Blue Ring Octopus!!!!

thauro77

Member
So, I know of the dangers of the blue ring, but has anyone in here ever attempted to keep one of these? The guy at the fish store and he has like 2 or 3 and he even plays with them. He wears gloves up to his shoulders and dangles food on the fingeras and hand feeds them. WOW!!!!
any suggestions on how to keep one of this, just out of curiosity
 

scsinet

Active Member
Originally Posted by thauro77
http:///forum/post/2750773
The guy at the fish store and he has like 2 or 3 and he even plays with them. He wears gloves up to his shoulders and dangles food on the fingeras and hand feeds them. WOW!!!!
This seems like the equivalent of putting on a kevlar vest and having someone shoot bullets at you...
Yes, many people have kept them. Many people have kept them successfully, and many people have died. That's the thing about these things... I mean... you keep a yellow tang... it lives... it dies... but YOU don't die, unless you somehow drown in your tank...
IMO if you want to keep one, that's your business, but attempting to hand feed one is just retarded.
Apart from the deadliness they are just like any other octopus... pretty difficult to keep alive, freaky smart and able to get out of the tiniest openings in the tank, and heaven forbid they ink and wipe out whatever else you have living in the system.
 

spanko

Active Member
My advice is to read this and then DO NOT GET ONE! Children, adults and anything that comes in contact will die.
 

texasmetal

Active Member
There's no sense in getting something that can kill you. There are lots of other more commonly available species that are just as interesting. I wouldn't recommend keeping a blue-ring until a person has lots of experience with non-deadly octopuses. No matter how careful a person is, unexpected things can happen. The tank will require maintenance, and unlike a lionfish, the octopus is going to be curious and it wouldn't be unlikely for it to quite literally jump on you. It only shows its beautiful rings when it's in attack or warning mode too.
For the sake of the animal, in case you do decide you just have to have it... it should have a 50 gallon or larger tank with heavy filtration, preferably with a relatively oversized skimmer. It needs an established, mature tank. None of that, "brand new setup just for the octopus!" business. They already had to cope with the stress of shipping all the way from the other side of the planet, don't need an unstable tank to live in. And it needs a locking, escape proof lid. The lock surves 2 purposes. It keeps the lid secure and the octopus in the tank, and it keeps the lid secure, reminding you not to just stick your hand in and grab it or detering an ignorant guest from "playing". Sparing you the lawsuit that would ensue briefly following the untimely death of a visitor/child.
 

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2750807
This seems like the equivalent of putting on a kevlar vest and having someone shoot bullets at you...
Yes, many people have kept them. Many people have kept them successfully, and many people have died. That's the thing about these things... I mean... you keep a yellow tang... it lives... it dies... but YOU don't die, unless you somehow drown in your tank...
IMO if you want to keep one, that's your business, but attempting to hand feed one is just retarded.
Apart from the deadliness they are just like any other octopus... pretty difficult to keep alive, freaky smart and able to get out of the tiniest openings in the tank, and heaven forbid they ink and wipe out whatever else you have living in the system.
+1
 

acrylic51

Active Member
Originally Posted by thauro77
http:///forum/post/2750773
So, I know of the dangers of the blue ring, but has anyone in here ever attempted to keep one of these? The guy at the fish store and he has like 2 or 3 and he even plays with them. He wears gloves up to his shoulders and dangles food on the fingeras and hand feeds them. WOW!!!!
any suggestions on how to keep one of this, just out of curiosity

 

flricordia

Active Member
I used to keep venomous snakes and took every precaution, but the enevitable did happen and I was bitten. With a blue-ring there really is no help the hospital can offer, no antivenom, but to keep you on life support and hope you pull though. The person at the shop is not very responsible at all and just setting an example, a poor one, that someone with less experiance may try, such as yourself now thinking it cool that one can safetly reach into the tank of a blue-ring and hand feed it.
And as stated above, wouldn't it be better to have an octopus you could actually touch and allow to touch you?
 
You should not and the store owner is setting himself up for a lawsuit. I keep Octo's and would never even consider keeping a blu ring.
 

dragonzim

Active Member
Originally Posted by jellyman1213
http:///forum/post/2751032
You should not and the store owner is setting himself up for a lawsuit. I keep Octo's and would never even consider keeping a blu ring.
Lawsuit? That LFS owner is setting himself up for an untimely death!
 

mr_x

Active Member
i don't think you can sue the lfs owner if he has a disclaimer on the tank, which most do. it's like a gun shop owner.
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
The only treatment is hours of heart massage and artificial respiration until the poison has worked its way out of your system. And that’s only if you can get medical attention in a very very short time
 

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2750807
This seems like the equivalent of putting on a kevlar vest and having someone shoot bullets at you...
Yes, many people have kept them. Many people have kept them successfully, and many people have died. That's the thing about these things... I mean... you keep a yellow tang... it lives... it dies... but YOU don't die, unless you somehow drown in your tank...
IMO if you want to keep one, that's your business, but attempting to hand feed one is just retarded.
Apart from the deadliness they are just like any other octopus... pretty difficult to keep alive, freaky smart and able to get out of the tiniest openings in the tank, and heaven forbid they ink and wipe out whatever else you have living in the system.
Actually I think if you do keep an octopus and it expels its ink I don’t think it will wipe out your tank the ink is used defensively as a visual screen or a distraction to predators. The ink also contains a compound, tyrosinase, which irritates predators' eyes and paralyzes their sense of smell temporarily. But is not lethal as far as I know
 

texasmetal

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2751350
Actually I think if you do keep an octopus and it expels its ink I don’t think it will wipe out your tank the ink is used defensively as a visual screen or a distraction to predators. The ink also contains a compound, tyrosinase, which irritates predators' eyes and paralyzes their sense of smell temporarily. But is not lethal as far as I know
Generally it is not harmful. Any tank with good filtration and flow won't be effected by it. It will usually dissipate within a few seconds. In small containers like shipping bags, it tends to coat their gills and smother them.
 

dragonzim

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2751350
Actually I think if you do keep an octopus and it expels its ink I don’t think it will wipe out your tank the ink is used defensively as a visual screen or a distraction to predators. The ink also contains a compound, tyrosinase, which irritates predators' eyes and paralyzes their sense of smell temporarily. But is not lethal as far as I know
A buddy of mine had a small octo in a 30 gallon long tank. It inked once and the next day it and all the other inhabitants of the tank were dead
 

ruaround

Active Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2750807
This seems like the equivalent of putting on a kevlar vest and having someone shoot bullets at you...
Yes, many people have kept them. Many people have kept them successfully, and many people have died. That's the thing about these things... I mean... you keep a yellow tang... it lives... it dies... but YOU don't die, unless you somehow drown in your tank...
IMO if you want to keep one, that's your business, but attempting to hand feed one is just retarded.
Apart from the deadliness they are just like any other octopus... pretty difficult to keep alive, freaky smart and able to get out of the tiniest openings in the tank, and heaven forbid they ink and wipe out whatever else you have living in the system.
well said...
dont be dumb man... dont get one...
 

texasmetal

Active Member
Originally Posted by DragonZim
http:///forum/post/2752374
A buddy of mine had a small octo in a 30 gallon long tank. It inked once and the next day it and all the other inhabitants of the tank were dead
I've had a couple of different sized octos ink in my tanks and never once have I seen a reaction by shrimp, corals, or fish. I would suspect either a functional skimmer was not in place, carbon was not in use, and/or it wasn't the ink that did it.
 
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