her change from black, to blue, to white, to green, even get spiky or have yellow polka dots! She is a lot of work but soo worth the effort!

[cadre]

I recently finished cycling my 85g with the intent of making it a macro dominated ceph tank. The issues are that octopuses don't live long, they often need live foods when they arrive and they often arrive very close to death. And yes, the do get out of tanks so you have to secure things. The only bone in their body is the beak so they can fit through tiny gaps. (Cuttlefish will not leave your aquariums so they are something to consider.) Also dwarf species of octopuses are usually very nocturnal so if you're thinking about putting one in a nano you should be prepared to see it very little.