yote
In Memoriam
They say that you CAN survive a blue ring bite,IF you can get on life support with 2 minutes.Heard thats how long it takes for your major organs to start shutting down.
octopus good pet?
- Thread starter reefpanda
- Start date
fdcarlin
Reefing newb
I found some baby octopus' inside empty shells on a grass flat. you would not know anything was in the shell because they take a piece of seaweed or grass and cover the opening of the shell. i thought they would be cool to have in my tank, but i was wrong. i think they are nocturnal, i never saw it come out of hiding. with its legs stretched out it was about as big around as a golf ball, and i caught it escaping through the hole in the lid made for air tube. it wasn't worth keeping something that you never see and is impossible to keep in the tank, so i took them back and let em go.
PufferGuy
Reefing newb
hmm... i really wouldnt wanna die just to keep an octopus, but it would be cool to have
fdcarlin
Reefing newb
dont know if that reply was for me? but the ones i found were just common atlantic octopus. they wouldnt have killed me.
PufferGuy
Reefing newb
no no it was just in general to the blue ring octopus
Alexander
Reef enthusiast
Maybe i can help clear up some of the confusion and mystery around cephalopod care in the home aquaria.
On the subject of octopus. Not all octopus are as curiously sneaky as you all think, and definitely not dangerous enough to get out and start killing all of your non salty pets. The most common octopus in the home aquaria is o. bimaculoides. they are a diurnal species that are typically 8 inches max and end of life cycle. They are not known for escaping the aquarium all too often unlike the other commonly kept octopus o. vulgaris. o. Vulgaris can be a very interesting species to keep but will be much more inclined to try to escape. a secure lid is reccomended for any type of octopus you wish to keep but not with cuttlefish.
one thing to keep in mind is that a 1lb octopus can lift approx 40lbs. some aquarists even just use duct tape with glass tops. Octopus are a wonderful thing to keep if you are properly prepared. there are no stops to be skipped concerning water quality with cephalopods. they are very sensative inverts. you need heavy skimming and usually live food. they produce lots of waste.
As far as cuttlefish and being easy to find in the uk, this is correct when you are talking about wild caught. cuttlefish like the dwarf cuttlefish or sepia bandesis are not found anywhere on the coastal waters of north america. s. officinalis it stypically shipped OK. however s. bandesis are usually recieved either dead or at the end of life cycle. Bandesis can be trained in early development to accept frozen food. however officinalis take only live food and are very expensive to keep with diet alone. Your best bet with cuttlefish is s. bandesis. There are a few hobbiests in the states that are successfully breeding these dwarf cuttlefish. they have eggs that are able to purhcase at parts of the year and very young food trained cuttles aswell. the young ones are a little more expensive as all eggs may not be viable and are not guranteed. Your best situation for this is to set up a nusary to continually breed and raise new cuttles, as the natural life cycle of them is only about 1 year.
Feel free to ask if there are any more questions reguarding ceph care. Also tonmo.com is a WONDERFUL resource.
On the subject of octopus. Not all octopus are as curiously sneaky as you all think, and definitely not dangerous enough to get out and start killing all of your non salty pets. The most common octopus in the home aquaria is o. bimaculoides. they are a diurnal species that are typically 8 inches max and end of life cycle. They are not known for escaping the aquarium all too often unlike the other commonly kept octopus o. vulgaris. o. Vulgaris can be a very interesting species to keep but will be much more inclined to try to escape. a secure lid is reccomended for any type of octopus you wish to keep but not with cuttlefish.
one thing to keep in mind is that a 1lb octopus can lift approx 40lbs. some aquarists even just use duct tape with glass tops. Octopus are a wonderful thing to keep if you are properly prepared. there are no stops to be skipped concerning water quality with cephalopods. they are very sensative inverts. you need heavy skimming and usually live food. they produce lots of waste.
As far as cuttlefish and being easy to find in the uk, this is correct when you are talking about wild caught. cuttlefish like the dwarf cuttlefish or sepia bandesis are not found anywhere on the coastal waters of north america. s. officinalis it stypically shipped OK. however s. bandesis are usually recieved either dead or at the end of life cycle. Bandesis can be trained in early development to accept frozen food. however officinalis take only live food and are very expensive to keep with diet alone. Your best bet with cuttlefish is s. bandesis. There are a few hobbiests in the states that are successfully breeding these dwarf cuttlefish. they have eggs that are able to purhcase at parts of the year and very young food trained cuttles aswell. the young ones are a little more expensive as all eggs may not be viable and are not guranteed. Your best situation for this is to set up a nusary to continually breed and raise new cuttles, as the natural life cycle of them is only about 1 year.
Feel free to ask if there are any more questions reguarding ceph care. Also tonmo.com is a WONDERFUL resource.
yote
In Memoriam
Great info Alexander.
