octopus tank?
- Thread starter teen
- Start date
lexus9903
New Member
I wouldnt want to try it! Octopus are extremly smart and can fit through darn near any sized opening! We used to have one at a lfs I worked at in Florida. We had to put a cinder block on top of the tank because he could open the lid. They can also fit through holes of less than an inch. The tank has to be built like a fortress. They also are very intellegant and need stimuli in their tanks to keep them from getting bored. This is one I personally feel is best left to admire out in the ocean. Although they are amazing animals!
1journeyman
Active Member
Agreed. Leave them in the ocean. Too intelligent for our home tanks.
E
exile415
Guest
funny. octopus tank. just sounds funny to me.
fishieness
Active Member
yes... hell yes.... They will eat anything you put in there. They will eat any fish, crustaceans, pry open any clams. Live rock and thats abouta it. I dont think they would do well with corals either. They have a razor sharp beak as well as tons of little tooth-linned suckers to basicaly eat anything they want. I do hear though, if you want to keep one, surround the top with asro-turfand they will never go near it because they hate the feel. I want to get a little octo, but there are so many risks involved. Also if he inks in the tank, he will die just from the mass cloud of it. But the dwarfs will do fine in the smaller tanks. Also many species are nocturnal, so you are less likely to see them too often during the day. I bet if you get a moon light if would be relay cool to watch him pass it at night though.
blitz99
Member
inking is a myth... yes, they ink... but it WILL NOT kill him or ruin your water...
mine would ink once a week or so... usually when i'd wake up in the middle of the night and flip on the light switch, he'd freak out because i'd just be there out of nowhere... he'd ink and jet off to his spot... come back a few minutes later...
i remember i had to keep him in a 5 gallon tank for a week because i cracked my 29... he even inked in that and had no issues.
there are so many misconceptions about octo's its not even funny.. i'd bet eighty percent of the people who give advice about them have never even kept them because of what they read some "expert" write... an expert who also never kept them.
they only cost 40 bucks.. and since you only decorate with rock they are cheap... cheaper than a reef or even FOWLR...
i will be using a submersable filter and or undergravel with a reptile screen top cut to fit perfect... also, will caulk the openings.... i just need to figure a few things out... cuz i'm thinking the wires, tubes, etc... will be just about permanent on that screen.
mine would open mt. dew bottles for a gold fish.. he'd also climb on my hand and NOT bite me... you could show him a mirror of himself and he'd get pissed... get these bumps that showed his anger... they change colors... awesome animals.
mine would ink once a week or so... usually when i'd wake up in the middle of the night and flip on the light switch, he'd freak out because i'd just be there out of nowhere... he'd ink and jet off to his spot... come back a few minutes later...
i remember i had to keep him in a 5 gallon tank for a week because i cracked my 29... he even inked in that and had no issues.
there are so many misconceptions about octo's its not even funny.. i'd bet eighty percent of the people who give advice about them have never even kept them because of what they read some "expert" write... an expert who also never kept them.
they only cost 40 bucks.. and since you only decorate with rock they are cheap... cheaper than a reef or even FOWLR...
i will be using a submersable filter and or undergravel with a reptile screen top cut to fit perfect... also, will caulk the openings.... i just need to figure a few things out... cuz i'm thinking the wires, tubes, etc... will be just about permanent on that screen.
mine would open mt. dew bottles for a gold fish.. he'd also climb on my hand and NOT bite me... you could show him a mirror of himself and he'd get pissed... get these bumps that showed his anger... they change colors... awesome animals.
b18c5hatch
Member
I think it will be kind of cool,
you wake up in the middle of the night and theres your little octo with the remote in one sucker and sipping a can of pepsi on the other while sitting on the couch.....
wouldnt put it passed them!
you wake up in the middle of the night and theres your little octo with the remote in one sucker and sipping a can of pepsi on the other while sitting on the couch.....
wouldnt put it passed them!
teen
Active Member
im pretty sur im gonna try this out. im gonna use a 20 gallon and maybe a real like huge octopus needs an 80 but not a dwarf, hed be perfectly fine in a 20 gallon, maybe even a 10 gallon. i had one and he used to only come out at night, unitl one day he came out during the day, started changing colors and died like 5 minutes later. im gonna try the astro turf idea, and also get some moon lights.
this is gunna be so much fun :cheer: :jumping:
this is gunna be so much fun
:cheer: :jumping:
fishieness
Active Member
ive always wanted to do that.
BLitz, sorry for the false info then! Ive read from a few people on this post about it happening so i figured it happened to them, but maybe not. sorry once again!
I want to try a dwarf oct at some point in my life. Couldnt realy have a clean up crew though. But it would be awsome.
BLitz, sorry for the false info then! Ive read from a few people on this post about it happening so i figured it happened to them, but maybe not. sorry once again!
I want to try a dwarf oct at some point in my life. Couldnt realy have a clean up crew though. But it would be awsome.
1journeyman
Active Member
"this is gunna be so much fun"
For you my friend, but not so for your pet. That size tank for that intelligent of a creature is just not good animal husbandry.
