Octopus

[frlejo]

Am thinking of setting up a ten gallon for an octopus with a regular 15 watt strip light. thought this would work since they live mostly in the dark anyway. anybody tried 1 before?

[fliberdygibits]

They need EXACTING water conditions, and lots of room. I would venture to say that an octopus' arm span is probably longer than a 10 gallon when it has NO decorations and I would venture to say that if an octopus inked in a tank that small he would die almost instantly as the water chemistry would be so drastically and so suddenly altered. And they are notorious escape artists. I would STRONGLY advise against keeping any kind of octapus in ANYTHING smaller than a 75g or so.

JMHO

[Doug1]

True on requirements for octopus. Plus they are usualy shy retiring creatures with a limited lifespan anyway. If one insists on keepin them you need better than a 10 gal tank You might look at the advanced topics or difficult animals forum on RC for a little more info on keeping these guys. Please research carefully, and dont fall for LFS BS that they are easy to keep

[reefguy]

octupus (as well as for most other cephalapods) have a notoriously short life span in captivity. also, as mentioned above, octopus are really smart which is why they are escape artists (and why they probably die of boredom in a tank! ). also, certain types of octopus, like the blue-ring octopus, are deadly to humans! anyway, just wanted to let you know....

[iceboxman]

They are good escape artists because they can squeeze their entire body through a hole the size of a quarter. There was a good article in one of the fish magazines (Aquarium Fish, either march or february) recently.

[reefguy]

yeah...i'm sure it helps to be a contortionist AND a genius when it comes to escapes! LOL

[jjharrisx4]

Yeah...Coming from someone who works in a prison system...It's a good thing that MOST inmates aren't contortionists/genious's. It'd make the headcount a little more extiting though~

[jegel]

Before getting an octopus I'd read this... http://www.reefs.org/library/article...on_lanett.html

doesn't paint a pretty picture.

[mini mee]

Hi frlejo,

I would agree with what has already been said and add I have a interesting octopus story that they ran on TLC.

One of the big aquariums, I think it was sea world or somthing like that had a octy in a one of their tanks, 2 tanks over was a tank filled with reef critters, well slowly over time the tank that was set up as a reef started loosing fish, critters and such, the people at the aquarium couldn't figure out what was happening to the fish so one night they decided to stay late and stake out the tank..... you guessed it the octy was climbing out of the tank they had it in ( with the lid still on )and crawling 2 tanks over and piging out, then crawling back out of the tank and going back into the tank he was housed in.

The staff thought the octy could be the culprit but figured the tank was covered when they left at night and when they returned in the morning, it couldn't be the octy.

I thought it was interesting anyway, it just goes to show these guys are smart.

Mini

[frlejo]

ok, ok. i give up. no octotpus!! thanks for the help. appreciate all the input.

[Vicboy]

I guess it is pretty tough to keep an octopus alive, but did any of u guys ever kept one before? Care to share ur expertise? Anyone successfully bred them in a home aquarium before? Is it safe to keep a blue ring?

[reefcam]

Agree with many parts above. I have keep octopus in the past for over 6 months. You just need to be careful when picking up an octopus and make sure you get a very young one, since both the male and female have programmed life span. For the female, once they lay their egg(s), they are pretty much goners. Unfortunately, males are programmed to live as long as females, so regardless of which sex you get, they are goners with-in a year. THis is true even in the wild.

As far as a ten gallon, I was successful in keeping one in a 10 gallon tank with a UG system. Okay this was back in 87' when I did. You do need to keep a tight lid on the tank as they can squeeze through the smallest hole. Small octopus arms do not span more than a 10 gallon, but close. Inking is typically not an issue unless you decide to chase the octopus in your tank. They only ink when they feel threaten. They do not ink for fun.

Find a small size octopus if you really need one. I made the mistake of getting a medium sized on to find out it was a fairly mature one. The octopus you find in the trades are typically the small varieties, not the ones you see in the Pacific NW, or cold water.

Oh, you will also need live food to feed them as they are hunters and will likely not take to prepared food. Mollies and damsels work well. Goldfish works as they are used to being fed. And yes, you can train them to feed out of your hand.

I'm not for or against having one, just having knowledge will help you enjoy one for a limited time.

Fred, someone near you may still have one in her tank. Maybe. My just past away a couple of weeks ago.

[Calvinc4s]

I have had an Octopus for over 3 months now. I love it and I don't think it is as difficult to keep as many people say.
It eats like a pig though and you need to feed it Crayfish, fiddler crabs, and raw shrimp if your lucky.

Get a Bimaculodes, there is a online store that has aquaculture, not sure of the name.
Reef central has a board specifically for Cephalopods. Do a search on them there.

The Octo is big fun! It will climb to the top of the tank and squirt water at me when it wants another crab:-)

Acclimation is very important as it is with all inverts.

The Bimac is out in the day and is not an escape artist.

[Calvinc4s]

HEy Vicboy,

Blue ring would be a fun octo
Be sure to use cones for a clean up crew too

[Vicboy]

thanks guys for ur sharing. saw a cute octopus at a farm in Singapore the other day. It was in a plastic bottle with holes floating in a big tank. guess that it may be a blue ring. by the way, how big can it grow till?