New Octopus

goodwin9

goodwin9

Active Member
Originally Posted by chunks
Theyre a ton of fun to have. He'll amaze you with how smart he can be; youd almost think that he knows hes in a display tank! After they get used to the tank and realize they're the king, theyre gonna be a lot less shy. They will often investigate your fingers as you clean the tank, and will frequently stick themselves onto the front of the glass and peak at you around their tenicles. here's an example of what i mean, this was the second octo i had: http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/97GLT/g.jpg
I had some luck with keeping a clown fish, but only becuase he had an anemone to hide in. Everything else just dies, its such a

[hr]
to deal with; no hermits, no snails, no shrimp, no nothing, everything is eaten.
Im sure you know enough, so i wont unload all the precautions and whatnot, but if you need a hand just ask
They're way too much fun, they should be illegal or something

I can sure use all of the help and advise I can get. I'm having a custom display tank made for him. Originally he was going in a 55 gallon tank, but that just wouldn't do him justice. Too many places and ways for him to get out. The new display is designed for an octopus with locking lids, split overflows, and its own complete filtration system ect.
Am not ready to offer him my fingers yet. He has a heck of a grip when he grabs hold of the feeding stick...
I am totaly amazed at the way they move and change colors. He can go from a light an to almost black in a split second. Solids colors to stripes in an instant, absolutely amazing. I wish that I could get a better video of him. Pictures just don't tell the story with an Octopus.
CHUNKS..I hope you will share some insight and advise.
 
fishygurl

fishygurl

Active Member
OMG me and my mom want an octopus soooo bad but ive read that they die in captivity is this true?, and what size tank will the octopus's on this site need when full grown?
 
goodwin9

goodwin9

Active Member
Originally Posted by FishyGurl
OMG me and my mom want an octopus soooo bad but ive read that they die in captivity is this true?, and what size tank will the octopus's on this site need when full grown?
I understand Octopus can have a short life. I believe this one to be a vulgaris which can live for several years. I think that they can get up to 2 feet in lengh. I hope CHUNKS can correct me if I am wrong.
 
goodwin9

goodwin9

Active Member
I took a few more pictures to post of the Octopus. The first one shows him sitting right below the teeth in the overlow in the refugium. I wonder if he is watching me as much as I am watching him :notsure:



 
chunks

chunks

Member
Yes, they can live longer than a year, but its not to likely; it really depends on the species. Ive had a Pacific dwarf live over a year (6 months over, to be exact), but after my roomie accidentally knocked a can of soda into the tank he didnt survive long.
What i used to find really interesting was how they changed the texture of their skin. Like you said, it takes only a split second to change from a sandy color to a dark maroon./black. I had some very spiky rock that he would hide on; half the time i didnt even realize he was there because his skin would change to match the texture of the rock.
The only advice i can offer this early in the game is not to spook him. If he squirts ink it means you need to do a major water change (%50 or so) to prevent suffocation (the ink sticks to his gills). Im sure ill think of more later, but keep us informed as you progress

oh yes; dont worry about him biting your fingers. Although i was very careful around the blue ring...mainly because he was deadly....the pacific dwarf were generally un-aggressive towards my hands. They will grab onto your hands if given the opportunity, but once they satisfy their curiosity they will let go. In fact, they often push your fingers away. I generally fed my octos with a chopstick, but fingers work just as well as long as you’re careful and dont allow him to grab them.
 
aw2x3

aw2x3

Active Member
To answer the most pressing question...
It's an O. Bimac.
Now, onto the bad news. Dont expect it to survive in that sump. The slots you have cut, for the water to flow in, are small enough for him to be able to squeeze through them. Octopus can squeeze thru a holes that's as big as their mouth...so, for one your size, you're looking at him being able to squeeze thru something that's less than 1/4".
You'll get 10 - 12 months out of he/she. If it's male, it'll just up and die. If it's female, it'll lay unfertilized eggs, which it will guard for a month or 2 and then it will die.
Let me be the first to tell you that duct tape will not work, to keep it in the tank. It'll eventually learn that if it gets the tape wet, it can push the tape off of whatever hole it's covering.
I also saw you mention putting it in a tank with corals. BIG, BIG no-no. Even the most hardy/non-stinging corals will be potent enough to sting and kill an octo.
 
