20 gal octo???????????????????????????????????????

fish boy2 · 09/01/2002, 08:31 AM

i have a 20 gal what octos ca i keep in it

The Unit · 09/01/2002, 10:37 AM

i was thinking the same think ...and found that their are smaller octos but they are 1] nocturnal and 2] hard to get ahold of if thats what your are looking for...most will tell u to get atleast a 30 and get a baby bimac.....

fish boy2 · 09/01/2002, 12:53 PM

what about pygmy

The Unit · 09/01/2002, 08:08 PM

yes that is a small octo but from what i understand u wnt see it much untill night time.....i am not a 100% sure so if im wrong someone please correct me........

fish boy2 · 09/01/2002, 08:18 PM

what is the minumun tank size for one

The Unit · 09/01/2002, 08:25 PM

i think we have to think of this in a different way.......its not "how smal of a space can i keep it in"....its...."how big of a place can i give it to live in"...and if its not a 30 than u might want to rethink the hobby......u could do a wonderful reef in a 20 or niceFOWLR...but i just dont feel an octo should be kept in one...JMO....wait a few more months and save up for atleast a 30 and get a bimac...both u and the bimac will be so much better off....also in this time u can read up on them and educate yourself better...[not to say u dont know what u are doing but their is always room for imrovment]
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Gonodactylus · 09/01/2002, 10:55 PM

Not all pygmies are nocturnal, but the common ones that we study (O. bocki, O. wolfi, O. mercatorus, O. joubini) are. Of these, the only one that really never shows itself is O. bocki. Most of our research animals are kept in 10 gal tanks, although I have had good luck with even 2 gal systems using a Fluval 203 with carbon and crushed coral. To prevent escape, I generally make my own tanks. The top is the same height all the way around so that I can lay a piece of glass on top (with a weight)to effectively seal it. I use a diamond drill to cut two 5/8" holes about an inch below the top in one side of the tank. I then insert a two inch piece of tubing into each hole and push in a connector from each side. This expands the tubing and makes a tight seal. These are the water intake and outtake ports. ALso, the water intake is fitted with a piece of sponge to prevent the octopus from entering the pump. We often feed small live food such as brine shrimp, small crabs and amphipods and this keeps them in the tank as well.) I have never had an escape by a pygmy using this system (unless someone did not properly put the lid on the tank).

One cautionary note, however. We use artifical seawater and always have at least a couple of hundred gallons on hand. If we suspect any problems or see some bad chemistry, we can immediately conduct a partial or even complete water change. These are the same systems that we use to keep our Hapalochlaena lunulata, although I am certainly NOT recommending that anyone try to keep them.

Our minimalist approach actually works well for maintaining small species. We typically provide about an inch of sand and only two shells or pvc elbows for the animals to live in. This allows them to change dens frequently, but we can always find them. A few large snails are added to keep down any algae that developes. Nothing but standard room lighting is used and in fact we usually keep the lighting fairly dim. Food is removed immediately if it is not taken and any surplus is removed within a couple of hours.

Roy

The Unit · 09/02/2002, 09:23 AM

their it is..i knew their was some better info for ya......

joshsaul · 09/30/2002, 01:40 PM

I am planning on keeping an octopus in a 7 gallon nano. The tank will be stocked with about an inch of live sand and s few pounds of live rock for hiding places.

Can anyone tell me what kind of octopus I can keep in this size tank? Any special care instructions?

Also, can you do a near complete water change with an octopus? I wouldn't even try to do more than 25% with my reef tank.

SushiGirl · 09/30/2002, 01:58 PM

Bear in mind that any pygmy octo species you may manage to get your hands on could quite possibly be full grown and not live long at all. Octos have a short lifespan as it is, and if you get a full grown pygmy you may only get a month or two out of it before it dies.

IMO, a 7 gallon is too small even for a pygmy octo in a home aquarium. As Gonodactylus said, they have gallons and gallons of water on hand at all times to be able to keep pygmys in 10 gallon tanks in a lab environment.

