opctopus

[madmax7774]

Has any of the members here ever kept an octopus successfully for any length of time?? I have a nice 30 gallon hex tank that was recently cleaned out and is being restarted fresh. I wanted to try something a little different with it, and have been doing a lot of reading about octopi. What's the general consensus about them???

John

[Gadgets]

I haven't done much research, but I have read that they are short lived.

[dhoch]

Send Pandora (she's not hear regulary, but spends a lot of time on RC) a PM... she used to keep one.

 

Dave

[ireland]

CMAS had a speaker focus on Octopus at one of their meetings a little while back. You might want to check their site for more info. It was very informative, but as I recall what 143gadgets posted is correct. They have short life spans, (less then 12 months I think).

[dmward99]

Yeah they are short lived and prone to try an escape.Keep a tight fitting led and low lights.They will eat anything you put in.including each other(eventually).One last thing keep your rocks secured because they are stronger then you think.You can check this website for more helpful info:www.tonmo.com

[OUsnakebyte]

It's best to stay away from the cephalopods until you have had several years in the hobby. They are not very tolerant of rapid changes in water chemistry, short-lived, and, as mentioned previously are escape artists - I would not recommend them to the beginning hobbiest.

 

Cheers

Mike

[Gatortailale]

I have heard fish stories about them being able to escape from one tank, crawl across floor to another tank on other side of room and eat fish there, then go back to their home tank IF you don't keep a tight lid on their home.

 

Ousnake works with them at zoo, take his advice on them

 

my .02

 

and don't get a blue-ringed http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com/the-gr...ngedoctopus.htm

 

General Information:

 

. . . With a beak that can penetrate a wet-suit, they are one little cute creature to definitely look at BUT Don't touch. The bite might be painless, but this octopus injects a neuromuscular paralysing venom. The venom contains some maculotoxin, a poison more violent than any found on land animals. The nerve conduction is blocked and neuromuscular paralysis is followed by death. The victim might be saved if artificial respiration starts before marked cyanosis and hypotension develops. The blue-ringed octopus is the size of a golf ball but its poison is powerful enough to kill an adult human in minutes. There's no known antidote. The only treatment is hours of heart massage and artificial respiration until the poison has worked its way out of your system.

 

The venom contains tetrodotoxin, which blocks sodium channels and causes motor paralysis and occasionally respiratory failure. Though with fixed dilated pupils, the senses of the patients are often intact. The victims are aware but unable to respond.

 

Although the painless bite can kill an adult, injuries have only occurred when an octopus has been picked out of its pool and provoked or stepped on.

[HowardofNOVA]

Let see,

DEATH

PARALSIS

BITES THROUGH WET SUITS

SERIOUS HOOD LOCK DOWN

EATS EVERYTHING IT CAN GET A HOLD OF!

 

 

...oh look honey over there.... Guppies!! :D

[Leishman]

They had a blue ring @ roozens 18 months ago..............

[keeperofthefish]

They would have a bluering at Roozen's. They'd sell cigarettes to a five year old at that place. I watched them sell a stonefish to someone who had no idea how dangerous it was and who had little kids. Can you say legal liability?

[Guest Ominojacu]

Has any of the members here ever kept an octopus successfully for any length of time?? I have a nice 30 gallon hex tank that was recently cleaned out and is being restarted fresh. I wanted to try something a little different with it, and have been doing a lot of reading about octopi. What's the general consensus about them???

John

 

It's true that they have a very short life span 1-2.5 years, and are very intelligent and versitile. I have seen them escape from a jar by unscrewing the lid from the inside! also having no bones, you will not believe what they can escape from! I've seen people keep them in submerged hamster balls, but even that is not likely to work for long. If you are going to keep these, better not try it in a conventional auqarium. If I was going to do it, I would build a top that screwed down to a rubber seal, with some wing nuts on each corner.

[Guest Ominojacu]

It's true that they have a very short life span 1-2.5 years, and are very intelligent and versitile. I have seen them escape from a jar by unscrewing the lid from the inside! also having no bones, you will not believe what they can escape from! I've seen people keep them in submerged hamster balls, but even that is not likely to work for long. If you are going to keep these, better not try it in a conventional auqarium. If I was going to do it, I would build a top that screwed down to a rubber seal, with some wing nuts on each corner.

