Thoughts on an octopus tank

[Thrawn]

Guys, I did not make this thread so people can argue about who knows more. Please, could we keep a little more on the friendly side?

a 90 gallon tank is WAY TOO BIG for an octopus, you'd NEVER see him in there

Would a 90 gallon would be two big for a bimac? The care sheets I've read have all mostly said a 55 or bigger.

Hopefuly Thrawn doesn't get discouraged before there is even water in his tank.

Luckily it already has water and a couple fish in it :biggrin:

 

[Darthv247]

what kind are you talking about? no octopus should be in anything under a 30 gallon tank regardless of size. i find it hard to believe you had long term success with one in such a tiny tank.

was a long time ago. may have been a 20 high. but it had a chiller and a 20g fuge. was at world of fish in Minneapolis. they have probably housed every single species of aquarium inhabitant at one point or another very succesfully.

 

[steven11]

It's all going to depend on how much rock you are going to put on there. I always like to YouTube videos of tanks to see what others have done. There are a few cool videos of octopus tanks.

 

[chelseagrin]

some octopi will get lost isnt a 90 but there are many that will grow too large for a 90. but many of these are very rare in captivity. you could most likely get away with a 25-30 gallon.

 

[estanoche]

Hi Thawn!

So glad you are asking now, and thinking about how to prepare yourself and your tank to best house your dream inhabitant We've all done it - from adding a deep sand bed to keep jawfish, wrasses, gobies - or larger tanks so we can keep the huge tangs and triggers!

On one of the questions you asked earlier - which I don't think was clarified - is on the 5 year old tank you have..... One thing to keep in mind is that every time you move a tank, take a rock out of the water, etc, something dies off, and a cycle restarts. A "mature tank" is one that has limited cycles... everytime you add a new fish, coral, rock your tank will cycle - so, when you even add your octo it will cycle! "Mature tanks" have a good, strong, biological filter that mitigates this cycle when it happens

I would think nitrate reduction and elimination (along with the keeping a tight lid on things and ensuring your octo doesn't go sump surfing) will be your biggest challenge - what kind of filtration do you have on your tank now? Do you have any plans or ideas for upgrades? Benthic or cryptic zones could be a good solution to fight the nitrates the octo will produce from eating all that food.

I keep a dwarf angler - and I'm always trying to think of new ways to reduce nitrates in his little tank - as he doesn't eat any algae, the poop he creates it is quite a challenge to keep under control and he is just a 2" fish!

 

[estanoche]

some octopi will get lost isnt a 90 but there are many that will grow too large for a 90. but many of these are very rare in captivity. you could most likely get away with a 25-30 gallon.

@chelseagrin !! I would love to hear more about your octopus efforts! Have you started any threads here to tell us about them? Many people want to keep these beautiful creatures, and learning vicariously through your experiences is the best way or us all to learn how to do it without harming these wonderful creatures

 

[chelseagrin]

that is great advice, also keep in mind that when frightened they will ink. this is why such a massive filter is needed and you really need to have your tank in a well traveled area of the house so you will know fairly soon if he does ink. if its secluded in a bedroom and he inks it will have devestating affects in minutes if not seconds.

 

[chelseagrin]

Octopus bimaculoides (Bimac/Two-spot Octopus) Care Sheet

heres a great article about care for bimacs.

 

[Thrawn]

I would think nitrate reduction and elimination (along with the keeping a tight lid on things and ensuring your octo doesn't go sump surfing) will be your biggest challenge - what kind of filtration do you have on your tank now? Do you have any plans or ideas for upgrades? Benthic or cryptic zones could be a good solution to fight the nitrates the octo will produce from eating all that food.

Thanks for all the info! Currently, my filtration is a crummy little Fluval canister filter, but I will be building a sump and get it running long before I add anything to the tank. As far as benthic or cryptic zones, would you mind providing an example? I'm not sure what those are....

Octopus bimaculoides (Bimac/Two-spot Octopus) Care Sheet

heres a great article about care for bimacs.

Thanks for the article Chelsea, but I actually posted that exact one earlier in this thread.

 

[estanoche]

Hmmmm - here's some interesting reading regarding filtration and cycling which I think might get your wheels turning

Reef Frontiers - Cycling and recycling your tank

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f69/cryptic-zone-filtration-24849/

I'll try to find more too Steve Tyree pioneered the idea and published a book about his use of cryptic zones for natural filtration of a reef tank - looks like most of his research is published here on his website as well - DYNAMIC ECOMORPHOLOGY

 

[chelseagrin]

i have mostly kept octopi in the past, but right now i am working on keeping the mimic octopus, im setting up a normal 55 gallon tank right now. i have heard the mimic to be one of the hardest to keep and im up for the challenge.

 

[Thrawn]

Hmmmm - here's some interesting reading regarding filtration and cycling which I think might get your wheels turning

Reef Frontiers - Cycling and recycling your tank

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f69/cryptic-zone-filtration-24849/

I'll try to find more too Steve Tyree pioneered the idea and published a book about his use of cryptic zones for natural filtration of a reef tank - looks like most of his research is published here on his website as well - DYNAMIC ECOMORPHOLOGY

That was quite a read. Thanks for the info!

So, I'm kinda leaning more and more towards just doing the reef. Now my question is, how hard would it be to take a set up reef tank w/ sump and plumb another tank into the sump in the future? In case I wanna try the octopus sometime down the road could I just plumb another tank into the system?

 

[user 2204]

That was quite a read. Thanks for the info!

So, I'm kinda leaning more and more towards just doing the reef. Now my question is, how hard would it be to take a set up reef tank w/ sump and plumb another tank into the sump in the future? In case I wanna try the octopus sometime down the road could I just plumb another tank into the system?

I would say that it might not be the greatest idea to plumb an octopus tank in with a reef tank. I would think the octopus would eventually find its way into the sump and then work its way into the reef tank.

Personally I'd do two seperate systems. And good thinking on setting up a dedicated reef tank for now. Look forward to seeing some photos of your set up soon. :0)

Cheers,
Alex

 

[estanoche]

That was quite a read. Thanks for the info!

So, I'm kinda leaning more and more towards just doing the reef. Now my question is, how hard would it be to take a set up reef tank w/ sump and plumb another tank into the sump in the future? In case I wanna try the octopus sometime down the road could I just plumb another tank into the system?

i'd say all it would take is appropriate planning... if you octo-proofed every inlet and outlet, it "should" work... of course, with everything in this hobby, there are no definite answers

 

[chelseagrin]

yeah even a hole a half inch wide they can fit through, anything that their beak can fit through they can fit through.