Tank is ready to go finaly! Need advice bigtime

[Asterix]

OK OK, Listen to this setup I got here :)

29G Tank
Smart Lite 65 Watt 50\50 PC
40 LBS LR
5" DSB Live Caribien sand (got it myself)
50G Plywood sump + Refugem with LR LS and Macro Algae
Mak-4 split return 600GPH to tank,
The rest to a BIG DIY Protein Skimmer in sump
DIY Auto-Top Off

This has been running for about 3 months - All my levels are looking great, There is just one pain in the *** problem I have....Temparture!!!! I am only going to be able to hold my temp at about 77-78...To hot for a Bi-Mac, I have been on the phone with www.FlyingFishExpress.com, And have checked on the Tropical Bali Octopus O. vulgaris. It seems this Octo doesnt mind the heat - They are currently holding this octo around 76
Has anyone on this board ever kept this type? If so, How will its care differ from a Bimac? Another thing...How well do these ship? Any advice I can get would be greatly appreciated

PS, I am going to post pictures of my whole setup as soon as I get my octo for those interested

Thanks in advance
-David-

[cephalopoder]

Hi David.
A bimac will live at 78-79 but it will grow faster and live a shorter life. If you blow a fan over the top of the tank that will drop the temp quite a bit. Bimaculoides are not prone to escape so you should be ok with the top open.
chris

[Asterix]

Wow, Thats kind of a relief! I didnt want to pay 54 for the octo + shipping, When I could pay 54 and have it delivered to my door! Plus, its my first cehp, and I want the easy bimac...Another thing, that gets me out of using a cannopy, I prefer open top tanks...Are you sure he wont commit suicide? Thanks

-David-

[SushiGirl]

Not to speak for anyone else, but OctoMonkey lost his bimac...not sure how it escaped, but it disappeared...so, escape is always an option with a clever octo!!!

[Asterix]

SushiGirl, He lost his bimac and never found it? Thats really odd to have something come out of your tank and never turn up around the house...Maybe the toilet?

[cephalopoder]

Colin has never had a bimac. He lives in scotland and bimacs are not easy to get in europe. The one that beacame missing was a different species all together. I have kept a few bimaculoides with a open tank with no problem. I have a good friend too that has been keeping cephs for years and has had open tanks with about 10 different bimacs and no problems with escape. Out of all the octos , this species seems to be the least likely to escape.
It is true though that any species can escape.
chris

[SushiGirl]

hmmmm...well, this is the one that disappeared a couple weeks before I went over there to visit... http://forums.about.com/ab-saltaquarium/messages?msg=7774.29

[SushiGirl]

He had a top on his tank...his best guess was that it made its way into the piping and decided to visit the cuttlefish tank -- which probably made a good meal of it. Never found it anywhere in the tank it was in even after removing everything from it or on the floor anywhere in the place.

[OctoMonkey]

Hi all,

I do feel that octopus tanks should have a cover on top. If anything it helps to prevent excess evaporation which results in a more stable environment for a cephalopod. However, due to my lighting I myself cannot have a cover on my tank and I lose probably close to 1/2 gallon a day through evaporation.

Sushigirl. That octopus I got was sold to me as a Californian Octopus and as I spotted the blue rings. I asumed that it would be an O. bimaculoides or maybe bimaculatus. However after posting that picture on various forums, like here, TONMO, and SW @ about. I was able to determine from other bimac owners that although it looked a bit like a bimac it wasnt.

On this site there was a thread with suggestions and theories as to what species it might be and Octopus filosus was one of the names thrown about. On SW @ about. I never carried the thread on because people there are much more interested in reef tanks than cephalopods so the "bimac" tag got stuck. Also, as i had had it a while before it became clear it wasnt a bimac I was so used to referring to it as bimac that I sometimes kept calling it that. So that's my fault....

It is true that it dissapeared though. One theory is that it could possibly have made it to the sump and then onwards to the cuttlefish tank. Another is that it may simply have climbed out and landed on the floor. I have a dog that eats seafood, she loves shrimps and stuff so it is possible that.....

Also regarding a cover.......
My most recent octopus died in a really bizzare way. The octopus was found with 3 or its arms stuck to the cover glass and its body in the water. The octopus was almost dead by the time it was found. So the theory is that while waving its arms out of the water it found the cover glass and managed to crawl upside down along the underside for a bit until it was in the middle but its suckers had became stuck to the glass and it couldnt get off!

So, perhaps covers do have a downside??? Ever heard of that happening before Chris or anyone????

Colin

[Rudiger]

very weird. My cover is made of plexi glass. The mercatoris (or ill call her a mercatoris) crawled on the plexi glass quite a few times, never got stuck.

pat

[OctoMonkey]

Yeah Pat, i seen the video too! I dont really know why this happened but she was really stuck. MAybe it was salt on the glass from spray or what but it was a strange one...

how is holidays BTW?

C