My Octopus

[Domboski]

I thought I would show a picture of one of my Octopuses for amusement.

 

[bradreef]

Now you know you are going to have to tell us more. that is really cool. how big are they and what type. tank?

 

[jlehigh]

Very cool looking Octopus!

I'm curious, not condemming, but given we know Octopus is among the most intelligent creatures in the sea it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to keep one captively.. Of course I also love seafood soup which usually has lil octopus in it You know what I mean though?

With the level of intelligence the octopus has it knows it's constrained in captivity. They are escape artists because they can use their brain to figure out how to unlatch/unscrew enclosures ect while also being able to squeeze through incredibly small openings.. Couple that with the increbile camoflauging skills and you have one smart and skilled sushi roll

There arent many sea creatures that fascinate me more than octopus and I would LOVE to keep one myself, but I think I look at octopus more like I would look at keeping a dog versus a typical marine animal.. I envision a several hundred gallon cylindrical tank with lots of stuff for the animal to explore and do.

Just sharing my mind..

 

[Domboski]

The pictured Octopus is O. Vulgaris. right now he is pretty small (2"). He is in a 55 gallon tank. My other Octo (which I can never get a could picture of) seems to be a red octopus. I say seems because it is hard to get a picture of him and the place I got him had no idea.

The octopus in the picture is very friendly and loves to interact with people. They both go crazy for fiddler crabs!

 

[Domboski]

I agree with you jlehigh. I try to be careful of the type of Octopus I get. Some species handle being captive a lot better than others. With any animal, the owner plays a big role. There is a lot of responsibility of the owner to keep the octopus happy by introducing toys and interacting with it. I currently have a 90 gallon tank cycling to transfer the O. Vulgaris in later on. I feed the Octos only live food which can be quite expensive but something I feel is important to keep them happy. The biggest downer about Octos is they don't live long (not even in the wild). That to me is a huge tragedy considering how smart they are.

 

[Beckmola24]

My LFS gets them every once in awhile. The ones they get are about an inch. They are SUPER cute and I'd love to keep them, but the problem I have is that they only live a year or so in captivity and I wouldn't be able to deal with losing one. If I had stayed in Seattle I wanted to be a marine biologist and study cepalapods. I think they are the most remarkable creatures and have seen several in the wild during my Puget sound dives

 

[Beckmola24]

Actually females in the wild only live to sexual maturity (I think it is around 8 months or so if I remember correctly). They lay eggs and then die.

 

[bradreef]

I remember a marine biology class I had taken when we were learning about the Pacific Giant octopus. They get really big and actually grow significantly daily. They do have a really short lifespan in the wild though.

 

[Domboski]

Another thing the LFS usually wont tell you about the octo is that if they ink in a closed system they usually die. I found out the hard way about ten years ago. Heavy skimming can help but you can not rely on that only. Water changes immediately help dilute the ink. Some people keep pygmy's in smaller tanks but I always recommend the largest tank possible to avoid an ink death.

 

[Beckmola24]

Good tip about the ink. I didn't know that. How long have you had these octos?

 

[wrightme43]

Thats cool man.
I have always wondered if they would play with those colored acrylic parrot toys. You know the ones that have only acrylic and the little things that move and flip and click?
I love watching the nature shows on octos, squid, and cuttlefish are my favorite. One day I will have a tank for cuttles.
Great idea only feeding live food. I think that will help alot with their hunting and thinking.

 

[Krish]

Very cool octopus!! I've seen a few around here a few times, but they creep me out(LOL) I've seen tons of squid swimming around in the wild as well...Very cool creatures. Hope he works out well for you and he doesn't climb out of the tank and you wake up with him in the bed with you

 

[Domboski]

I have had my red octo for 3 months and the pictured octo for about a month. I'll try to get a picture of the Red octoand and post it later this weekend.

 

[starAU]

Very interesting octopus, I'm fairly new to the hobby and didn't know they only lived for short periods, another thing I've read that stops those silly "oh it looks pretty, I want it" buys.

I've seen the blue ring octopus up close and kept in special public display tanks, but most of you probably know it is not a friend when scared by intruders and can kill you pretty easily too.

But it is still a sexy creature.

 

[Domboski]

Here are the best pics I have of the red octo. He is sitting on top of a clear acrylic test tube that I use to put crabs in. It is awesome how he figures out how to get them out!

 

[Beckmola24]

Super cool! Nice looking octo.