Bimacs Bimacs Bimacs

[Iwantacephalopod]

Hello, I have a couple of questions concerning bimac octos. I have read many posts. I think all of them now and I see that mr. cephalopoder has a crap load of knowlodge and octomonkey to. I see you guys say that bimacs rock and junk like that. I was curious to know how long you had one live? Did you get personal with it,ie..feed it with hands and it touched you with tentacles?
Any big problems with a bimac?
Any tips work and thank you very much
Best regards and Good luck with anyone ordering cuttle fish. I keep reading about someones order kept on dying or something like that.
anyhow good bye,
Mr. tonberry:smokin:

 

[cephalopoder]

Thanks for the compliment Mr Tonberry:smokin:
A bimac will live up to 14 months. On average, they live about 9. This is do to the size they are when they are collected. Most collectors seem to get them when their all ready a few months old. Its hard for a collector to find them when their smaller and younger. As far as interaction goes. I interact will all my octos. Most are very curious about you , just as you are of them. They are very human like in some ways. They will all take food from your fingers, grab you try and pull you in the tank... Bimacs have the best personality and are very hardy. If you get a octo, always ask for a small one. They will generally be younger and live longer. Just make sure your tank is ready months in advance, and you should be ok if you have done your reading and know what the tank needs.
-chris

 

[OctoMonkey]

Hi,
Personally I think that the whole interaction thing is the best bit of keeping cephs. They are strong though like Chris says. There is a pic of one on my hand if you click the webpage button.....

A bimac is on my shopping list for next month... I am going to do a personal visit though, I want to pick my own this time. They have about 30 in stock and are not really sure which species they are. I might get lucky with cyanea or something!!!

Colin

 

[cephalopoder]

Sure Colin, make me want to move to scotland:sad1:I only wish I had a place I could hand pick a cyanea from a selection of 30 octos. Life must be tuff over there :frog:

 

[Iwantacephalopod]

Whoa ok this sounds cool about Bimacs. I think I can keep one in a 30 gal tank I presume right, cause cephalopoder said somethingin another post that you could keep bimacs in one such of that size. How much lighting would one need to keep an octo in a 30 gal. Do they do well with standard lighting for a reef tank or do I need to lower levels because these creatures are nocturnal.
one last question. How big does the average bimac get and would it be a good idea to give the bimac play toys, such as a hanging thermometer, because I heard that they like to fiddle around with objects kinda of like a child.
OK thanks a bunch,
Devon

 

[OctoMonkey]

Hi
In the tank where I have a female briareus and brood i have no lights, just ambient room lights. In the other octo tank i only switch on a light (30watt coralife 10000k) when i am looking at or feeding the octos.
My cuttlefish tank is part reef so the corals and anemones need proper reef light which i do with a ufo complet unit which includes a 30 watt actinic for 12 hours, 2 halogens 100watt each for sunrise/ sunset and 2 150 watt metal halides for 8 hours.

Octos dont rely on any particular lighting requirements so long as its not too bright...

I wouldnt give a floating thermometer as a toy as that is likely to get get broken. Some people use corks or plastic toys, but just having small stones and shells and moveable small bits like that would do. Supposing the toys are saltwater safe of course.

Check out the picture of "The Beast" at Tonmo.com its chris' bimac in the photo gallery.

Colin

 

[schmunkel98]

Hey Iwantacephalopod,

I'm the guy who has had a lot of trouble getting cuttlefish. I also had two very small octos previously, and let me advise you to make sure your tank is well seasoned and prepared before you get an octopus. I should have taken the advice of the people here and waited longer than just a month before I got my octos. I would advise at least two months, but the more seasoned your tank is the better. When it comes to good tank preparation, I would make sure there is nothing else in the tank except the octopus when it arrives. I had snails and crabs and even damsles in the tank and this was a mistake. I never saw my octopuses because they could just feed whenever they wanted with all the food around. Also, I'm pretty sure the damsels scared the octos into hiding and maybe even killed them. Basically, your tank is going to be a single critter tank if you want your cotopus to do well. I'm still trying to get some cuttlefish for my tank, but if that falls through then I am going to go back to an octopus. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions, since I was the new guy around here a little while ago.