Siddroww · 09/30/2002, 02:07 PM

I have heard that octos have short life spans , like 2 years right ? Are there any that live longer ? Vulgarus or maybe a Bali ? Also would a 45g be big enough for vulgarus ?

Rudiger · 09/30/2002, 03:16 PM

I kept a pygmy octopus. I believe it was O. mercatorus. It was strictly nocturnal and I was only able to watch it after the tank and room lights turned off. While a small tank may suffice for research, keeping an octopus as a pet in a small tank is not a good idea. You want to be able to enjoy watching your octopus play and hunt, not sit in its cave. Also SushiGirl is right, any pygmy you recieve will most likely be wild caught and already be an adult as a baby pygmy would be too small for traders to catch/find. The mercatorus I kept only lived 3 months in my tank. She laid eggs and Chris (cephalopoder) is keeping one of the hatched babies. Id suggest waiting and getting a larger tank and a O. bimaculoides.

Gonodactylus · 09/30/2002, 03:40 PM

We have very little information on life span in most octopus. I've kept more than a dozen species of tropical pygmy octopus and have yet to find one that lived more than several months. Most were collected as adults and they usually reproduced in less than three months.

The one exception, and I hate to even bring it up for fear of setting off another fruitless search, was O. chierchiae. I had adult females that lived for a year and reproduced up to 4 times.

Also, it is clear that some of the deep/cold water pygmies live much longer.

Roy

goodman770 · 10/01/2002, 12:00 PM

DO NOT KEEP AN OCTO IN A 7 GALLON TANK!!! In addition, not all Octos can take the temp that you would need for a nano reef.
Please do a search on the minimums of Octo's in past forums, particularly the bimac. I just got mine out of a 30 because I thought it was just too small. These creatures are very intelligent and produce a lot of waste compared to fish or corals (which produce none). A cramped space is just not a good idea. I agree with The Unit, don't think of how small can I get by when considering the size of your tank for these creatures.
It's a fairly big commitment to have a 30 or 40 gallon tank just for one creature. However, trust me when I tell you this...it's worth it.
Bill

Gonodactylus · 10/01/2002, 12:35 PM

All things are relative. My O. bocki are in 2 and 5 gal tanks (each running with a Fluval 204) and do not seem at all stressed. This is probably because in the field they usually live in a piece of coral rubble that they almost never leave. This is their entire world. Also, the filtration is adequate to handle even entire uneaten meals.

I would agree that once you leave the realm of pygmies, you need a lot of volume and water treatment capability. However, if you want to watch a football sized piece of live rock with an occasional arm tip poking out of it, pygmies such as O. bocki and O. wolfi can do well in small systems.

Roy

SlavicSavage · 10/20/2002, 09:40 PM

What species is a blue ring octopus?

Gonodactylus · 10/20/2002, 10:27 PM

There are currently four described species, all in the genus Hapalochlaena. H. lunulata, commonly imported from Indonesia, is the one most commonly encountered in the aquarium trade. H. maculosa and H. fasciata are both temporate water species from Austrailia and are rarely exported. I do not recommend keep any of them, first because they are potentially lethal, and second, because they are short lived and not very hardy.

Roy

SlavicSavage · 10/21/2002, 02:30 AM

ahh a friend of mine recently purchased either H. maculosa or H. fasciata it is quite beautiful

09/01/2002, 08:31 AM	#1
fish boy2 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 67	20 gal octo??????????????????????????????????????? i have a 20 gal what octos ca i keep in it

09/30/2002, 01:58 PM	#10
SushiGirl Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Fort Worth, TX USA Posts: 8,267	Bear in mind that any pygmy octo species you may manage to get your hands on could quite possibly be full grown and not live long at all. Octos have a short lifespan as it is, and if you get a full grown pygmy you may only get a month or two out of it before it dies. IMO, a 7 gallon is too small even for a pygmy octo in a home aquarium. As Gonodactylus said, they have gallons and gallons of water on hand at all times to be able to keep pygmys in 10 gallon tanks in a lab environment. __________________ Visit my Homepage or "My Albums" (via Profile) for hitchhiker pics. Current Tank Info: 55g softy/LPS tank & 20L reef tank

