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cthulhu
for awhile ive wanted to try my hand at a saltwater tank. my dream is to someday own a pet octopus or at least some cuttlefish or jellies, but that's for after college when i'm a responsible grownup with too much free time. right now i'm a student and i am looking for a pet that i would be able to care for in the span of about one year at my apartment. i would love to start with a seahorse, but ive been reading on their care and even that seems like it might be irresponsible of me as a beginner. do you have any suggestions in the way of a cool saltwater pet to get some experience with?

pic related.
>> Anonymous
Seahorses require tank to be perfectly clean and balanced. I suggest just getting shrimps. You can eats them after one year. They is delicious
>> cthulhu
any links to nice guides for cycling tanks and keeping all the chemicals in balance?
>> Anonymous
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box fish
>> Anonymous
>>110375
raise a lobster, just don't grow too attached and give it a hot bath after a long days walk on the beach.
>> Anonymous
im pretty sold on the box fish. i like shrimps too, but itd be hard to eat my pets after a year.
>> Anonymous
My wife's favourite fish were a school of Sergeant Majors we caught down at the shore and lugged home. They're resilient little buggers, and the schooling behaviour is nice to see.

If it were me, though, I'd get one of those all-in-one freshwater bowfront 30 gallon acrylic kits - I think Eclipse makes them? - with everything in the hood. Take a five gallon bucket and build it into a below-tank sump setup, and hide it in the stand. Add a light setup down in there for algal growth, set up your protein skimmer down in there...

...then build a reef in the main tank.
>> Anonymous
Mantis shrimp. Most badass animal on the planet for their size. I've got a small mantis in a 5g nano saltwater tank. Read up on them, they're really damn cool.
>> Anonymous
pea puffers are brackish water fish, but go to salt as they get older i think.
>> Anonymous
>>110510

You're not concerned about him breaking his tank?
>> Anonymous
you're a beginner so go with the easiest fish to care for, either something in the damsel family (damsels or clownfish) or a lionfish
>> Anonymous
>>110630

Mantis shrimp have the bad rep of breaking glass tanks (and yes, they are badass) but only the very largest specimens can actually do it. We're talking the 4-6" guys. The most common way for a mantis to break your tank is by trying to burrow through the bottom of it, not by attacking the sides like crazy. My mantis is 2", and will max out at 3", and I'm not concerned with her breaking the tank she's in. Besides, it's acrylic.

She does own the hermit crabs and snails that she gets though. Absolutely pound for pound one of the coolest animals out there.
>> Anonymous
they stoled cthulu!
>> Anonymous
oh man, mantis shrimp do sound hella badass. it sounds like it makes for a one-animal tank though.

Mantis shrimp appear to be highly intelligent, are long-lived and exhibit complex behaviour, such as ritualised fighting. Scientists have discovered that some species use fluorescent patterns on their bodies for signaling with their own and maybe even other species, expanding their range of behavioural signals. They can learn and remember well, and are able to recognise individual neighbours with whom they frequently interact. They can recognise them by visual signs and even by individual smell. Many have developed a complex social behaviour to defend their space from rivals.

although they do live a long time, they are also edible, i was reading... ill just have to check at my LFS
>> Anonymous
>>110917
what do you feed it?
>> Anonymous
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My dad and I managed to keep a salt water tank running for ten years with only one major kill off in the end.
They can be a pain in the ass and require constant attention, but are very much worth it.
At one time, we had a healthy population of: 2 sea anemonies (named Elvis and Chuck), 3 living rocks, gobis, neon damasels, two puffers, three seahorses, a butterfly fish, and three clown fish.
That said, I'd never do it again.

Towards the end, after a sudden kill off that apparently resulted from a bad batch of frozen brine shrimp, we only had the anemonies and the puffers left.
In my experience, these two sorts of beasties are disturbingly resilient. ... And puffers seem to be trainable as mine were able to be taught to swim through hoops, 'talk' by grinding their 'teeth', and leap out of the water for treats. They also would swim up to the top of the tank to be touched along the back.
Now those little bastards I miss.
Pic related.
>> Anonymous
It it wrong that the image in OP makes me really hungry?
>> Anonymous
lol
have fun trying to keep an octopus or squid alive.
>> Anonymous
>>111425

Octopus, squid, and cuttlefish aren't particularly difficult to keep, given three basic things:

1) You need some serious filtration and skimming becasue they generate a lot of waste
2) Be prepared to spend a lot of money to feed them
3) You pretty much have to keep a single-species tank, aside from the cleanup crew of course.

Also, their natural lifespan isn't very long, even in the wild.
>> Anonymous
>>111426
Also beware of the possibility that they may escape from the tank at night, trek their way over to your bed while you sleep and kill you by suction-cupping themselves to your face.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>111428
rape your girlfriend if she's asian
>> Anonymous
>>111428

indeed, octopuses are especially escape-prone and they can squeeze through tiny gaps as well. You need a very secure lid with no gaps, fine screens on all your plumbing, etc.
>> Anonymous
>>111443

We lined the inside top edge of the tank with a strip of astroturf type material (a cut up doormat). Apparently octopi hate the feel of that stuff... I don't blame 'em.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
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>>111442
Er, And they will rape etc.

Not.. "please rape your girlfriend if she is asian, thanks".

OT: Cuttlefish? Moar like cuddlefish, amirite?
>> Anonymous
Most cephalopods that you can keep don't live more than a year or so. They die on purpose after a while.
>> Anonymous
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mRXoFrjjfco
he haunts my dreams, not dead but dreaming
>> Anonymous
>>111510
I'm sure they purposely commit suicide.
>> cthulhu Anonymous
>>111510
most female octopuses stop eating once they become pregnant