Octopus / Cephalopods Keeping

[dankolle]

Hello,
I am wondeirng if anyone has kept or tied to keep an octopus? I am really excited about doing this and I want to setup a species only tank for it with a backup tank ready to go incase it inks his main tank. So...any advice? How big should the tank be? On the live aquaria site it said 50 gallons, but it also said plenty of room to swim so should I go for like a 90 gallon? How large do they end up getting? The baby size is 2" - 4"...how big should I expect it to get? And lighting, it said just low level actinic...does that mean sun light is a problem?

Saltwater Aquarium Inverts for Marine Reef Aquariums: Octopus - Assorted

Thanks!

 

[ltljoker]

im not sure on the lighting but i do know you will have to get a cage of some sort to put on top of your tank, cause the are escape artists. They are very strong and will jump out at any givin chance:shock:

 

[dankolle]

Yeah I'm planning a large peice of plexy cut to fit snug and some weights to prevent him from lifting it off

 

[daugherty]

you dont need any special lights just a normal output light will work but keep in mind that they usually only live around 6 to 7 months

 

[Melosu58]

You dont want to use sunlight. Sunlight going through your tank glass is diffused light and will be sure to feed nuisance algea in your light. As far as the octopus they are best left in the ocean. JMO

 

[Bifferwine]

You may want to PM Alexander. He's our resident "Ceph Expert".

 

[sen5241b]

Cement the rock down! They have been known to cause a glass cracking avalanche! Make sure the is oxygen exchange through your cover.

 

[dcantucson]

Sounds like way too much trouble for an animal that only lives 6-7 months. :shock: JMO

 

[wontonflip]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdNAht0oYjQ]YouTube - Amazing Mimic Octopus vs Mantis Shrimp Battle[/ame]


Hehehe...skip to around 4:15 and you'll see a run in w/ a mantis shrimp. But the octopus swims away quickly before any real fight happens. But it's fun watching it swim around to avoid the videographer. It even changed colors a couple of times.

 

[dankolle]

Well my aquarium deal might fall through, so I'm not sure I can house one yet...I was reading some other forums (sorry!) and they were saying life span is between 6 months and 2 years depending on species and environment. They were also saying they are very smart and can open jars and rearrange the aquarium to suit their needs...its really awesome! If I can find another aquarium and decide to get one I'll let everyone know!

 

[dcantucson]

.I was reading some other forums (sorry!) and they were saying life span is between 6 months and 2 years depending on species and environment.

Trader! :shock: :mrgreen:

 

[winyfrog]

I have kept octopus over many many years... I recently just got a new baby, when my cuttle fish passed on. Their life span is the same as octos.

Only purchase tank raised, octopus are very sensitive and wild caught generally won't adjust well to our aquariums. Bimacs are the hardiest and the smallest.

They are very intellagent and need plenty to do to keep them from getting bored.

They also need a varied diet from crabs, shrimp, clams. Yes they do only live up to 2 years if your lucky, the longest I have had one live was for 19 months (tank raised) The longest I have ever had a wild caught live was 6 months.

 

[sen5241b]

Sounds like way too much trouble for an animal that only lives 6-7 months. :shock: JMO

Interesting the Octo decided not to mess with the big mantis shrimp.