squid or octopus

streetsurf

streetsurf

Member
Hey guys, I found a new addition to my tank! Unfortunately I am unsure if it is a squid or an octopus. Could someone please explain the differences in appearance??? Also, what is the reccommended tank size and what are the feeding habits of each. Are either reef safe?? Any info on either species would be helpful!
Thanks in advance!!
BTW, I found him/her at Fort DeSoto beach in FL. I was just picking up empty shells and about 5 minutes later while I was sitting down next to my cool new shells, somethins spit water at me. When I looked over I saw the squid/octopus staraing me down from inside one of the shells. Pretty cool I thought. It has been living in a 10 gallon tank for about 2 weeks now and seems to be doing just fine. I have been feeding the tank cyclopeeze and his tankmates are nothing but a couple of stone crabs and one peppermint shrimp with plenty of live rock. I'll try to get some pics of him if I can soon, he loves to hide.
 
streetsurf

streetsurf

Member
It will be awefully tough being that he likes to hide in places where I can't take his picture and I don't want to stress him out by putting my hand in there to move stuff around. even when I feed the tank, he doesn't come out. Maybe I'm just not feeding him what he wants or he's still stressed out from the move.
 
f1shman

f1shman

Active Member
Well the best I can describe them is that an octopus has 8 legs and a big head. And the squid is more straight and its legs are close together and it has a small head. I've heard that octopus can be really really hard to keep so how long has your tank been set up for? Also make sure you cover every inch of the top because they can squeeze through anything their beak can.
 
streetsurf

streetsurf

Member
that particular tank has been up and running for about 6 months now. It's tough to keep it stable because it is only a 10 gallon tank. I have a 25 gal reef tank that has been up and running for about a year and a half now. I was considering putting him in that tank because i pay a lot more attention to that particular tank, but I don't know if he would eat my clownfish, small crabds, snails, corals, or anything else. Besides, I am more apt to see him in my 10 gallon than in my 25 gal. Now when I put him in my tank originally, he did swim to the closest rock that he could find and spewed out a little bit of ink and his head elongated and his head almost came to a point. Is this useful information in determing the species??
 
streetsurf

streetsurf

Member
it isn't very big either, his head is only about an inch and his tentacles are about 3-4 inches long, i haven't tried counting it's tentacles yet either.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Squid do not go into shells so if it is a cephalopod, it is an octopus. Squid are more open water swimmers. But cyclopeeze wouldn't be a suitable diet for either.
 
streetsurf

streetsurf

Member
ok, so I am going to call it an octopus from now on, If cyclopeeze will not work, then what is going to be the best food for an octopus
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Generally they consume snails, crustaceans, etc....you can try thawed out krill, or similar. May want to do some searches on octopus. A couple of people with experience. Mine is only with much larger octopus so not sure what to do with the little beasts.
BE WARNED though that they do require special care and are known "escape artists." :yes: May need to do some work to the tank to keep it long term.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Use google to look up an article on "cephalopods" by Colin Dunlop.
Octopus briareus is a common Florida species.
I reckon from the description that you might have the common dwarf octopus Octopus joubini
 
J

jcrim

Guest
Keep in mind, some octupus are extremely venemous. A blue-ring octopus, for example, lives in shallow water and is extremely small. If a person got bit by one, they probably wouldn't feel it but it could be fatal. Aside from that, an octopus should not be put with other fish or you will lose the fish. Also, be careful when servicing the tank, because if your octopus is scared it may ink in the tank and create quite a mess.
 
nanocuber7

nanocuber7

Member
its definately an octopus because i have found the exact same thing on the beaches in miami i believe its the florida pygmy ostopus but im not sure.
 
streetsurf

streetsurf

Member
Just thought I'd post a quick update about my newly found octopus!! I went to my lfs and bought some ghost shrimp and when I got home to feed him, I grabbed a shrimp and waived it in front of his little hole and out came the tentacles. He grabbed the shrimp right out of my fingers and in about 10 minutes out popped the shell of the shrimp. I'm very excited and hope all goes well in the long term.
p.s. hope to post some pics soon!!! (He's still shy)
 
sankysyuck

sankysyuck

Member
Octopus are not reef safe and are easier then you may think to keep.
They need at least a moderate size tank of at least 25 gallons (If they get to big you will need much bigger.)
From the one I care for I can tell you that they are not picky eaters. The first two weeks I had mine I fed her feeder goldfish but goldfish lack nutrients and are very fatty, a bad choice for them. Then the next two weeks I fed her live crabs that I collected from a local beach, she liked them a lot the only problem is that they cause a mess in the tank because all there claws and shells scatter everywhere in the tank (when you feed them bigger ones is gets worse.) I noticed that because of the mess the crabs made, it caused the nitrates to rise. If you can get yours to eat frozen food, I reccomend feeding it uncooked cocktail shrimp or cleaned smelts, they will also eat silversides but mine is too big and I can tell she doesn't care for the small size of silversides anymore. When feeding Octopus theses foods, they don't seem to create any waste and don't pollute the tank because they eat the whole thing and there is nothing to be left behind.
Maintain regular water quality, try to keep nitrates low however, from my experience I can tell you that they seem very hardy in the highest of nitrates.
Make sure there are no openings or any way that they can escape from your tank, I actually wrapped bricks up in alluminum foil and scattered them across the lid of my tank because beleive me, she tries hard to escape.
As far as Intake tubes from filters, I've heard it may be a bad idea to keep filters with such but I have noticed that the octopus is so strong that there is no way they're tentacles could be sucked in, unless the octopus was very sick and/or dieing. I've seen mine glide up and down the tube and wasn't even bothered by the intake.
Keep in mind they are not long lived. Their lifespan ranges from 6 months to about a year and a half, so don't expect to have them for a very long time.
Try not to keep bright lighting in the tank, I actually hardly ever turn on my light because they're nocturnal animals and if the light is turned off they may feel more comfortable to come out during the day.
Well, I hope this was enough information for you! Hope it does well. h*
 
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