new cb bimacs

[asch803]

i am going to get a pair or possibly three bimacs (tank raised from fish supply). the tank will be a 35 hex plumbed into my reef which is approx. 200 gallons and very stable, but the overflow (standard amiracle overflow)from the 35 hex to the rest of the reef will be tough to keep octo proof. .. Any suggestions? i know the bimacs are not as prone to escaping, but i do want to make it safe...i will get an attachment for the intake on my maxi jet power head and add a bubbler, which i know the octos like...What is the ideal temp for a bimac? i keep my reef at 75 degrees which i believe should be perfect... i'll have to add some live rock for hiding spots... the 35 hex currently has about 20 lbsof lr with alot of anthelia and zenia on them...if it gets destroyed, no biggie, but does it stand a chance? do octos like macroalgaes? btw, i had a few bimacs about 1 1/2 years ago - with minimal success...that was my first saltwater creature kept and i've learned alot since then - but i'm still learning all the time and making plenty of mistakes along the way...figure asking some questions and telling my plans, maybe people can help me avoid mistakes and create a nice home for the new octos...btw, Jack at fish supply said that there should be no problem with keeping more than one together...i'm leaning towards three and am also picking up a pair for my LFS which think the cb's are a great thing for octos...i know cb's are the only way to go in seahorse keeping (i have 8 cb h. erectus horses)...any thoughts?

Thanks!

Andy

 

[OctoMonkey]

One immediate problem is that the tank is only a 35 hex... i asume that means 35 US gallons?

that will be too small for three by miles and possibly cramped for just one when it is big.

It is true that they can be kept together but in such a small tank you would be pushing it. They will all need a territory large enough to suit them and that's not possible in a 35gal tank, no matter how much LR is in it.

Its a good idea and certainly it needs to be tried but I'd be converting the 35 for reef and the 200gal for octos!

PS octos are fine with caulerpa

 

[asch803]

when they get bigger...

when they get bigger...

well actually, that was my thought exactly...my thinking was to put he 3 bimacs in the 35 gal (US Gallons) for about 4 or 5 months and then assuming all 3 are growing and doing well, move them either to my 120 or a 75. Do you think 3 would be cramped in the 35 for 3 or 4 months if they start at about 2 1/2 - 3 months of age? If so, i will start with only 2, but I thought they'd be small enough and i'd love to see the interaction between 3 as long as there wouldn't be any territorial fights between siblings...i figured caulerpa would be ok, but what about anthelia and/or xenia?

Thanks!

Andy

 

[OctoMonkey]

Andy, also on re reading the posts the temp in your reef tank may be on the high side for a bimac??? What's it at?

You'll only be able to tell when you see how big the bimacs are, but note that unless you get them as CB babies and very small they will outgrow a 35 quickstyle.

There was a thread quite recently on TONMO.com where two bimacs were kept together.. it wasn't long before one ate the other.

I am actually very interested to try this myself but not until i have another space for a tank, and I think i'd start three in a 100 gal at least.

I have kept cephs (sepia) together before and eventually someone does eat someone else, no matter how friendly they look, it can all turn in seconds!

Dunno about Xenia, may be okay when they are small but certainly a larger octo will rearrange rocks! Also ideal bimac temp may be too low for Xenia et al.

Cheers and good luck
C

 

[asch803]

temperature

temperature

the temp in my reef is consistently at 75 degrees...although it's probably low for a reef, it helps me to control red slime algae which i had an outbreak of a while back....the bimacs i am going to get a cb 2 1/2 to 3 month old babies...they are together now, so Jack at Fish Supply felt they would continue to be ok...He said it's completely different than trying to put 2 wild caughts together...I will keep you posted on that one...right now i have a few power heads in the 35 gal tank and wonder if they are ok with the ocotos? I like to keep that water moving to help keep the red slime away - i'm planning to put pre-filter sponges on the intakes of the MJ900 power heads to keep the octo from getting caught in there...still trying to figure out how to keep the octos out of the overflow - thinking about using something like a stocking held on with a rubber band...suggestions?

 

[XxAngelzDustxX]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned anywhere but if one of them was to ink, wouldn't it have an effect on your reef?

Just a though..

 

[asch803]

ink

ink

if one were to ink, i would think there would be little or no effect on the reef or fish/inverts in the reef or for that matter the octos, since the total system is approx. 200 gallons and is VERY stable...i would imagine that the ink would dissipate into the water and not be an issue...i would draw a comparison to the fact that when a fish dies in a 20 gal tank, it can adversely affect the whole tank, whereas when a fish dies in my reef, there is no effect and the cleanup crew and various fishes will simply eat the dead fish...or maybe i'm completely wrong....

 

[OctoMonkey]

The ink is actually a very good point.

In my experience, if one ceph inks in a tank then it will sometimes spook the rest into inking too... not so bad with 2" babies but if you have 3 adults it will leave some amount of mess, especially when you are planning on keeping the bimac at the higher end of its preffered temp. A warm ceph is more prone to inking.

Ceph ink starts off being very viscus after ejection. So it sticks to corals and stuff and often needs blown off. The only sure way to remove it is to move it off and water change and always have a good quality skimmer working. Carbon is also recomended.

the ink itself is not poisonous but coats the gills of fish and other cephs and they may die of asphyxiation

 

[asch803]

temp?

temp?

OctoMonkey, you said i'll be keeping the Bimacs at the high end of the temp they like...I'll be keeping them @ 75 and the temperature will actually go down to about 73 or 74 degrees since the light i currently have over the 35 hex is a 250 hqi and that will no longer be used, thus helping keep the water in the entire system at a cooler temp. What is the IDEAL temp for bimacs?

Thanks!

Andy

 

[OctoMonkey]

I would aim for about mid to high 60s.

By doing that the octopus will live a lot longer than it would in the 70s. I had a bimac in the low sixities last winter and can't say that I even noticed that much of a slow down in behaviour.

Also, colder water contains more oxygen than warmer water and this is something of a concern for an octopus in warm water. As they have three hearts they have almost three times the O2 requirement of an animal with a similar biomass so always require clean well aerated water. Its easier at a lower temp and as a pet they live longer.

remember that bimaculoides are not tropical but from the West Coast of the USA

 

[asch803]

new bimacs

new bimacs

well i received 3, 3 month old bimacs from fishsupply on wednesday...they were pretty small and before i could think twice about placing all 3 of them into the "giant" 35 gallon tank, i acclimated them and let them go...I haven't seen all 3 at the same time since...it's also tough (impossible) to tell them apart since they're constantly changing color and shape...there is approx 30 - 40 lbs of live rock for them to hide in and blend into...they do seem ok when i see them, so i'm thinking they're all ok...one inked the day i get them, but it was a tiny amount and seemed to cause no problems at all...oh yeah, one last thing, i thought i had gotten all of the fish out a few days before the arrival of the octos, well apparently not...there is a pretty big watchman gobie who appeared the night i got the octos...well i'm now trying to trap him...although i'm wondering if i should since it seems like he (the gobie) and one of the bimacs are sharing a nest...it's where the goby was hiding and now they seem to be buddies and are sharing nicely...they sit less than an inch apart and "hang-out"....my guess is once the octo is big enough to eat mr goby he will...or one of the other octos will...so far no fighting between octos, but also no interaction at all noted....Yesterday I added a "wall of bubbles" operated with a little pump to add oxygen to the water - i read the octos really appreciate the extra oxygen...I know seahorses DO NOT like the bubbles, but i believe the Octos do...all thoughts are welcome...

Thanks!

Andy