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com

 

[Iwantacephalopod]

Ok folks. I am glad that everyone is helping me and this is obviously really cool and I am happy. I am going to dedicate a species tank and with mr. octy, can I keep the following species
Knobby pink cuke and a few brittle stars...
and since ocots like it with more low light as I hear they dont have High lighting needs, what is a good coral or polyp or something that goes well with mr. Octopod. I am curious because I dont want a super dull acquarium...all though the octo will be beautiful the surroundings will be somewhat dull without something to spruce it up in my opinion.
:blown: :bum:
Thanks a bunch guys and once again..."yay for cephalopods...alot of people criticize the keeping of them on saltwaterfishy.com...lets prove em wrong."
Ok doky,
C ya later folks..PS. what size of a PVC elbow pipe shoudl I toss in the tank for a den?

 

[OctoMonkey]

Hi, no problem re- the help!

I am keeping common britle stars with octos just now and I am keeping an Australian purple Sea apple/cucumber with the cuttlefish- no problems so far. The cuttles sometimes sit on the cuke like a perch near the surface of the water.

The problem with sessile inverts and octos is that they like to "decorate" their own homes and their choice of where to put that expensive bit of coral will not be what you had in mind! Live rock with healthy coraline algae can look okay, A settled in octo is never dull when you go near the tank! Perhaps you could try those bubble opperated divers or a treasure chest? only kidding lol

For a body size of about 2-3cm i use 3/4" pipe. For a body about 2-3 " i use about 3" diameter pipe for caves

Sometimes the same people who criticise keeping cephs are the same people who try to keep dragonetes, large anemones, sea horses and many other fish and inverts that are much harder to keep than cephs!

Colin

 

[Iwantacephalopod]

Wow your keeping a sea apple with a cuttle fish. If I could pull something like that off I would be happy to lol!. I would just be worried if the apple died and killed the tank..how often do those die.. I never got one before because I heard they were a hassle whenthey die = (.. Anyhow your cuttle is prolly saying What the hek is that?..Looks kinda confused but I will admit cuttlefish are really cute and the babie cuttles I have seen on other sites are cute to. Are they as intelligent as Octopuses? They seem to be playful judging by your videos and junk like that. O h well..more tips are needed I guess,
Good job on the cute cuttley fishy

 

[OctoMonkey]

Cheers Devon

i think that the secret to keeping cukes is the feeding. Most people stick them in a reef tank which is virtually nutrient free with uv sterilisers and no good food for them.
This sea apple catches lots of food that is too small for the cuttles, like scales off fish and bits of prawn, it feeds just fine, it is very obvious to see it feed on free floating bits that the cuttles spit out. Cuttles are damn messy!

The sea apple has been in there for about 6 months and has easily doubled in size. You should see it move those tentacles when a cuttle decides to sit on it while eating something!

As intelligent?????? probably about thesame but my cuttles are far more reactive to external stimuli than the octos, more awake through the day perhaps?????

 

[Iwantacephalopod]

Speaking of intelligence colin, I read that fascinating article on Ceph page about the octos doing 3d mazes. I was just reading a forum on mantis shrimp and someone was saying that octopus arent as smart as mantis shrimp. ya thats funny..hah... So true..lots of mantis negotiating mazes.. I have nothing against mantis but octos own when it comes to intelligence. These are probably the coolest pets one could own. I mean come on they change color...and are smart..but they dont live very long and that is in my eyes the only draw back..My question was..hey chris what is the longest date you had ever had a bimac..and do you have any funny anecdotes that you would like to share with us? I always find your posts very interesting.
Thanks guys for the previous help
I have been researching my tail off
bye bye and good luck,
Devon

 

[cephalopoder]

I currenty have two different species of mantis shrimp in species tanks. They are very smart animals. If I have to say whats smarter a octopus or a mantis... it's a tuff call. Octos are ultra cool though.
As far as bimac life span they average 9 months but can live up to 16 months. Short on time at the moment but I will write more when I can.
chris