One, Thing You Can't Have & Why ?

[Dr. Dendrostein]

There's a bunch of "things'' and life that I can't afford or won't work out in my system but, my one life is a tank for a octopus !

Their one of or the smartest creatures in the sea and are fascinating to watch. I watched a video of a owner having his ''buddy'' where he fed him by hand then had some play time. He would hold a piece of food or a toy in his fist but the one that got to me was he gave him a rubik's cube, and although he did not ''solve'' it, he did align the red's, so he's probably smarter than me. lol

I would love a tank full of dendronephthya and scleronephthya corals. Carnation corals and flower tree corals. But at this moment they only live for 8-18 months. Bummer


2 example, many more colors out there

 

[427HISS]

I love tangs, especially the Purple, Yellow, Sohal, Achilles,Naso, Clown, Chevron, Blue Tang,....

Well as you see, most of them. lol

I forgot, we will have Horn'd Cow fish !
Talk about personality !

 

[Jon Fishman]

I forgot, we will have Horn'd Cow fish !
Talk about personality !

Careful. They get big QUICK

 

[huckjai]

I'd love to have a porcupine puffer, they're just the coolest fish for so many reasons, but apparently they poop up a storm, need a lot of space, and need to chew on lots of things to keep wearing their teeth down sort of like rabbits.

Plus I've been told that they can rub their eyes on the glass, which hurts them.

SO beautiful, though, with amazing personality.

I would also love to have a porcupine puffer, but unfortunately they aren't reef friendy.

 

[hyprc]

I agree with the octopus. No size tank is humane for them.

My can't have it but obtainable one day down the road is a Green Mandarin Dragonette. Even with a nearly 4 year old system, it would be horribly irresponsible to add one to a 43 gallon system (unless I was willing to feed live pods 3x/week after the first month or so).

 

[Wes10C]

Id love to have a gooder sleep schedule but that ain’t happening

 

[Jon Fishman]

I agree with the octopus. No size tank is humane for them.

Completely disagree..... Octopus are more humane to keep than most fish we keep in my opinion.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Unicorn Tang.

Bought one at my LFS on impulse, having no idea what I had gotten myself into. Don’t get me wrong— it was a fantastic fish— but it literally grew before my eyes. I brought it back within 2 months because I knew the heartbreak would only worsen the longer I grew attached to him.

 

[hyprc]

Completely disagree..... Octopus are more humane to keep than most fish we keep in my opinion.

A creature that goes to the lengths octopuses do to escape even the largest enclosures, with or without stimuli, with the level of intelligence they possess makes me believe otherwise to a strong degree. But that's just my opinion.

Most don't last longer than 2 years total in captivity (a little less than half their natural lifespan in the wild). That should be a clue.

 

[Paul B]

Christie Brinkley. She doesn't like bald, retired electricians. Reef tank or not. ;Meh

 

[lmm1967]

1. Something else to add to my 180 gallon tank which is currently dedicated to an Oyster Toadfish. That sucker tries - and so far always successfully - to eat anything of flesh that gets in his tank.

2. Clams - we had a really nice Deresa - then in came a Whelk Snail and ate it. Since I dont trust that 100% of the Whelks are gone from my system I won't put another clam in any of our tanks.

 

[Malifry97]

A creature that goes to the lengths octopuses do to escape even the largest enclosures, with or without stimuli, with the level of intelligence they possess makes me believe otherwise to a strong degree. But that's just my opinion.

Most don't last longer than 2 years total in captivity (a little less than half their natural lifespan in the wild). That should be a clue.

Most species we keep actually can LIVE LONGER in captivity than they would in the wild

 

[Jon Fishman]

Most don't last longer than 2 years total in captivity (a little less than half their natural lifespan in the wild). That should be a clue.

I can find no evidence of their lifespans being any different in captivity vs the ocean. Arguably longer in captivity as temperatures can be regulated

 

[hyprc]

Most species we keep actually can LIVE LONGER in captivity than they would in the wild

Not the case I've seen for Octopuses, except for a few isolated cases. I'm sure there are certain species that tend to do better than others. Fish and coral do great as long as husbandry is up to par. Hence my point. Even Nat Geo did a piece on them this year but yah... old news. Google is your friend. One study cited bacterial and parasitic infections being one of the main issues leading to death in captivity. Whether that's stress related or not is usually opinion-driven and not based in evidence but like I said, I stated my opinion. All agree that the first thing they do is explore their enclosure and try to find a way out. What fish or other marine animal we keep does that actively and thoroughly?

 

[Paul B]

Octopuses die after they spawn. No getting around that unless you give them birth control pills.

 

[427HISS]

I have the tank, up and running. No octopus though. Waiting for them to catch one. Why would you not be able to keep a blue-dot?

I have the tank, up and running. No octopus though. Waiting for them to catch one. Why would you not be able to keep a blue-dot?

From readings like this-

"The Blue Dot Stingray requires sand as the substrate, as its abdomen is easily scratched by a coarser substrate, which could result in an infection. It likes to cover itself with the soft substrate as camouflage. Once acclimated, it will eat any invertebrates in the tank. The tail spine is venomous and only used for protection. Caution should be taken when netting it, or when it is not visible and maintenance is performed in the aquarium. It should never be exposed to copper-based medications.

When first introduced into the aquarium, small pieces of cleaned squid or live saltwater feeder shrimp should be used to entice this fish to eat. Then it may be fed shrimp, scallops or pieces of fresh marine fish.

Due to its lack of hardiness when introduced into an aquarium, it should only be kept by an experienced hobbyist.

The approximate purchase size of your Stingray is measured as the diameter of the fish''

What do you think ?

 

[427HISS]

Careful. They get big QUICK

I'm concerned about that. I have a 125, but I wonder if a 6' long is long enough ?
If I had more money, I'd build or buy a 8' tank. Years ago we bought a 3" Clown Trigger in a 40g, then a 75g then 200g: "Buba Joe'' was awesome ! Such a personality. He grew to 12", but after getting glaucoma he quit eating and passed away. Before the second eye was at 50% covered, I would put food in my hand and he would eat it, then he'd sit on my hand. He knew he was going.

Before that all happened, my niece would come home from school and feed all the tanks fish. She came over one day and showed us the Mayday weave basket she made in school. She asked, can I put Bubba's food in this ? I said OK. He loved the challenge, And after that, when hungry he would pick up the handle and swim the length of the tank, back and fourth . lol

We must have another !

 

[Jon Fishman]

Thought you meant a blue dot octopus. Those deadly ones. I know they are very much capable of being kept

 

[427HISS]

Both are cool. The Octo would do fine in my tank, don't know about the Ray ?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Both are cool. The Octo would do fine in my tank, don't know about the Ray ?

Ahhh. It’s Blue Ringed I am thinking of