Anyone Keeping Octopus Successfully?

[sohoal tang]

I have always wondered if anyone is able to keep octopus in a home reef aquarium??? If you ARE then HOW LONG have you had the animal?
What do you feed it? What species is it? and do you think you will
be able to keep it alive for years?

What is the KEY in your opinion, of keeping octopus in captivity....
I have been told it is next to impossible and have always wondered
if anyone is doing that successfully?

Thanks
Tim

 

[wombat1]

Try posting here: http://reefcentral.com/vbulletin/forumd ... forumid=38 I've had an O. bimaculoides for 2.5 months now. They're not impossible to keep. I got mine from fishsupply.com.

 

[big o]

i have kept the small brown type dont know the latin nane only lasted just under 1 year.the larger type can live about 7 yrs.

 

[Anonymous]

i have kept the small brown type dont know the latin nane only lasted just under 1 year.the larger type can live about 7 yrs.

Umm, even the giant pacific octopus has a lifespan measured under four years. Most species available in the aquarium hobby have lifespans around 18 - 20 months from hatchling to death.

 

[sohoal tang]

So far, it appears octopus cannot be kept alive very long ....

ANyone challenge that thought?

thanks
Tim :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Sharkky is correct. Their natural lifespan is usually about a year. There's a lot of confusion on this, as attempts by researchers always meet with varying results in their studies. A good rule of thumb to go by is the area the octopus lived in. Tropical species live quick, about a year or so, arctic and deep sea species can last 6+ years. Obviously, deep sea species are much harder to study as well, so no definite data there either.

It's really a pity, considering some of them are so pretty.

Although, I think that one is also poisonous.

 

[liquid]

Check w/ MickAv8r from Inland Reef. I know they're doing some things w/ octopi... You can PM him or check to see if he's in The Sump.

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

Although, I think that one is also poisonous.

Yah, cute little blue ring guy there has one of the top 5 or 10 most potent neurotoxic venoms in the world. :twisted:

And yes, believe it or not I actually have seen them for sale in the LFS before. 8O :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

I had a blue ring octopus for 6 months or so some years ago. I kept it in a small hex aquarium in my room. :twisted: The store I used to work at back then would get them in now and then. Stupid to say the least.
Jim

 

[Anonymous]

From what I understand of the blue ring, they're really not aggressive or anything. I've seen Discovery channel type shows with people picking them up and handling them and everything. Just don't get bitten, as it's the 'saliva' that contains the neurotoxin. The fact that the animal is 'set up' like that really tells me that the toxicity is really more for hunting than anything else (as opposed to something like a lionfish, whose venom is defensive).

 

[wombat1]

A blue ring octopus will definitely see you picking it up as a threat, and they do bite defensively. 2-3 minutes later you're dead, so don't bother calling 911. The Cephalopod Page has a wealth of info on why not to buy blue rings. O. bimaculoides or bimaculatus are the best choices as pets. They're relatively hardy as octos go, not very expensive, readily available, daytime active, and very beautiful. Someone is breeding O. bimacs and selling the babies at FFE in the collector's corner. You should call them for availability or visit fishsupply.com if you want an O. bimac. They will live their entire lifespan if kept in good conditions and fed well.

 

[ChrisIsBored]

What size tanks are you guys keeping your octopus in? It'll be a long way off, but the next tank I want will be a cube and probably the 24" cube from Oceanic which comes out to about 55G's. I was thinking I might try something new with that and an octopus is one of the leading ideas.

 

[wombat1]

Minimum tank size for a bimac is about 30 gallons. 55 is better of course. Just make sure you supersize your skimmer and run carbon continuously. You don't have to worry about depleting elements with octos but they can foul the water real quickly. Pound for pound they produce three times the waste of a fish. I've run them on just LR and a skimmer but a wet dry or fluidized bed filter prob couldn't hurt.

 

[wombat1]

Minimum tank size for a bimac is about 30 gallons. 55 is better of course. Just make sure you supersize your skimmer and run carbon continuously. You don't have to worry about depleting elements with octos but they can foul the water real quickly. Pound for pound they produce three times the waste of a fish. I've run them on just LR and a skimmer but a wet dry or fluidized bed filter prob couldn't hurt.