octopus

[cwgibson]

hey guys i was reading the thread about the guy who got the blue ring and i was just wondering how difficult a "safe" octopus was to keep; aside from their escaping profeciency.

 

[xdave]

They're pretty hard, but doable. You really have to be dedicated to their care. They make for interesting pets though. A guy I knew had one in what was basically a swimming pool with a window in the rec room. He never escaped because he was happy where he was. It would open the lid and reach out and take oysters right out of your hand. If someone tapped on the glass he would reach out of the tank and turn the lights off. If you make a face at him he would do that scaring pulsating stripes thing.
Keep in mind that the tank was 8'L x 12'W x 6'H, 4600 gallons is easier than usual to keep clean.

 

[sign guy]

what is a good size tank for an octopus ?

 

[cwgibson]

yea i was thinking about a smaller tank

 

[shiby1510]

I looked into a lot of info about octo's but it comes down to the fact that they're better off in the ocean... even if you keep it in an ideal tank... their life spans are on average no more than 12 months.... its gonna cost a lot of money to upkeep one of these guys with live food and such and have it die within 12 months not to mention its hard to tell how old it is when you bought it... sorry to bear the bad news

 

[xdave]

There really aren't any ready made tanks that could be considered adequate for anything more than their sleeping quarters.

 

[sign guy]

what do you mean? like a secure lid and gaurded over flows and if we did have one biult what gallon size? and does it need to be tall long or anything special

 

[aw2x3]

Someone has already stated that they're not easy to keep, so I'm not going to get into it.
I've kept 3...all Bimac Octos and once you get the hang of it, they're not that hard, at all.
Bimacs are also the most common. Fully grown, you can get away with a 55gal. tank, for them.
The only downside, which was again, already stated...their 12 - 14 months lifespan.

 

[sign guy]

wow even for you, I know your real good at agresive fish

 

[aw2x3]

Originally Posted by sign guy
wow even for you, I know your real good at agresive fish
Even for me, what? Hard to keep them?

 

[sign guy]

yes

 

[aw2x3]

I'm no expert...certainly with octos.
It can certainly be done tho...I've just never made a dedicated effort to do it.

 

[cwgibson]

i forgot they dont live long

 

[sign guy]

I just wanted a spiesis tank and thought an octopus would be cool. my lfs can get em for 35$

 

[cwgibson]

sign you remember that nautalis that ap had? did they sell it?

 

[sign guy]

yes and if I remember corectly an idiot bought it for his reef and I am shure it dead. nick can get them prety easy though

 

[d0 thy d3w]

tehy sold a nautilaus at a pet store?!?!? really!! i dont even remmeber if seaworld had those things!! wit..they are the big snail lookin things that swim deep in the ocean...right??

 

[cwgibson]

thats them, they can go down to around 300m, i cant believe someone bought it for a reef tank.

 

[greenwolf52]

i'm in central florida and i know of lfs in orlando that had one about 3 months ago. they were keeping it in a tank with puffer the size of a darn football. it was pretty AMAZING. i think i'll stick to hermits, snails, and cowries for now.

 

[cwgibson]

with their lifestyle in the wild i cant believe that they even live through shipping.