chunks

chunks

Member
Originally Posted by AW2x3
Now, onto the bad news. Dont expect it to survive in that sump. The slots you have cut, for the water to flow in, are small enough for him to be able to squeeze through them. Octopus can squeeze thru a holes that's as big as their mouth...so, for one your size, you're looking at him being able to squeeze thru something that's less than 1/4".
I also saw you mention putting it in a tank with corals. BIG, BIG no-no. Even the most hardy/non-stinging corals will be potent enough to sting and kill an octo.
nope, and yup.
Ive had bimacs that have made no attempt to escape what so ever. They would get curious, but would go no further than sticking a tenticle out of the water. Its really more of an individual thing than an entire species thing, so if you keep a close eye on him, you can determine if hes one to try and escape.
The coral issue is a big one. Ive kept pacific dwarfs in a reef setup with items as powerful as elegance and frogspawn, but its more likely than not that the octo will become curious enough to touch one and that will be bad news. The pacific dwarf i kept in the reef setup (the one who died after the coke overdose
) actually met his end in the mouth of a lobophyllia...but im sure the coke damaged him enough to prevent him from pulling away
 
krazekajin

krazekajin

Active Member
I was in La Jolla, by San Diego last November and we were snorkling. There was an old man who was sticking his hands under rocks. He told me he likes to catch octopi. So being brave/or dumb, I started doing the same thing. We would reach under a rock and wiggle our fingers. The octopus would grab them. Here is a pic of one we caught. All were released in less than five minutes.
 
aw2x3

aw2x3

Active Member
Dwarf Octopus rarely ever come out of hiding, once they find their home, tho.
Bimacs are much, much more active...even during the day.
Every person that I've ever know to keep Bimacs (including the ones I've kept myself) have ALWAYS tried to get out.
Once a coral latches onto any octo, that's it. IF it's able to get away, which 99% of the time it's not, it'll die anyway. You've taking care of an imal that'll live barely more than a year, so why take the chance?
My last one learned that if he wet the duct tape, that was holding down the lid), that it would lose it's adhesiveness and he eventually worked his way out. We're talking about an octo that was the size of a beer bottle cap, against a piece of duct tape that was 4" - 6" long.
 
aw2x3

aw2x3

Active Member
Originally Posted by chunks
nope, and yup.
Ive had bimacs that have made no attempt to escape what so ever. They would get curious, but would go no further than sticking a tenticle out of the water. Its really more of an individual thing than an entire species thing, so if you keep a close eye on him, you can determine if hes one to try and escape.
The coral issue is a big one. Ive kept pacific dwarfs in a reef setup with items as powerful as elegance and frogspawn, but its more likely than not that the octo will become curious enough to touch one and that will be bad news. The pacific dwarf i kept in the reef setup (the one who died after the coke overdose
) actually met his end in the mouth of a lobophyllia...but im sure the coke damaged him enough to prevent him from pulling away

Dwarf Octopus rarely ever come out of hiding, once they find their home, tho.
Bimacs are much, much more active...even during the day.
Every person that I've ever know to keep Bimacs (including the ones I've kept myself) have ALWAYS tried to get out.
Once a coral latches onto any octo, that's it. IF it's able to get away, which 99% of the time it's not, it'll die anyway. You've taking care of an imal that'll live barely more than a year, so why take the chance?
My last one learned that if he wet the duct tape, that was holding down the lid), that it would lose it's adhesiveness and he eventually worked his way out. We're talking about an octo that was the size of a beer bottle cap, against a piece of duct tape that was 4" - 6" long.
 
chunks

chunks

Member
Im not contesting their intellegence, just giving my experience
Im not suggesting that he gets coral either, it would be a bad idea in fact, again...just giving my experience
Ive only kept a couple bimacs (one i only kept for a month or so before getting rid of it), so I guess they were less than curious ones. Ive heard plenty about bimacs atempting to escape, and horror stories about owners finding a dried up prune outside of their tank too. I found that using plastic mesh (the kind you see on screen doors) works really well to keep octos from getting out. Just use some aquarium silicone to keep it in place.
 
aw2x3

aw2x3

Active Member
I found my last one on the basement floor...stuck to the bottom of my foot (barefoot), all sticky. LOL
 
goodwin9

goodwin9

Active Member
AW2X3 & Chunks...Please keep your information and suggestions coming How big will a Bimac get in captivity? I have been feeding frozen krill & silversides. How often should they be fed? He has also been depleting the snail population in the refugium from what it appears. I'll skip the idea of adding corals in the new tank and stay with just rockwork.
If he were to make it through the teeth in the refugium, he will still have to navigate by the foam filter before he would be in the pump and skimmer section which does not have a top. I did cover the pump intakes with bridal mesh just incase.
The new tank should be here in a couple of weeks and is supposed to be "octopus proof"
 
canisee2

canisee2

Member
Very cool looking but i cant tell you anything about him but he looks very healthy wish you the best of luck
.
Austin
 
chunks

chunks

Member
Im pretty sure bimacs dont get bigger than 7inches (mantle size, legs not included), but im more of a dwarf pacific guy, AW23 is gonna have to confirm.
just so i know, how much about octos do you know?
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
there is a very informative site dedicated to keeping octos.
its something with the word bimac in it. try bimac.org....
or do a search
 
goodwin9

goodwin9

Active Member
Originally Posted by chunks
just so i know, how much about octos do you know?
I probably don't know as much as I should. I have been reading about them for the past couple of months after watching a show about them on the Discovery channel.
 
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