Octopus
- Thread starter causeidm
- Start date
von_rahvin
Member
You can order one from lab suppliers. they reason that they die so fast in captivity is that their natural life span is only 2 years on the out side. There are places online that supply to labs in it is possible to get a "baby" one for lack of a better word. There is the same problem with cuttlefish.
the last major thing is that your water conditions have to be PERFECT!!!!! they have soo much surface area that the slightest imbalance will kill them very quickly.
I was thinking about setting up a cuttlefish tnak and did some research and bothered some very important people about why things are the way they are.
the last major thing is that your water conditions have to be PERFECT!!!!! they have soo much surface area that the slightest imbalance will kill them very quickly.
I was thinking about setting up a cuttlefish tnak and did some research and bothered some very important people about why things are the way they are.
dsa_mom
Member
I just saw octopi at both the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and the Aquarium at the Mall of America in Mnpls within the last two weeks, they both had their tanks upper edges lined with astro turf--there is something about astroturf that they have trouble getting a hold of to get out. both were big suckers (no pun intened) and creepy looking IMO.
heavenly damsel
Member
When I first started into SW tanks I too thought about an octopus. The more you read on this board the more you learn. I quickly changed my mind. They do need to be in a tank all by themselves and sealed, sealed, sealed! They are very adept at getting out of the tank. They eat everything else put into the tank with them. They have very short life spans and are nocturnal.
There was a thread on here not too long ago stating a fellow had a tank with fish and about 20 ft away had a tank with an octopus only. His fish were disappearing and he couldn.t figure out why. Well...his octopus was getting lunch at night while he slept. That's right, getting out of his tank, going to the other tank to eat, then getting back into his own tank by morning. Sounds hard to believe, but you have to remember how smart these octopus are. That was enough to convince me not to have one. If you have an aquarium in your area go and talk to them about octopus. Then go by the octopus tank and try to find him, they hide very well during the day.
There was a thread on here not too long ago stating a fellow had a tank with fish and about 20 ft away had a tank with an octopus only. His fish were disappearing and he couldn.t figure out why. Well...his octopus was getting lunch at night while he slept. That's right, getting out of his tank, going to the other tank to eat, then getting back into his own tank by morning. Sounds hard to believe, but you have to remember how smart these octopus are. That was enough to convince me not to have one. If you have an aquarium in your area go and talk to them about octopus. Then go by the octopus tank and try to find him, they hide very well during the day.
tallyho
Member
I had one when I lived in Charleston,s.c., A friend on a shrimp boat brought a local one
to me....what a GAS? It was kept alone,of coarse
in a 29 gal high.(this was in 1986).It would
attach itself to the glass with its tenacles
spread out evenly and twirl the ends of each tenacle like pinwheels in various rhythms and paterns.It would change colors and shapes randomly.
It laid eggs in a huge conch shell that hatched
but the 29 gal system crashed before I could
get the local college oceanography class to
accept it.I don't recall the time period I kept
it.
rgds
to me....what a GAS? It was kept alone,of coarse
in a 29 gal high.(this was in 1986).It would
attach itself to the glass with its tenacles
spread out evenly and twirl the ends of each tenacle like pinwheels in various rhythms and paterns.It would change colors and shapes randomly.
It laid eggs in a huge conch shell that hatched
but the 29 gal system crashed before I could
get the local college oceanography class to
accept it.I don't recall the time period I kept
it.
rgds
jakepilot
Member
I kept one for a while a few years ago, what a nightmare... long story short, they blend in to the LR so well its hard to find them...i was adding a piece of LR to my tank, i didnt see him and i scared him, he inked my tank, it killed everything in there that was fish related..thats my expierence do what ya want
tallyho
Member
I might add that mine was pretty big,it has been
a while and my memory is getting worse daily but
I estimate his head was as big as a small mans fist and if he stretched out he could possibly touch the
bottom and top of the 29 gal.high tank. I agree
with the others,it will take quite some attention
and the tank will be a wreck,but was quite amazing to watch..Looking back,keeping it in
such a small tank was not wise and is most probably offensive to some of our colleagues.
If I had a similar one now,it would be kept alone
in a 150.gal.
rgds
a while and my memory is getting worse daily but
I estimate his head was as big as a small mans fist and if he stretched out he could possibly touch the
bottom and top of the 29 gal.high tank. I agree
with the others,it will take quite some attention
and the tank will be a wreck,but was quite amazing to watch..Looking back,keeping it in
such a small tank was not wise and is most probably offensive to some of our colleagues.
If I had a similar one now,it would be kept alone
in a 150.gal.
rgds
uel
Member
The best place online to learn about octopus is The Cephalopod Page at: <a href="http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/index.html" target="_blank">http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/index.html</a>
I have had three octopuses in the last year. The first one escaped through a small hole. The second one was a female. She laid her eggs and died shortly thereafter (that is what they do in the wild). I tried to raise the eggs, but without her there to care for them, it didn't work. The third and final one is a male and is doing great. I have had him for the last two 1/2 months. I have learned a great deal about these fascinating creatures. I have kept them in a 58 gallon tank with and without tankmates. They all would and will eat from my hand. I could go on and on about my experiences. The astoturf or the black plastic that wraps around DLS filters stuffed into small holes will keep them from escaping. It needs to be a very tight fit. They do not like the way it feels and will not try very hard to remove it, but they will try. If it doesn't come out easily they will give up. I have every crack stuffed and the covers weighted down with 24 lbs. of dive wieghts and every cut around tubing for filters is precise. If the proper precations are taken, they can be a great pet. But, heed the the warnings, they can escape through extremely small openings. If their beak can fit through it, they can. That can be an opening as small as 1/4 of an inch! If you are seriously interested in keeping these wonderful creatures, email me at uelkmp@cs.com and I will be happy to help you so that you don't have to go through the same learning curve.
I have had three octopuses in the last year. The first one escaped through a small hole. The second one was a female. She laid her eggs and died shortly thereafter (that is what they do in the wild). I tried to raise the eggs, but without her there to care for them, it didn't work. The third and final one is a male and is doing great. I have had him for the last two 1/2 months. I have learned a great deal about these fascinating creatures. I have kept them in a 58 gallon tank with and without tankmates. They all would and will eat from my hand. I could go on and on about my experiences. The astoturf or the black plastic that wraps around DLS filters stuffed into small holes will keep them from escaping. It needs to be a very tight fit. They do not like the way it feels and will not try very hard to remove it, but they will try. If it doesn't come out easily they will give up. I have every crack stuffed and the covers weighted down with 24 lbs. of dive wieghts and every cut around tubing for filters is precise. If the proper precations are taken, they can be a great pet. But, heed the the warnings, they can escape through extremely small openings. If their beak can fit through it, they can. That can be an opening as small as 1/4 of an inch! If you are seriously interested in keeping these wonderful creatures, email me at uelkmp@cs.com and I will be happy to help you so that you don't have to go through the same learning curve.
