What size tank do octopus need

[bignick]

Hi,

I am getting ready to start a 42 hex and was going to put mostly shrimp and coral in this tank. Wouldi be able to do an octopus as well? Will the octopus eat cleaner shrimp? Will it hurt my corals? (LPS and softies) I know that they are great escape artists so i would fabricate a hood of some sort to house/keep it contained. Would a 150/250w MH stress the octopus? Also if i can keep one can you suggest one that would be well suited for this tank if it is even an option.

Thanks

 

[Pea-brain]

a 42 gallon is big enough, but the light needed for corals would bother the nocturnal octopus, it would eat your shrimp and any fish, and they are very secretive and usually only come out at night. The minimum size you could keep one in is a 10 gallon but I wouldn't suggest that to anyone but an expert ceph keeper. For anyone new most people suggest a 30 gallon.

Dan

 

[bignick]

Well if i were to have a cave for it would that help or is that light just too bright all together?

Thanks Dan for the Help

 

[phishguyatstore]

power compacts would be fine for a dinural octopus. but i wouldnt do anything more than that.

 

[StevenBell2]

I would say the light is just to bright all together all though a cave will be its home.Stay away from the blue ringed!It has a very powerful toxen that will kill if it bites.

 

[bignick]

I'm well aware of the blue ring octopus and plan on not keeping one.

I really like the look of metal halides so i don't know now if i am going to keep one or not now. I basically just wanted to see if this tank is an appropriate size to house one in or not.

 

[Animal Mother]

Recommended size is 50 for most commonly kept octo's, but if you know how to keep your tank stable a 42 shouldn't be any issue, unless it turns out to be a Vulgaris, they need a 120 or larger.

Keeping them with corals can be a problem because on the reefs they have room to avoid stingy corals but in a confined aquarium, they have limited space and very sensitive skin... could be bad.

Besides all that you need to seal the lid real good, and I mean REAL good, which could be a pain in the butt and interfere with any lighting strong enough for corals besides maybe softies that don't require that much light.

They are very rewarding creatures to keep.

 

[bignick]

I decided against it for sure for now. The fact that they only live a year alone is a big bummer but mainly the point about the light and the stinging of the corals was what really made up my mind.