For you my friend, but not so for your pet. That size tank for that intelligent of a creature is just not good animal husbandry.
teen
Active Member
i really dont think that octopus need that big of a tank, especially a dwarf, have u ever even seen one or had one? if not, its hard to to say whats right and whats not. fish are alive to be in an open ocean and most are put into tanks of about 55 gallons, thats like u being under house arrest for ur whole life so saying that its cruel for an octopus to be in that size tank is like saying that almost everyone on this site should not have fish. especially fish that are caught in the wild and brought into a home tank. as long as u keep them occupied and keep there mind stimulated im pretty sure there will be no problems, but ill keep u posted and let u know how well everything goes when its all set up, the 20 galloon is just an idea, i have plenty of bigger tanks, i just dont think a 55 of somthing that big is necessary for a pygmy octopus. i know people that keep them and nobody has a 45 or bigger for them.
hermitkrab
Member
That is true teen but... some fish live in the ocean but don't actually swim around the seven seas. How big of a tank you need for a certain fish is sort of what size its territory would be. Sharks need 100s or 1,000s of gallons not just because they are big but that is about the size of their "home" in the wild. What you said about being on house arrest is kind of true but... people live on land but you don't walk up to Ontario do you? Of course though keeping animals in captivity is never a good idea no matter what it is if you really want to boil it down that far. I believe it is humans who need animals because I believe subconsciously humans need control. What I mean is humans need to know if I don't feed the fish they will die... it is a sense of owning. People have done it for hundreds of years from slaves, kings, presidents, and even families. Humans in order to survive mentally need control of something else knowing is needs them. And as crazy as that may seem I believe this to be true. But if I was going to start a octo tank I would say it should be big like 55 because that way it would keep it interested. And octo is like a kid, sure you could keep them locked up in the house for their life but then they will never grow mentally. An octo needs space like a kid needs to go play outside. good luck though teen.
But what do I know I'm stilla freshman in highschool, lol.
:yes:
But what do I know I'm stilla freshman in highschool, lol.
:yes:
fishieness
Active Member
haha, im a sophmore.
but i do agree with you on the nesessity for humans to want to have a purpose in life. Taking care of something not only gives you power, but if makes you feel wanted. A larger tank would be a good idea, but once again it depends on the type of octo you get. A bimac, still relativly small, should have a tank of at least 75 gallons because it swims around more than a dwarf. However, there are other ways to keep it interested. You need to put pleasty of rock in there for hiding obviously, with a lot of caves. It is when they have nothing to do when they start escaping searching for something else. You can even put some realy cheap hermits or saltwater feeder fish, or if worse comes to worse, green chromis in there every once in a while just to keep him hunting have having something to do. I have seen them go through mazes, and creat dens by piles tons of rocks up with one flat one for a door. Even opening bottles and such to get food. Bigger would be better for the tank size, however, depending on the type, it is not always nesessary, just make sure you have pelanty of things to keep him interested and living a good life.
but i do agree with you on the nesessity for humans to want to have a purpose in life. Taking care of something not only gives you power, but if makes you feel wanted. A larger tank would be a good idea, but once again it depends on the type of octo you get. A bimac, still relativly small, should have a tank of at least 75 gallons because it swims around more than a dwarf. However, there are other ways to keep it interested. You need to put pleasty of rock in there for hiding obviously, with a lot of caves. It is when they have nothing to do when they start escaping searching for something else. You can even put some realy cheap hermits or saltwater feeder fish, or if worse comes to worse, green chromis in there every once in a while just to keep him hunting have having something to do. I have seen them go through mazes, and creat dens by piles tons of rocks up with one flat one for a door. Even opening bottles and such to get food. Bigger would be better for the tank size, however, depending on the type, it is not always nesessary, just make sure you have pelanty of things to keep him interested and living a good life.
teen
Active Member
who knows what ill do, i got a 55 maybe i will maybe i wont. i dont want eeveryone being all pissed off and all so idk wat im gunna do at this point. i know most fish stick to territory, but what about those that dont, i guarantee, that most fish swim in an are bigger than a foot or two that represents the size of most home tanks. fish dont drive they swim everywhere, its there only meens of transportation. people have cars so theybtravel a lot more and cover more distance so its not really like walking to ontario because a fish has no idea of another means of transportation besides swimming
teen
Active Member
i am very aware of an octopus' needs for their minds to grow and the reason i want one is because there smart and interesting. i know there needs and im prepared to offer what is neccasery for him to live and be happy. i dont want one just because wow they have tentacles or look they change pretty colors, im not interseted in that even though it is amazing, but how many animals do u know that can open a bottle??? i see this as a good idea, and i feel that if i keep his mind stimulated with planty of new shells, food, new terrain and other things to challenge him mentally, he'll turn out just fine.
blitz99
Member
heres another octo story for you...
i worked at an LFS when i was 17ish... well, i was a bad kid and stole everything.... (i'm good now though)
so i had that octo... but before that i had a regular salt tank with live rock... i had a mandarin, a sweet lips (yes, in a 29), and a copper banded butterfly (remember, we didnt "know" better back then.. it was late 80s)... anyway, i got the octo and put him in with my fish... slowly but surely he ate everything.... expensive (if i had paid for them) food.
i worked at an LFS when i was 17ish... well, i was a bad kid and stole everything....
(i'm good now though)so i had that octo... but before that i had a regular salt tank with live rock... i had a mandarin, a sweet lips (yes, in a 29), and a copper banded butterfly (remember, we didnt "know" better back then.. it was late 80s)... anyway, i got the octo and put him in with my fish... slowly but surely he ate everything.... expensive (if i had paid for them) food.
teen
Active Member
so blitz,
whats ur opinion on all this, since ur the only one that seems to have any good opinions or any other knowledge besides me on this topic. what size u think is esential for a pygmy octopus to live and thrive? im thinkin like a 30ish with some live rock and shells and stuff with moon lights.
whats ur opinion on all this, since ur the only one that seems to have any good opinions or any other knowledge besides me on this topic. what size u think is esential for a pygmy octopus to live and thrive? im thinkin like a 30ish with some live rock and shells and stuff with moon lights.