09/30/2002, 02:07 PM	#11
Siddroww Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: the state of intoxication Posts: 701	I have heard that octos have short life spans , like 2 years right ? Are there any that live longer ? Vulgarus or maybe a Bali ? Also would a 45g be big enough for vulgarus ? __________________ When I started reading about the evils of alcohol I quit reading . Current Tank Info: 150g Reef - 65g Reef - working on 400g basement propogation setup

09/30/2002, 03:16 PM	#12
Rudiger Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NY Posts: 355	I kept a pygmy octopus. I believe it was O. mercatorus. It was strictly nocturnal and I was only able to watch it after the tank and room lights turned off. While a small tank may suffice for research, keeping an octopus as a pet in a small tank is not a good idea. You want to be able to enjoy watching your octopus play and hunt, not sit in its cave. Also SushiGirl is right, any pygmy you recieve will most likely be wild caught and already be an adult as a baby pygmy would be too small for traders to catch/find. The mercatorus I kept only lived 3 months in my tank. She laid eggs and Chris (cephalopoder) is keeping one of the hatched babies. Id suggest waiting and getting a larger tank and a O. bimaculoides. __________________ Homer: "Lets just plop them in front of the TV. I was raised in front of the TV and I turned out TV." current tank: www.rpi.edu/~marioj/galleries/tank octopus tank: http://www.rpi.edu/~marioj/octopus Current Tank Info: 55 gallon w/ sump and fuge

10/01/2002, 12:00 PM	#14
goodman770 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 324	DO NOT KEEP AN OCTO IN A 7 GALLON TANK!!! In addition, not all Octos can take the temp that you would need for a nano reef. Please do a search on the minimums of Octo's in past forums, particularly the bimac. I just got mine out of a 30 because I thought it was just too small. These creatures are very intelligent and produce a lot of waste compared to fish or corals (which produce none). A cramped space is just not a good idea. I agree with The Unit, don't think of how small can I get by when considering the size of your tank for these creatures. It's a fairly big commitment to have a 30 or 40 gallon tank just for one creature. However, trust me when I tell you this...it's worth it. Bill __________________ 60 Rimless, Hydra 26, eshopps sump, color box heads, Sicci return pump. Current Tank Info: 60 Rimless Reef

09/01/2002, 10:37 AM	#2
The Unit Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Philadelphia/South Jersey Posts: 1,057	i was thinking the same think ...and found that their are smaller octos but they are 1] nocturnal and 2] hard to get ahold of if thats what your are looking for...most will tell u to get atleast a 30 and get a baby bimac.....

09/01/2002, 12:53 PM	#3
fish boy2 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 67	what about pygmy

09/01/2002, 08:08 PM	#4
The Unit Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Philadelphia/South Jersey Posts: 1,057	yes that is a small octo but from what i understand u wnt see it much untill night time.....i am not a 100% sure so if im wrong someone please correct me........

09/01/2002, 08:18 PM	#5
fish boy2 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 67	what is the minumun tank size for one

09/01/2002, 08:25 PM	#6
The Unit Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Philadelphia/South Jersey Posts: 1,057	i think we have to think of this in a different way.......its not "how smal of a space can i keep it in"....its...."how big of a place can i give it to live in"...and if its not a 30 than u might want to rethink the hobby......u could do a wonderful reef in a 20 or niceFOWLR...but i just dont feel an octo should be kept in one...JMO....wait a few more months and save up for atleast a 30 and get a bimac...both u and the bimac will be so much better off....also in this time u can read up on them and educate yourself better...[not to say u dont know what u are doing but their is always room for imrovment] [ ] [ ] \/

