Octopus tank

adam13

adam13

Member
I am going to set up an octopus tank. For a single octo. Most likely a 20 gal. Any ideas or suggestions on how to seal the tank to prevent escape? Are the filters that are completely submerged in the tank sufficient to keep the octo healthy and happy? Is lighting an issue of cosmetics, or is there a minimum ammount needed to keep an octo healthy? Any additional help is appreciated. What kind of octo stays relatively small? NOT a blue ring, I dont want to mess with that,
ADAM
 
ponzspyder

ponzspyder

New Member
Keep in mind that I know nothing about Octopuses but your post made me curious. Thanks to google I found a pretty good website on them, Click Here.
Based on what I read...
lighting is not really important.
What is important is the oxygen level of the tank, keep it high!
Copper is deadly as are other metals, use carbon filtering regularly to clean water of pollutants and in case of an ink cloud.
Cover every little hole, crack, slit ( including the intake and return on filters )
They are mostly only active at night and feeding time and require lots of hiding areas.
A 30-35gal tank looks to be minimum size for the smallest species available.
Maybe sombody here can give you first hand advice but I wanted to at least tell you the basics that I stumbled uppon.
Good Luck :)
 
nacl-h2o

nacl-h2o

Active Member
A couple of other things to consider is that you will be replacing it every couple of years because they only live around a couple of years depending on the type. You will have to keep perfect water. Many don't handle sudden changes in water quality and most are very sensitive to poor water parameters.
 
slick

slick

Active Member
I believe I read somewhere that you will have to run a chiller because they live in cold water.
 
broncofish

broncofish

Active Member
I had a buddy in highschool who's Dad kept a pygmy octupus(?), I have not seen them for sale since but....he had a 55g tank with NO lights, a wetdry, a canister filter, a chiller, 2 uv sterilizers, and a ton of rockwork for the little guy to hide in. After a while it got used to people being around and was out quite often, and then it died. Just seems all that work for something that will die very quickly would suck. Were talking mid 90's here so I know this guy laid out some cash for that setup, last I heard it's all sitting out in his garage.
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

Active Member
The ideal/best way is to build a custom canopy over a tall tank (30g tall as opposed to a 30g long). Only fill the tank 1/2 - 3/4 full and build the canopy to come down over the tank so the tank looks full. The custom canopy will totally enclose the tank and lower water level will help keep the octo in the tank, not on the carpet.
Lighting is of little value to most octos in the trade - they are generally noctournal cirtters. O2 content is very important, as is keeping the water relatively clean - octos create a lot of waste when they eat.
 
halibutk

halibutk

New Member
I had a octopus as a pet in the wet lab for several years while getting my marine biology degree. (mind you this was flow though aquariums from sewater that was pumped directly fromt he ocean)
Caught him while diving. They are extremly fun pets. Extremely intelligent and love to try and get out of aquariums. Be sure to keep a nice tight seal on your tank or you might find him in the middle of the floor one night.
Oh and you can teach them tricks too. mine was quite large mind you but I taught him how to open mason jars to get the clam meat inside. I dont know what tropical octopi(warm water my octopus was from Alaska) are like (size, etc). But maybe you could teach them a similar trick. All i did was take the mason jar (or other small screw on lid jar) and put their favorite food inside. I then poked wholes in the lid so the could smell the food and left it there watching. Takes them a little while to figure it out but they will and its fun to watch. They are quite playful also.
 
firefishspike

firefishspike

Member
This is an old post I think?!?!? BUt I just got an octupus yesterday and put it in my 180.........he's happy and harrassing the mummichogs
 
pufferfan

pufferfan

Member
regardless of what anyone says, keeping an octo is really easy. Back when i was about 16 i kept one for a while. I had a 30 gal tank with a penguin bio-wheel filter and a seaclone 100. You will definitely want a skimmer to pull out all the ink when the octo shoots it into the water. Mine did it all the time. I fed mine raw shrimp most the time, but his favorite thing to eat was live crayfish. My did great until she laid her eggs, and then just like they do in the wild, she died. They arent very friendly though and you will never see it out during the day unless you put food in there. I just had a regular top on my tank.
 
gregvabch

gregvabch

Active Member
cool post. don't see too many about octopus's. the only thing that stopped me from ever getting one was the realization that it's the only thing you'll have in the tank. i still want one though; my lfs gets them in all the time, and people buy them fairly quick.
 
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