OK, Tell me what you think about this idea. I have been toying with the idea of creating an octopus "fully secured cage” when I upgrade my 55g to a 90g at the end of the summer. According to Dr. Fosters& Smith they stock an octopus that grow to only 14”. The idea is to have two tanks, a main display tank that sits on top of the stand “obviously” and an octopus tank on the bottom. The stand would be designed to give full view of the 55g octopus refuge on the bottom with only 2 -4x4 post on either end for proper support. The idea is to create a FOLR set up on the bottom and a reef on top. I would only use actinic lighting and provide as much live rock as possible. I would also be open to the idea of having two stand alone systems that appear to be a refuge type setup. I think it’s important to keep the tank low as it may help create an exclusionary cave type zone for the animal. As far as inking goes, I assume it only happens under agitation. So if I accidentally caused the animal to ink I could just shut down the return pump to the main display, there fore isolating the contaminated water. I have an unlimited supply of free salt water from a local research facility, so water replacement is not a huge issue. It’s just a logistical pain to replace any more than 40 or 50 gallons.
I would appreciate any input especially from anyone that knows the physiology of octopus such as diet and metabolic rate.
that sounds interesting, but I honestly don't know a whole lot about octopuses (sp?). I know they are hard to keep,
need excellent water quality and live food.
Wish you the best of luck. When you are done, post some pics.
honestly, i would not keep an octopus
1. harder than heck to keep.
2. life span is tiny and ends after reproduction
3. Most spp are nocturnal
4. and they can be a serious pain to identify, even if you have invertebrate knowedge. (impacts 2 &3)
they can range from 6 mo to a few years for the giant octopus here in the pacific.
i personally feel you are better off choosing something else, this could become an excercise in futility.
if you are bent on it then go here: www.tonmo.com its the best resource i know of.
__________________ Adam J
you would think with a degree and professional career i could actually spell words correctly. sory.
Keep in mind that they are also natural problem solvers. They are able to figure out how to operate simple mechanisms and their physiology lends itself to being able to squeeze through tight spaces. i.e they are real escape artists (or at least I have hear this is tha case).
I have a friend that had an octopus that managed to crawl out of his tank into the reef tank, snatch up a few fish and then get back to his own tank before the owner noticed. He did this many times before my friend figured out that it was the octopus causing the demise of the fish. The octopus actually crawled completely out of both tanks a few times as well and he would find it on the floor, get it back into the tank and everything would be fine. The final journey, however, led to his bedroom and he didn't find the octopus until too late, unfortunately. This all happened with a very "secure" lid, where my friend thought there was no possibly way that he could get out....
its like peeing into a space extraction tube, u wonder if its ever going to fit, but u will be surprised cause it can be bendable.
just like the octopus body, very plyable! can fit into an crevice
I have a friend that had an octopus that managed to crawl out of his tank into the reef tank, snatch up a few fish and then get back to his own tank before the owner noticed. He did this many times before my friend figured out that it was the octopus causing the demise of the fish. The octopus actually crawled completely out of both tanks a few times as well and he would find it on the floor, get it back into the tank and everything would be fine. The final journey, however, led to his bedroom and he didn't find the octopus until too late, unfortunately. This all happened with a very "secure" lid, where my friend thought there was no possibly way that he could get out....
there is a story about an octopus at the steinhart aquarium that would undo the locking devices and go into another another tank to steal dungeness crabs each night. initially it was thought that the night janitors were stealing the crabs and a camera was installed to catch the workers. everyone was shocked when the thief caught on film had eight legs.
i heard somewhere that octopus does not like to climb on astro-turf.
Have you ever checked out www.tonmo.com ? One of these days I will have a Bimac Octopus. If I can ever find a captive bred baby. There used to be a guy in CA that bred them and sold them on his website: www.octopets.com , but he got out of it. Now, I can't seem to find any.
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