Octopus Care 101

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by MIKE22cha
Are cuttlefish easier because they don't require a seal proof tank?
They don't require a sealed tank, but I wouldn't say they're easier. Very similar care. I haven't kept any myself though.

 

[mike22cha]

Ok but it would be easier to set up a tank for them? I'm kinda thinking of getting one, but not till after I get my own home after college. Don't worry that will be a while and I'll have plenty of time to learn more on TONMO.com.

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by MIKE22cha
Ok but it would be easier to set up a tank for them? I'm kinda thinking of getting one, but not till after I get my own home after college. Don't worry that will be a while and I'll have plenty of time to learn more on TONMO.com.

Yes

 

[sepulatian]

Texas, I am sorry if I downed your knowledge of Octopus, I certainly didn't mean to. I apparently spelled the name of the website wrong as well. ...OOPSIE, my fault. Sorry Texas. I looked into getting an octopus and read quite a bit at TONMO.com (is that correct?) I copied and pasted. They are awsome but expensive and not long lived.

 

[texasmetal]

Just to add to this:
I have found that Abdopus aculeatus aka the "Bi-pedal Octopus" is fairly well-mannered in a peaceful community tank. I decided to test the theory myself after following the experience of another keeper who had an A. aculeatus in a tank with seahorses, sailfin tang, and a ribbon eel of all things. The octopus would compete with the eel for the den space it prefered, but neither harmed the other.
I am currently keeping one with a yellow coris wrasse and small blue-spotted rabbitfish, as well as 3 peppermint shrimp and various snails. It isn't bothered by the fish and doesn't bother the fish and has yet to show any attempt at eating the shrimps. I also kept one in a community tank at work with firefish, sand-sifting gobies, clowns, and a tang, as well as emerald crabs and it never bothered any of them, but seemed to know the fiddler crabs were food.
For good measure I must point out again though that this is one particular species (Abdopus aculeatus) and not all octopuses.

 

[johnjamiesonx]

good read. not planning to keep an octo though.

 

[runn3rb3an]

hi i have a 29 gallon tank with good filtration with lots of live rock with good hiding places. is it possible to keep any type of octopus in this tank?

 

[indigobluetc]

No. The reasons have been stated in your other posts..

 

[runn3rb3an]

thanks for the reply. i have talked to other lps and they have all said this would be fine. are they just trying to get me to buy one. i have very good water quality and there is almost no way for the octo to escape. is it the size of the tank? thanks again for bearing with me

 

[indigobluetc]

Most LFS care about the money sadly enough. Most can get out of a tank fairly easy.. They make octo tanks form what I understand. You gonna think all is well and wake up to a 8 leg dog.. With a 29g tank its gonna be hard to keep the water quality up.

 

[runn3rb3an]

thanks. the biocube i have is probably impossible to get out of. i even have trouble opening it myself so im not too worried about that. will the water quality be enough of a problem alone even with frequent water changes?

 

[indigobluetc]

I would say its gonna be hard just like others have said.. I mean If your still considering it why even ask if its gonna work when pretty much everyone said it wont.. I mean My uncle had one a long time ago and that tank was "impossible to get out of" and that darn thing always went for a walk around the house.. Never figured out how it got out. I mean a 1/4" hole is all it takes,,

 

[runn3rb3an]

ok. thanks for the advice

 

[aztec reef]

Originally Posted by TexasMetal
http:///forum/post/2233397
whether, tonmo.com, and octopus is a greek word so no reason to pluralize in Latin.
Actually, There are three plural forms of the word octopus.
They include octopi, optopuses, and octopodes.
All three have the word octo which is latin for eight-legged.. octo= ocho (8)
Octavo= eighth

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by TexasMetal
http:///forum/post/2233706
They don't require a sealed tank, but I wouldn't say they're easier. Very similar care. I haven't kept any myself though.
I have at this point kept cuttlefish, raised from eggs. They are easier to deal with than octopuses, considering you don't have to seal your equipment and lid. BUT, they are seriously more expensive to raise from the hatchling stage. They will only attack and eat LIVE mysis shrimp for the first 8 weeks or so. Pods are generally too strong for most hatchlings and escape baby cuttlefishes grasp. After that they are big enough to take on ghost shrimp and be trained on to dead foods like krill and silversides. They are cannibalistic and if enough alternative food isn't provided, they will turn to eating each other. They have to LEARN to hunt, and the weakest will parish if enough food isn't provided and enough seperation isn't provided, with enough individual attention for even the weakest and slowest to flourish.
They are worth the investment. Not only are they entertaining and captivating on a personal level, but they will breed readily given the correct environment, and they are unique and rare enough to gather quite a bit of attention and be a hot commodity to the hobby as a whole.
I suggest anyone who wants to take on a marine organism breeding project choose Sepia bandensis as their creature.
Peanut sized...

Chicken egg sized...

Mature S. bandensis hunting..

 

[cranberry]

STOP with the cuttle videos!!! Do NOT make me want to set up another tank. They are awesome.

 

[truperc]

Very cool!
Any tankmates allowed for a cuttlefish?
Chaemeleonlike feeding is definitely entertaining.

 

[crowland]

hello, I had an octopus and it didnt last longer then a week. so i researched and found out they was more harder to care for then i thought.
so now im going for number two. i have a 4 stage RO/DI system on order and looking for a new filter then the crappy one i have
my question for you is im gonna get a wet/dry filter but i see you said get a skimmer three times the size of your tank, does that apply for filter as well? i have a 75 gal. tank and not sure if i should get a filter for 225 gal. or just go up to 150. or can i get a really big canister filter? looking at 4 stage filter that moves 360gph. whats your thoughts on this? i need to get everything right but cant afford some of this equipment just to be housing an octopus. the skimmer ill be ordering is the

REEF OCTOPUS BH2000 HANG-ON-THE-BACK PROTEIN SKIMMER. what do you think about this skimmer?
if you suggest the wet/dry what size up to 75gal. or higher and whats the min. if i cant get the largest?
thanks for your time and hope you can help me.
ill be like a kid on christmas morning anxiously waiting for your response

 

[texasmetal]

I don't really blog much at all anymore so I didn't see this. Sorry for the wait... although I'm sure it didn't stop you from figuring something out.

The wet/dry is great and I wouldn't discourage using one, but the skimmer is more important. The skimmer IS your filtration. Otherwise, you should just do regular water changes, in any scenario. Water changes can negate the need for heavy duty filtration systems. I've seen some really gorgeous self-sustaining reef tanks that have NO filtration systems. That said, you don't need all the bells and whistles a reef tank typically requires to keep an octopus.
Get a good skimmer. Seal the lid of your tank. Feed the octopus thawed, raw shrimp bought from the supermarket. Easy as that. I swear. The hard part is finding an octopus that isn't already "old". Buying online from a reputable store that will offer a guarantee of sorts is preferable. Honestly, I never had much luck with the octopuses I got from this website, and after discussing it with many others on TONMO, it seemed that it's likely the animals they were receiving were likely caught in a manner that was ultimately fatal to most of the animals. That's a real shame, because O. hummelincki makes a great, fun pet. I haven't ordered one from here in a while though, that might have changed.

 

[mr llimpid]

Good job enjoyed that tremendously, definitely like the part of the toys to play with. All we need now is a video of your octopus playing with his toys.