Octopus ink

toms · 11-11-2005, 01:20 PM

I was at my LFS at lunch today and saw an octopus "ink" in a tank. That in itself was pretty cool. I always thought the "ink" was a liquid-like substance. It turns out it is more like black slime not unlike what I see coming out of some of my corals a few days after they have eaten.

The octopus was in a 30g tank by itself but the tank was part of a 12 tank filtertration setup. I asked if the ink would be harmful to anything in the other tanks after it cycled through the pumps. No one really knew so the rush was on to net out the "ink" before it was recirculated. Does anyone know anything about octo-ink?

AW2EOD · 11-11-2005, 01:32 PM

I've kept octos...

The ink is not harmful to them, in the wild, but in an enclosed tank, it is deadly. It will coat their gills and slowly suffocate them to death.

For an octo tank, you need to have HEAVY HEAVY filtration, just in case it inks. I also kept a turkey baster nearby, just in case mine inked while I was nearby, to suck it out.

Here's a pic of my baby Bimac, just for the hell of it. lol

JennM · 11-11-2005, 01:47 PM

I always wonder why LFS carry Octopus... they are a fascinating creature but not always appropriate to keep in captivity... I'd special order one for somebody who had done the research and had a proper tank for it... but that hasn't happened here yet

That picture is just TOOOOOOO cute

Jenn

toms · 11-11-2005, 02:24 PM

Thanks for the input. I will pass it on to my LFS. They should know this but I don't have confidence in them. They seem to have their share of problems with there salt tanks. They have a few strange things in their tanks; octopus, 3 ft zebra moray, nurse sharks, 12" groupers and assorted other things. I think it is to keep customers walking in and out of the door to see the oddities. Unfortunately, for me that is what I do...walk in, look around and then walk out. It is okay for me since I only work 2 minutes away but if 90% of the people don't buy anything, that could explain the high prices for the "regular" stuff. He needs to make a killing on each sale to survive. Okay I am done complaining...thank you for the info.

skeety · 11-11-2005, 03:06 PM

what scares me is...MOST LFS have several tanks running on one system. All using mutual water.

Hope the Octo was in a seperate tank on it's OWN system.

toms · 11-11-2005, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skeety

what scares me is...MOST LFS have several tanks running on one system. All using mutual water.

Hope the Octo was in a seperate tank on it's OWN system.

No it wasn't. Now you know why I don't have a lot of confidence in them. Unfortunately they are the only one in the area (45min drive) aside from Petco.

toms · 11-11-2005, 04:17 PM

AW2EOD, your Bimac is pretty neat. He is very small assuming the eggcrate in the back ground is 1/2 inch. The one in my lfs is bigger than my hands put together. When this thing inked it sent out a charge about a foot long by 6 inches in diameter....very impressive. It was just like the Discovery Channel!

AW2EOD · 11-11-2005, 05:06 PM

The problem lies in that the majority of octopus are too hard to care for.

Even Bimacs, which you can get aquacultured (where all of mine have come from), still have a low chance of survival unless you REALLY try to make it happen. Unless you construct a tank yourself, it's almost impossible to make a tank escape proof, since octos can fit through a hole that is 1/4 the size of their head. They require lower water temps (65 - 70) and require an immense amount of activity to keep them occupied. I keep legos in my octos tank and he plays with them all the time, often turning the color of the lego (red, blue, yellow, green, etc.).

Alot of LFS just bring in octos because people think they're cool. People walk in, dont have a clue how to take care of them (and neither does the fish store) and they sell it. 99% of all fish stores, unless they actually care about the octos, dont even know what species it is. Sometimes you'll get bimacs, which max out around 2' from arm to arm and you can keep them in 55gal. tank or sometimes you'll end up with something like O. Vulgaris which grow quite large. Someone sees these tiny, cute little octos in a 10gal. tank, at the store and take them home and within a few months, they're the size of a softball and/or dead.

Pretty much any species you get is only going to live between 12 - 18 months, so alot of hobbiest dont think it's worth it. I love my little guy and I know I'll be upset when he's gone, but I think it's worth it, to keep them.

Here's another cute pic of mine. He's so tiny, but SO strong. He was actually tugging on my finger and I was pulling so hard that I was afraid I was going to hurt him. Finally, I just relaxed and let him get bored, at which point he let go and swam off...

VWD · 11-11-2005, 06:01 PM

He is cool.

alaskaknucklehead · 11-11-2005, 07:08 PM

ditto... thats great you have done the research and are able to provide the care it deserves, awesome pet!

as per the LFS, scary to think they stock ink.

Doug1 · 11-11-2005, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toms

Thanks for the input. I will pass it on to my LFS. They should know this but I don't have confidence in them. They seem to have their share of problems with there salt tanks. They have a few strange things in their tanks; octopus, 3 ft zebra moray, nurse sharks, 12" groupers and assorted other things. I think it is to keep customers walking in and out of the door to see the oddities. Unfortunately, for me that is what I do...walk in, look around and then walk out. It is okay for me since I only work 2 minutes away but if 90% of the people don't buy anything, that could explain the high prices for the "regular" stuff. He needs to make a killing on each sale to survive. Okay I am done complaining...thank you for the info.

Look at the list of species you listed, if I walked into a shop and saw that they tend to stock , aggresive trendy animals I would be outta there so fast
Groupers will feed a family of 6 for days, nurse sharks normally get 12-14' they have no place in a tank, cephlapods are creatures with specialized needs, and moreys are best kept in species tanks. Sorry but this shop reminds me of a Pet Shop that stocks Dobe, Rott, Pitbull, etc puppies. One has to question the mindset involved

AW2EOD · 11-11-2005, 11:37 PM

Actually, if I could find a fish store that stocked nothing but predatory fish, I'd be their best customer. lol

I dont agree with fish stores selling Nurse Sharks though.

toms · 11-12-2005, 10:48 AM

Doug, I agree with you whole heartedly. I don't buy much there but it is a great place to kill a lunch hour.