Octo (bimac) and sandsifting starfish

asch803

New member
does anyone know how you can tell if and when the sandsifting starfish (or any starfish for that matter) is dead? The star has part of one arm (or is it leg?) missing...not sure if it was eaten or just from being unhealthy...I was going to remove it from the tank thinking it was dead but decided to give it one last chance and somehow it is now attached to the glass of the tank, sucking away...the tank is 35 gallons and i have 2 other stars and an anemone and lastly a BIMAC OCTOPUS. I don't think the octo did this, but i'm not positive. Up to this point (about a month), the octo hasn't been combative or destructive with his tank mates. All seem to peacefully coexist. Any advice is appreciated!
 
My octopus live with starfish and urchins. They dont seem to bother them at all. Even if the star bumps into them. They seem to be relatively safe scavengers in an octo tank
 
Octos and Anemones, or Octos and anything???

Octos and Anemones, or Octos and anything???

Octomonkey, after I posted the initial thread, my Octo must have attacked the Anemone....Atleast I think that's what happened...The anemone was doing very well until 2 mornings ago I woke up and saw him "closed up" and then when he finally did open up, it appears that several of his tentacles were chewed or missing...I wasn't sure that the anemone would work with the Octo and now I think I do have the answer....What sore of sea urchins do you have? Anything colorful? I'm looking to add a little color to my tank if that's at all possible...The starfish seem to be ok, except for the sandsifter losing its one arm (leg)...I have the sandsifter, a blue linckia (although it's not ALL blue like most blue lickias - but is blue black and a greyish color and beautiful), and a nice big serpent star which has been doing great so far. Any suggestions on other stars? I know the choclate chips can be trouble, but are there any which peacefully coexist with other stars and the Octo? Are youe Octos all in one tank or does each one have a tank? Thanks
 
i dont think that i would put anemones in an octo tank. I think that most die in an aquarium due to incorrect conditions. I.e lighting etc. plus they need clean water. Octos can be pretty dirty.
I would also be concerned about the anemone stinging the octo.
The anemones I have are just plain old common urchins. I never really see them. They are just part of the clean up crew. Obviously hermits wouldnt last too long here.

The 3 small octos share a tank, the big briareus has her own tank and the cuttlefish live in their own tank too. But all tanks are part of the same sytem. all flowing into the one big sump.

it is "arm" for starfish. The legs are under the arms.

Colin
 
Don't put Octos with Anemones!!!

Don't put Octos with Anemones!!!

Colin, you were right about the Octo and anemone...The Octo finished off the anemone 2 days ago and left the tank REALLY murky, but fortunately the water is cleared up now and the ph levels, etc. are all back to about where they should be. He does leave the starfish alone (so far)...What sort of urchins do you have that have been ok? I'm also wondering if I could put a few salt water plants in the tank just to liven things up. I used to have the fake ones in there and took them out since they looked kind of stupid. I'm also wondering if it is ok to just add a few more starfish to the tank. I wouldn't add another sandsifter or a choclate chip since both of those can cause some problems (atleast that's what I read)...I was thinking about possibly adding a blue or burgundy linckia or marble star or possibly a feather starfish. The tank is 35 gallons with a skimmer and a fluval 404 and about 25 lbs of liverock. What would you suggest? I also wonder if you know much about starfish? I currently have 1 sandsifter and one serpentstar, but the 3rd starfish i'm not sure about...They said it was a blue linckia, but they are ALL blue and this one is blue, black and a greyish pink...It's beautiful and has done really well, just not sure what it is...Thanks for your help and input.

Andy
 
Andy, sorry that happened the hard way! Still, live and learn :) it catches us all!

I made a typo with my last reply I meant to say "my urchin" not "my anemone" Too much festive drinking :)

I am not really all that clued up on starfish, the ones I have kept with octos were Pentaceraster mammiliatus and a common star called Asterias rubens. (Scottish) I think that almost all would be okay with an octo. People have problems with stars eating polyps and the like but octos should be okay.

The urchins I have are Echinus esculentus. they are collected locally from rock pools. I keep them at the top end of their temp. requirements but they are doing fine so far.

There are different species of Linckia, but thats about all I know on the subject. I am sure that other people on this site will be a better help with stars... hope that helped a bit
 
I have kept serpent, brittle and chocolate chip star fish and none have had any real problems with with my octos. My serpent star did loose a arm competing for the same piece of shrimp once:eek2:
I have kept cucumbers with some luck as well. My brown sand sifter has been switch back and forth between my octo tank and my mantis shrimp tank and it has not been bother by either. I did loose my pink filter feeding cucumber to my bimac. The bimac out of curiosity ripped it off the glass killing it out of shock ( and loss of suction feet) It did last for 6 months before curiosity killed the :confused:
chris
 
Ordering an Octo for School

Ordering an Octo for School

Chris, I am going to call FishSupply later today to see about getting an Octo for my classroom at school. I know that they typically have the Bimacs, but is it worth asking if they have any other species? Obviously, they're not just going to send me a mimic if they're that rare...The tank at school should be ready by after New Year's and the kids are really excited about it - some think it's gonna be gross...I also wonder how often they come missing legs and why? Mine is a HexOpus (6 legs) but is completely healthy and in a little less than a month since i've had him is getting more and more sociable. Should I ask for one with 8 legs - not always so easy to tell of course? Do you think it's a waste of time and money to get plants for the Octo tank??

Thanks!

Andy
 
Andy
Just tell Jack that Chris(the octopus guy) sent you. Tell him you want a nice small bimac with all its arms. It should,t be a problem. Bimacs would be best suited for a classroom. Plants are fine too in a tank. I keep a green turf algae that is perfect for a octo tank. Amphipods love to hide in it, it dosen't grow out of control and always grows in a nice tight ball for some reason. You could use calurpa too. The more natural looking the tank the more octo will feel at home. And as far a missing arms,they will grow back in a few months.My mimic came missing 3 arms and after 2 months you cant even tell.
 
