Octo

[JEMichael IV]

I have been doing some reading on cephs and I have always had an interest in them. At the moment I love to collect clams and Mantis Shrimps.

When I normally get a new mantis shrimp I hook up an eclipse 6 to my main 150gallon reef so there there is no cycling involved and water quality is always good. Just the occasional clean of the front arcylic, feed, and enjoy!

But from what I have been reading about cephs is that it probably wouldnt be a good idea to have them hooked up to the same water as my 150g reef as they might ink.

Could I have him hooked up to my main reef? This would guarentee awesome water and no temp changes/salt as I have auto topoffs and a 1/3 chiller, reactor, skimmer hooked up to the system. If this is a possibility would a 10g be ok for him, for a smaller one? If so how long? I know with mantis shrimps they make a burrow and dont leave it if they are happy so the 6g are good for them since I can plum them to my main reef water.

If not, I have a 30g sitting around that I could use. Instead of waiting the 2 months to get the tank cycled could I just setup an overflow to my main reef and pump water from my reef to the 30 gallon for a week or two to get the system started then lock it off from the system?

I have been reading on starting tanks for cephs but I had some questions that were not asked before unless maybe I just missed them :)

Also, what would be a good starter and is there any differences to the way different species act as far as day to night, out playing to always hiding?

Thanks!

[Rudiger]

You should go with the 30 gallon instead of only 10, the octopus will thank you. I wouldn't worry too much about the octopus inking. The 30 gallons plus the 150 gallon means you have quite a bit of water volume and any ink would dilute quickly, of course you should still do a good water change. But the possibility of the octopus inking is pretty low, you really have to spook them, although it always varied some species to species. The use of carbon also cleans ink out of the water.

As far as a good starting octopus most people here will recomend O. Bimaculoides.

[JEMichael IV]

Where can i get them? the local LFS will get a ceph in from time to time but it just marked Octopus and they dont know which kind it is, so I dont want to buy it. Next thing I know I will be coming home with a blue ring that was marked Octopus :)

[Rudiger]

check out fishsupply.com, i hear they can sell you bimaculoides

[JEMichael IV]

Any other input?

[cephalopoder]

I agree with Pat. Go with the 30. You will need it when the octo gets bigger. The only problem I see plumbing it to your main tank is temp. Your octo should be kept below 77f and closer to 70-72 if possible. Ink is not a problem with octos and your skimmer will remove the ink should it happen. Octos put out a small amout of ink compaired to a cuttlefish. Carbon is good too.
The best place to get a octopus is fishsupply.com. I have been getting mine from there for years without a problem. Tell Jack chris sent you, he is the owner and will take good care of you. He is the best supplier out there. The species he sells is usually O.bimaculoides. It is the best species to keep in a home aquarium. Allways ask for a small.
chris