lordofthereef
Member
last night i saw a green ink come from my live rock! then all of a sudden a small octopus came out!!! he's about the size of a quarter! anybody know what i should do with it?
HOLLY SHIZNIT!!
- Thread starter lordofthereef
- Start date
lordofthereef
Member
all my rock has been in there for a little over three years. nothing has even been added to the tank in a long time! the only stuff i added anyway, was stuff i grow myself. so i have no clue where he's been hiding out at! oh well, time to start hunting!
galina
Member
Wow.. a little octo.. how cute.. 
Personally, I would leave him in there if he isn't causing any trouble.. but he might make meals out of some of your inverts.
Usually the smaller octopi only live about a year.. but if your system is 3 years old.. <img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" />
Good luck with whatever you decide.. and that's really neat.
Personally, I would leave him in there if he isn't causing any trouble.. but he might make meals out of some of your inverts.
Usually the smaller octopi only live about a year.. but if your system is 3 years old.. <img src="graemlins//urrr.gif" border="0" alt="[urrr]" />
Good luck with whatever you decide.. and that's really neat.
treble
Member
My LFS has a blue ring octipus, and he will rip hermits and snails out of there shells and eat them. They are very strong, and will topple over LR sometimes, and escape from the tank lifting the top off. Thats awsome that you got one on your LR! How lucky! I am not sure if there ink is potent or not...they like to hide during the day.
reeferkeeper
Member
I never knew there were such small varieties of octopus. I guess you learn something everyday. I had an octopus tank about 15 years ago and he did very well, but he would actually leave the tank and go eat goldfish from my feeder tank. I know that seems unbelievable, but I actually watched him heading from the top of the goldfish tank back into his tank. Anyway, I finally had to find a home for him where someone could watch him a little closer. Anyway, I found alot of information on the internet. Below is a quote from
<a href="http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/reference/s6.asp" target="_blank">http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/reference/s6.asp</a>
Hope this is helpful.
Mike
"The octopuses are another group of interesting mollusks that have special care requirements. Most are voracious predators that will make short work of fish, like anemonefish, or for that matter, anything else that moves! Octopuses have sharp beaks, and in most species there is a venom gland associated with this structure. Although in the majority of species bites are not lethal, they can be quite painful. The blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena faciata) is very venomous, and, for this reason, should not be kept by marine hobbyists.
Because of their predatory nature, octopuses are best kept by themselves. They will not only feed on fish that are small enough to subdue, they will also eat crabs, shrimp, snails and some worms. Octopuses are great at escaping. Therefore, it is important that the aquarium is tightly covered, or you may find a hair-covered, amorphous blob that was once a cephalopod on your living room floor. Be warned — they can slip through unbelievably small holes in the aquarium back strip. Because the beak is the only body part that is not malleable, if it can fit through an opening the rest of the octopus can too!
You should provide your octopus with some decor to hide in or under. This can be live rock, pieces of artificial coral or even PVC pipe. They also appreciate small pieces of coral rubble, which they will use to line the openings of their hideouts. Like their nudibranch relatives, most octopuses live short lives. Many of the species available in fish stores complete their life cycle in a year or less. It is best to buy a small octopus, because your chances of getting a young specimen are increased. However, there is not always a correlation between small size and greater life expectancy, because there are some species that just stay small.
Most octopuses could be successfully housed in a 75-gallon aquarium. In fact, there are several pygmy species that can be kept in tanks as small as 10 gallons. The problem is telling the various forms apart!"
<a href="http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/reference/s6.asp" target="_blank">http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/reference/s6.asp</a>
Hope this is helpful.
Mike
"The octopuses are another group of interesting mollusks that have special care requirements. Most are voracious predators that will make short work of fish, like anemonefish, or for that matter, anything else that moves! Octopuses have sharp beaks, and in most species there is a venom gland associated with this structure. Although in the majority of species bites are not lethal, they can be quite painful. The blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena faciata) is very venomous, and, for this reason, should not be kept by marine hobbyists.
Because of their predatory nature, octopuses are best kept by themselves. They will not only feed on fish that are small enough to subdue, they will also eat crabs, shrimp, snails and some worms. Octopuses are great at escaping. Therefore, it is important that the aquarium is tightly covered, or you may find a hair-covered, amorphous blob that was once a cephalopod on your living room floor. Be warned — they can slip through unbelievably small holes in the aquarium back strip. Because the beak is the only body part that is not malleable, if it can fit through an opening the rest of the octopus can too!
You should provide your octopus with some decor to hide in or under. This can be live rock, pieces of artificial coral or even PVC pipe. They also appreciate small pieces of coral rubble, which they will use to line the openings of their hideouts. Like their nudibranch relatives, most octopuses live short lives. Many of the species available in fish stores complete their life cycle in a year or less. It is best to buy a small octopus, because your chances of getting a young specimen are increased. However, there is not always a correlation between small size and greater life expectancy, because there are some species that just stay small.
Most octopuses could be successfully housed in a 75-gallon aquarium. In fact, there are several pygmy species that can be kept in tanks as small as 10 gallons. The problem is telling the various forms apart!"
chevron tang
Member
wow that's so cool. i dunno i would say if he has been in there for that long then obviously he is of no harm to anything. in the 3yrs that your tank has been up have you had any strange dissapearances of fish or crabs, etc. if so he would probably be the culprit.
k.lee
Member
Originally posted by Treble:
<strong>My LFS has a blue ring octipus, and he will rip hermits and snails out of there shells and eat them. They are very strong, and will topple over LR sometimes, and escape from the tank lifting the top off. Thats awsome that you got one on your LR! How lucky! I am not sure if there ink is potent or not...they like to hide during the day.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Make sure you don't ghet bitten, especially by a blue ring. They cause fatalities from their bite often.
<strong>My LFS has a blue ring octipus, and he will rip hermits and snails out of there shells and eat them. They are very strong, and will topple over LR sometimes, and escape from the tank lifting the top off. Thats awsome that you got one on your LR! How lucky! I am not sure if there ink is potent or not...they like to hide during the day.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Make sure you don't ghet bitten, especially by a blue ring. They cause fatalities from their bite often.