HexOpus is growing 2 legs!

HexOpus is growing 2 legs!

Chris,

I tried FishSupply yesterday but i think they were closed...will try Monday or after New Year's...I'll let you know...Wanted to let you know that I noticed 2 little legs on my HexOpus...I can see little tentacles in each spot where the leg should be and as you said, hopefully within a few months they should be all the way back...pretty cool! I'm looking forward to adding some live plants...did you get them from fishsupply or at the LFS? Since I removed the fake plants the tank looks a little empty so it needs the plants...I'm curious, do you put your hand in the tank and let your Octos crawl on it? I think that OctoMonkey guy seemed to do that...I'm not sure that's something i'd like to do...think i prefer to observe from the opposite side of the glass...How many Octo do you have and in what sort of setups?

Thanks!

Andy
 
My background is in animal behaviour and interaction with their environment. That pretty much means I like to interact with them too. As long as my hands are clean and as long as I dont mind the risk of being bitten.... That's why octos and cuttlefish are so interesting. If you ever do try it, wait 'til you feel the power of these guys!
I can also ensure that all my specimens are eating properly and how much.

Colin
 
No disrespect, OctoMonkey

No disrespect, OctoMonkey

I didn't mean any disrespect, OtcoMonkey! I just thought it seemd a little odd to have the Octos crawling on your arm...The fact that you're a Zooligist does give me a better idea why you do this...Would an Octo ever bite you? To me, it would just seem weird to have it crawling on my arm, although i'm sure it's pretty cool too...I know I do love the affection that Newfoundland dog's give me and the physical interaction is amazing. Don't really see the Octos as affectionate, but you would know better than I...One last question, would you suggest my adding some Southdown sand to my "sand" bed? I've now got about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of crushed coral...I got 6 bags of Southdown (for a 2nd aquarium i am setting up) and was thinking the Octo and starfish would probably love the additional sand bed...Lastly, about how many starfish are too many in my 35 gallon setup? I like them and the color they bring to my tank, but I'm concerned that too many may create problems...Right now I have 3 starfish, the Octo and a damsel (which I thought would have been food by now).Happy New Year and thanks for your input...

Thanks!

Andy
 
Hi Andy, no offence was taken :) I am just used to people wondering why the hell I want to be interested in something like an octo. Obviously, you know why and how smart these guys are. At work I spend a lot of time with caimans, crocs, gators, pythons, venemous snakes etc. An octo is cute by comparison :)

sand: The 2 criteria would be... what type of filtration are you planning to use and will it be for a burrowing octopus?
I keep all my filtration out side the tank and have minimum substrate, its just easier to keep clean. The long arm octo i have at one point was separating the gravel from the fine sand but stopped that after a few days.

One last comment about hands in the tank... I think that the octopus becomes familiar with me by being hand fed and when doing any tank maintenace the long arm octo (which i have had the longest) doesnt even flinch when i accidently touch him/her. To be fair though, the female briareus with the eggs is being totally left alone. Dont want to stress out mum :)
Happy new year to you all to
Colin
 
To add sand ,or not add sand...

To add sand ,or not add sand...

I have a fluval 404 filter with and activated carbon and "bio-max noodles", then i have about 25 pounds of liverock in the 35 gal tank. Everything is in check except i've been having a little trouble keeping the ph up over 8.0 (remains at about 7.8 or 7.9)...I've been adding pro-buffer dKh and liguid calcium as recommended by others from RC and the LFS....I would think an additional 2 inches or so of sand would help as a buffer and also would allow the Octo and stars more to play in and dig in...This tank has been cycled for about 2 months and i've had the Octo and stars a little over a month...Any suggestions on what might help me get rid of algae growing on the live rocks (not many options with an Octo) - the stars handle the glass and the sandsifter the sand? Thanks for the help!

Andy
 
Andy,
Not all octos, esp if well fed, will eat snails. I have some turbos with all my cephs and they are all still there. Maybe buy a couple and see how they get on.

Unless you have corals or similar then you do not need quite so much light in your tank. Cutting back a bit might prevent some algae/diatoms build up.

Do you have any readings for ammonia, nitrite or nitrate? The octos can be messy. That may be feeding the algae.

OR, you could add some macroalgae like caulerpa which would over power the "bad algaes" and looks quite good too.

Colin
 
Hey guys, which, if any, of these starfish, cucumbers, or anemones would work with cuttlefish? I have no corals in my tank, but I do have live rock. I am looking to add to my clean up crew of snails and hermit crabs, but I wanted to get some opinions first. Also, how many of these would you advise for a 135 gallon tank?

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com
 
Get your cuttles yet mike?
I have had no problems with serpent, brittle stars, or sand sifting cukes. I did have my bimac rip off the glass and kill a pink filter feeding cuke. I don't recomend any anemone in a ceph tank. Getting stung = ink....
 
I get my cuttles today! I'll take lots of pics of the little guys and try to take some movies too! I'm still trying to figure out how many ghost shrimp each will eat. The ghost shrimp are only about an inch or so long. Luckily they are cheap at my LFS, so I can get as many as I need. The damsels will be the first to go though! Any idea how many starfish and/or cuccumbers I could use in my tank? I was thinking about 2 starfish and 2 cucumbers. Is this too many or too little for my 135 gallon tank?

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com
 
AHHHH, my cuttles are delayed until tomorrow because of the snow we had here yesterday!!! They had to cancel several flights, and my cuttles couldn't make it. They should arrive tomorrow afternoon. I hope they didn't just stick them in the warehouse until another flight became available. I'll let you know what happens.

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com
 
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