09/01/2002, 10:55 PM	#7
Gonodactylus Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Berkeley, CA, USA Posts: 5,024	Not all pygmies are nocturnal, but the common ones that we study (O. bocki, O. wolfi, O. mercatorus, O. joubini) are. Of these, the only one that really never shows itself is O. bocki. Most of our research animals are kept in 10 gal tanks, although I have had good luck with even 2 gal systems using a Fluval 203 with carbon and crushed coral. To prevent escape, I generally make my own tanks. The top is the same height all the way around so that I can lay a piece of glass on top (with a weight)to effectively seal it. I use a diamond drill to cut two 5/8" holes about an inch below the top in one side of the tank. I then insert a two inch piece of tubing into each hole and push in a connector from each side. This expands the tubing and makes a tight seal. These are the water intake and outtake ports. ALso, the water intake is fitted with a piece of sponge to prevent the octopus from entering the pump. We often feed small live food such as brine shrimp, small crabs and amphipods and this keeps them in the tank as well.) I have never had an escape by a pygmy using this system (unless someone did not properly put the lid on the tank). One cautionary note, however. We use artifical seawater and always have at least a couple of hundred gallons on hand. If we suspect any problems or see some bad chemistry, we can immediately conduct a partial or even complete water change. These are the same systems that we use to keep our Hapalochlaena lunulata, although I am certainly NOT recommending that anyone try to keep them. Our minimalist approach actually works well for maintaining small species. We typically provide about an inch of sand and only two shells or pvc elbows for the animals to live in. This allows them to change dens frequently, but we can always find them. A few large snails are added to keep down any algae that developes. Nothing but standard room lighting is used and in fact we usually keep the lighting fairly dim. Food is removed immediately if it is not taken and any surplus is removed within a couple of hours. Roy

09/02/2002, 09:23 AM	#8
The Unit Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Philadelphia/South Jersey Posts: 1,057	their it is..i knew their was some better info for ya......

09/30/2002, 01:40 PM	#9
joshsaul Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: New York Posts: 106	I am planning on keeping an octopus in a 7 gallon nano. The tank will be stocked with about an inch of live sand and s few pounds of live rock for hiding places. Can anyone tell me what kind of octopus I can keep in this size tank? Any special care instructions? Also, can you do a near complete water change with an octopus? I wouldn't even try to do more than 25% with my reef tank.

09/30/2002, 03:40 PM	#13
Gonodactylus Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Berkeley, CA, USA Posts: 5,024	We have very little information on life span in most octopus. I've kept more than a dozen species of tropical pygmy octopus and have yet to find one that lived more than several months. Most were collected as adults and they usually reproduced in less than three months. The one exception, and I hate to even bring it up for fear of setting off another fruitless search, was O. chierchiae. I had adult females that lived for a year and reproduced up to 4 times. Also, it is clear that some of the deep/cold water pygmies live much longer. Roy

10/01/2002, 12:35 PM	#15
Gonodactylus Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Berkeley, CA, USA Posts: 5,024	All things are relative. My O. bocki are in 2 and 5 gal tanks (each running with a Fluval 204) and do not seem at all stressed. This is probably because in the field they usually live in a piece of coral rubble that they almost never leave. This is their entire world. Also, the filtration is adequate to handle even entire uneaten meals. I would agree that once you leave the realm of pygmies, you need a lot of volume and water treatment capability. However, if you want to watch a football sized piece of live rock with an occasional arm tip poking out of it, pygmies such as O. bocki and O. wolfi can do well in small systems. Roy

10/20/2002, 09:40 PM	#16
SlavicSavage Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 268	Blue Ring What species is a blue ring octopus?

10/20/2002, 10:27 PM	#17
Gonodactylus Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Berkeley, CA, USA Posts: 5,024	There are currently four described species, all in the genus Hapalochlaena. H. lunulata, commonly imported from Indonesia, is the one most commonly encountered in the aquarium trade. H. maculosa and H. fasciata are both temporate water species from Austrailia and are rarely exported. I do not recommend keep any of them, first because they are potentially lethal, and second, because they are short lived and not very hardy. Roy

10/21/2002, 02:30 AM	#18
SlavicSavage Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 268	ahh a friend of mine recently purchased either H. maculosa or H. fasciata it is quite beautiful