New Octo Questions

[Wakeaholic]

I have had my tank now for a little over a month and the whole reason I got a tank in the first place is so that I can house an octo. I will probably make the investment in about 2-3 months, probably in July. I just had a few questions:

1. Right now I have a clownfish and will probably get one more, I know octos are quite the predatory creatures and I am willing to give up my clowns (I already have someone waiting). I was just wondering if they really do tend to eat fish such as clowns and how many of you have experience with this.

2. What temperature should I keep my tank at? I live in Florida so it get's pretty warm but my house is usually at around 76. Is this ok or will I have to invest in some sort of ventilation or cooling apparatus.

3. What kind of canopy/cover should I get? I was thinking of getting a bimac since I've heard they are the easiest to care for and most obtainable. Oh yeah, my tank is a 40g breeder with triple strip t-8's (might also help in the temp. question) just sitting on top of the open tank.

4. Is my time frame ok? So far my tank is very matured for it's age but I want to make sure everything is perfect when it comes time for my octo.

That's it for now. Thanks!

 

[sideways]

Any slow moving fish or fish that like to hover in one place (like clowns) will be a target. They will eventually be eaten. My bimac is in a 30 gallon, it heats up real quick on a warm day here in North Carolina. The water would stay a few degrees warmer than the air in the room. With a powerhead and a skimmer in the tank, it stays warmer without a heater than my other tank with a heater does! I was fighting to keep it below 79. I have a cheap plastic and glass top on it. I cut out the inside of the plastic flip top and screened it in with mosquito netting to let it breathe. Then I bought a little five dollar fan from walmart to sit on top facing down. Even with the fan blowing on low, it cools the tank to 71 or lower. It's a cheap way to keep your bimac from suffering. And although she has places where she could escape if she wanted, she has yet to try it. I know about the three month rule but my water parameters were staying perfect for a while so I got the bimac after the tank was up 2 months. She's doing fine.

 

[cephalopoder]

I always recommend a tank age for at least 3 months. More time is always better. If you get a octopus that is small, your bio load will adjust as it grows.
Should you ad a large octopus to your tank, you then risk a sudden overload. Octopuses put out a lot of waste! Here is a example.
I have quite a few tanks gong and some ready to be set up. They all use a deep sand bed and good skimmers and live rock some how.. A 30 gallon I have has been set up for a few years and can handle a huge bio load. Yet I had no problem breeding two full grown bimacs in it for a week. The male breeder was very tiny when I got it. I had it for 9 months roughy before I mated it with a large female. The whole tank system has adjusted to a large bio load over the years.
After a week together, I droped the large male off to a LFS. They put it in a 55gallon cold water that had been set up for a year. It had no sand bed, some smooth rocks and a tide pool system. They had been keeping a rock cod, some atlantic hermits and starfish no problem.
After 3 days in the system with the new octopus the bio load shot though the roof and and started to take its toll. I walked into the store and saw the octopus acting very funny. Flashing color rapidly and acting very jittery.
I had the manager test the water and levels of ammonia were crazy. He wound up having to do 50% water changes for about 3 or days till it started to build up a larger bacteria count. Fritz Zyme was added and helped speed up things greatly. Aging a aquarium and seting it up properly are very important.
I would get rid of the clown fish before you ad your octopus. Octopuses are a species only set up and tank mates should be limited. Fish can peck at a young octopuses eyes. It can be a cause of stress. A full grown octopus will look at them a food if they can catch them. So either way, fish should be avoided. Starfish, urchins, cucumbers..ok for the most part. Octopuses are curious so any thing can happen.
You live in florida so you could go with a local species.
Briareus are common and so are pygmies. These species do fine around 80f but are prone to escape so you need to seal your tank well. Bimacs are fine up to about 78 but will grow faster and have shorter lives.
A fan over the top of a bimac tank helps keep temp down. Bimacs are not prone to escape.
Hope this helps.
Good luck!
chris

 

[Wakeaholic]

Thanks for the info guys! I'll save these posts and use them when I finally get my octo. I think I'm going to get a bimac given they seem to be the most commonly kept and easiest to keep, I think I can take care of the temp problem via a few computer fans I have laying around. I actually thought of a couple more questions, sorry:

My sand bed is about 2-3" right now and I was going to slowly add another inch over the next month. Will this be deep enough?

Also, I'll be moving in a few months, about the time I would want to get an octopus, should I wait till after I move so as not to stress him out too much?

Thanks!