 

Actually I looked into this some more and one cephalopod looks real do able. A small species of cuttle fish, Sepia bandensis, the advantage is they have all the interesting characteristics of the octopus but do not try and escape from the tank. At an adult size of four inches they are suitable for tanks as small as 30 gallons. They will of course eat all small fish and critters, and only have a lifespan of 13 months or so. They do breed in aquaria, but maybe difficult to find in the U.S> check out this website for more information:

 

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cuttlefish.php

[dzekunoi]

Actually I looked into this some more and one cephalopod looks real do able. A small species of cuttle fish, Sepia bandensis, the advantage is they have all the interesting characteristics of the octopus but do not try and escape from the tank. At an adult size of four inches they are suitable for tanks as small as 30 gallons. They will of course eat all small fish and critters, and only have a lifespan of 13 months or so. They do breed in aquaria, but maybe difficult to find in the U.S> check out this website for more information:

 

http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cuttlefish.php

Wow, really cool! Now I want one

[steveoutlaw]

Here is a good place to get your questions answered:

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdis...p?s=&forumid=38

[Caribbean Jake]

hint: call Tammy at Washington National ZOO, Smithsonian, they have one in captivity that was shown duting the WAMAS special visit to the ZOO on April 8.

 

 

you are aware that an octopus will need a fish only tank without fish,.. if you decide to add fish they will become expensive food to you and delicatesen to the octopus, and besides, yes it is true they are know for there disappearing act, able to jump out of any tank.

[Guest Ominojacu]

hint: call Tammy at Washington National ZOO, Smithsonian, they have one in captivity that was shown duting the WAMAS special visit to the ZOO on April 8.

you are aware that an octopus will need a fish only tank without fish,.. if you decide to add fish they will become expensive food to you and delicatesen to the octopus, and besides, yes it is true they are know for there disappearing act, able to jump out of any tank.

 

From what I read the cuttle fish doesn't try and escape, granted its a squid and not an octopus, it still has the basic characteristics that make keeping a cephalopod interesting, maybe even more so, since they use there color changes to mesmorize prey and stay out in the open rather then hiding in crevices. Since the cuttle fish is a swimmer and not a climber, I think you'd have an easier time making sure they can't jump out as apposed to an octopus which can use it's tenticals to manipulate it's environment better then can with our fingers.

[Caribbean Jake]

now I am confused.

 

I thought we were talking Octopus here.

[Charlie97L]

now I am confused.

 

I thought we were talking Octopus here.

 

we were, but then the OP (i think) wanted to know about others, or someone suggested a cuttle fish, as there's less security requirements.

 

i think the biggest thing would be you'd need a H-E-double hocky sticks of a chiller to keep a cuttlefish, they're cold water.

[Guest Ominojacu]

we were, but then the OP (i think) wanted to know about others, or someone suggested a cuttle fish, as there's less security requirements.

 

i think the biggest thing would be you'd need a H-E-double hocky sticks of a chiller to keep a cuttlefish, they're cold water.

 

Yeah, I recommended the cuttle fish as alternative, cephalopod, the dwarf species in particular, They do prefer cooler waters, but will live in warmer, the difference is an excelerated life span. In cold water, you might get 24 months out of them, at reef temperatures 12-13. Getting these as eggs is probably the best way to go, less stress aclimating them, and you get the full life cycle. I've seen many positive reports on keeping and breeding these on the net, aside from prefering cold water, they also perfer low lighting. probably not good for SPS tank, but a PC nano, with mostly softies, like my own, seems Ideal, I am considering them. Finding a source that supplies them is proving to be difficult, however. Currently I have no fish, and if I got cuttles, I would be able to keep any other fish with them, but when you have something as cool as a cuttle fish do you really need something else?

Edited April 28, 2006 by Ominojacu

[GaryL]

at the zoo we keep cuttlefish at 22c and at 18c so not as coldwater as you might think. they can be kept in a basic setup, but i would recommend experience with them at first before you try it at home. they do require special vet services and special meds (depending) that you may not be able to get at the LFS.