Octopus

[jmarti705]

I am not totally new to this hobbie but i am very interested in setting up a tank for an octopus and just curious to see if anyone has or have had a octopus before i go and do my own research wanted to get some opionions from someone with experience

1.how difficult are they to feed and house?
2.what are some of the common species that u can have in a tank?
3.anything particular i would need to know?

[MIKE ALERS]

i think feeding is not the biggest problem.but housing and water quality might be.especially housing they're quite the escape artist.

[bertoni]

They are also short-lived. There's a cephalopod forum that might be helpful.

[Playa-1]

I'm not an expert but I think they are mostly nocturnal animals. I know that most do not live long in captivity which is a bummer and at least one of the species is very poisonous. I believe it is the Blue Ring Octopus especially that you need to stay away from. There is a forum on this site for Cephalopods which I believe includes Octopus. I've checked it out a few times. I think the Octopus are way too Cool.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...?s=&forumid=38

[jmarti705]

Sweet, thank yall for pointing me in the right direction =)

[audio101]

I wouldn't even bother trying to do an octopus tank, I think when you realize what your getting yourself into you'll have a change of heart. Just maintaining a basic reef tank is a lot of work, I can't imagine the money and challenges you would encounter trying to keep an octopus alive for only being in this hobby for a yr..

[spike78]

Check out http://www.tonmo.com/ for octopus husbandry and more info.

[coast2coast7390]

Originally posted by jmarti705
I am not totally new to this hobbie but i am very interested in setting up a tank for an octopus and just curious to see if anyone has or have had a octopus before i go and do my own research wanted to get some opionions from someone with experience

1.how difficult are they to feed and house?
2.what are some of the common species that u can have in a tank?
3.anything particular i would need to know?

haha yes i was hoping someone would start an octo thread

1. they are easy to feed...snails, ghost shrimp, hermits
tank raised even eat frozen krill
housing...they need a tank to themselves preferably a sealed tank...with astro turf around the rim of the tank...(now i know at least one person is wondering why astro turf....well 1 they cant grip onto it and 2 they dont like the feel of it)

2. any octos are fine except the blue ring ones...very venomous

3. dont trust them...really sneaky and smart

[jokeloma]

I had one when I was young and inexperienced and I kept it alive for over a year just feeding it regular feeder gold fish.

So if it's what you want I say go for it just keep LR and other hiding places to a minimum or you'll never see it except at feeding time.

[reefergeorge]

The only problem I see is that the dwarfs are so short lived. Some max at two years, and when you don't know how old it is that could be a very short time. Good luck and post pics.

[kathainbowen]

A word of caution- octopus can be daunting animals to keep even for experienced hobbyists, or can be exceptionally easy to the right owner. They are escape artists and, when startled, messy as "all get-up" from their ink. Be prepared to hear people advising you heavily against keeping an octopus in any forum, LFS, and especially in the octopus forum.

That being said, there are a couple of random factoids you should be aware of, for both the good and the bad.

Avoid the blue ring octopus at all costs. They are FATAL. So, unless you laugh in the face of danger, or are Severous Snape, who can "even put a stopper in death," I'd probably steer way clear of these deadly beauties.

Octopus are extremely intelligent creatures. Many will figure ways out of even the most carefully sealed and secured tanks, and others will figure out puzzles. Some octopus even enjoy having plastic baby-toys to play with. I do recall seeing an article in TFH where the author's specimens enjoying those linking rings for babies and toddlers.

They are escape artists! An octopus can fit its self through incredibly small holes that don't seem possible compared to the size of their body.

Avoid the wunderpus octopus if you are one of the "responsible reefkeepers" of the world. Their wild status is still under question, so there is no telling if they are endangered, threatened, or just hunky-dory when it comes to wild populations.

Avoid the mimic octopus unless you have keen eyes. The mimic octopus will mimic many things, and, more often than not, in really boring ways. I had one on special order for a client with my importer and called to inquire as per how they were doing. The importer was aggravated because this incredible disguising animal had chosen to pretend to be the common astrea snails they'd given the octopus for food. When the mimic arrived, it quite promptly decided to alternate between being a piece of PVC pipe or an acro skeleton. Bimacs are hard enough to spot in a tank when they don't want to be found, and mimics can sometimes be downright impossible when they've got the right camo, in the right place, with the right lighting. However, if you get a more outgoing specimen, mimic octopus will try to be all sorts of things, like fish and crabs, or things you wouldn't even expect. When our little bugger arrived, my driver's license and credit card fell out of my pocket. The license fell into the acclimation bucket and, as the octopus settled over it, it changed to a light pink with a dark patch directly over where my photo was (I have dark brown hair and was wearing a navy blue shirt at the time). Fascinating creatures with the right set-up and a keeper with sharp vision, but also expensive.

Be prepared for any clean-up crew to disappear. Octopus naturally prey upon crustaceans, mollusks, and fish, so, if you put it in a tank with an octopus, don't get too terribly emotional attached. They are stealthy creatures and amazingly graceful hunters. There's even a video floating around from an aquarium that discovered that a common octopus was the reason why their SHARKS were disappearing! Simply incredible predators.

Many LFSs are going to laugh at you if you try to buy an octopus from them. This is because it is still commonly accepted that octopus are impossible to keep. That's because the smaller octopus species aren't long lived and die shortly after laying their eggs. In addition to that, not all octopus are that hardy, and they can accidentally kill themselves if they find filters in their exploration or don't make it back to a tank if they crawl away (yes, they do that). So, there is much truth to the statement that octopus are difficult to keep. If you are really convinced that this is the pet for you, if you have done all your research and homework on them, and if you have taken the time to carefully plan and set-up your tank, do not allow them to talk you into an animal that you might not feel as happy with and do not allow them to make you feel stupid for wanting an octopus.



That being said, I personally do not feel they are a newbie-worthy pet by any stretch of the imagination, but I am the first to admit that I have often been surprised by the knowledge and determination of newbies in the field of saltwater and reefkeeping.

[coast2coast7390]

Originally posted by kathainbowen
Many LFSs are going to laugh at you if you try to buy an octopus from them.

i wouldnt say laugh but discourage

[specopsteam]

Where is a good place to find them online?