warpedmind41

Has anyone here had any experience with them?

Or more specifically, has anyone here had any experience with octopuses?

I recently stumbled on some videos that I thought were amazing, and really got to liking them, and I was seeing them in home aquariums, so I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with them?

I know that something like this isn't something you just go out and buy on a whim, not that I even have a tank for one yet, but I really want to hear people's experiences and see what they did to care for one during the short life of an octopus.

Any special equiment you used? How were you able to keep the hood on secure enough to where the thing couldn't slip out? How did you keep the thing entertained so it didn't get bored? Any species anyone can suggest that was particularly easy to keep or did well and stayed relatively small? How long did your's live? Did you enjoy having it, or was it more money and time that it was worth to you? Do you have any pictures of videos of your's? Where did you get your's? And anything else would be helpful in my quest for information.

quentin8

I have a neighbor that had an oct. and they love to rearange the tank and are expert escape artist

sirdarksol

We've had a couple of members keep them, I think. I asked questions like these a couple of years ago, and got a small number of responses.

About the only help I can give is to tell you to research, research, research (which you're already doing). They are really high-maintenance animals.

cerianthus

I wouldnt called it high maintenance but do require some special diet (but manageable when prepare food from supermarket thus less costly) and CLOSE ATTENTION to ANY OPENINGS. Especially one with Overflow Box and/or Built in RR. Most Octupus did well once adjusted to captivity until ir finds/creates openings.
Tried Nautilus couple of time 9about 20 yrs ag, may more) but temp control was a bit of problems during the Summer.

Dont know if still avail but would not recommend to try even if avail. I learned few decades ago, certain animals are better off in natural environments as with Sea Dragon.

sirdarksol

In addition to diet requirements, cephalopods are particularly sensitive to poor water quality. They severely limit the other critters that you can put in the tank. They require a setup with plenty of hiding spaces. Because they're so intelligent, they tend to get more easily stressed in undersized aquaria. They are capable of poisoning a careless keeper (or visitor) and, depending on the type of octopus, their venom can kill. Because their bodies are so different than ours (and even our fishes'), illnesses can be even more difficult to identify than in our fish, and treatment can be nearly impossible.
All of the above (and more) is why I call them high maintenance. Even zoos find them difficult to keep, at times.

cerianthus

W/ octopus, I would only do species tank. I dont think Any LFS in right mind will sell poisonous Octopus such as Blue ring ( I dont know if one can buy/sell/trade legally in US). Common ones avail to hobby is harmless to us and I am sure one who intends to try octopus has done his/her HW. Knowing most Fishlorians, I doubt he/she will neglect the tank!

As matter of fact, I am more concern with the fact that too much (abrupt/massive) changes are done to their tanks. Sometimes such constantand sudden changes in water chemistry are more stressful than stable water conditions. Massive changes should be avoided especially with S/W tank. Well, IMHO.

If as serious as I once was (I still am but just cant afford such anymore), one can DIY natural overflow even with s/w. Have Reserve placed above the tank and plumb with cold tap hooked up to optic water level sensor with other controllers.
For s/w, one can drip new water (well aged s/w) into main tank which will overflow into sump and also have sump overflow into Chamber for Denitrator and/or refugium with skimmer which can be pump back to reserve with automatic system (Recycling S/W) and similar method for f/w without salt.
One can even hook up Phopahate Reactor , calcium reactor and ozone System with Controllers if desired somewhere along the path. When using Ozone, would hook up better ventilation for that room or built the little enclosure just for Ozone system with its own ventilation to outside.

sirdarksol

Nowhere did I suggest that someone would neglect the tank. What I was getting at is that cephalopods need more pristine water conditions than most fish. I'm not just talking about nitrates, but dissolved organics, minerals, and other things, as well. Where some fish have a bit of leeway in this area, cephalopods do not.

A few things about the poison: You give fish stores a lot of credit for always knowing exactly what they're selling. I've seen dozens of "I bought ____ at the LFS. They didn't know what it was, so I got it for ridiculously cheap." Also, every octopus is poisonous. Most are incapable of killing us, but the "poison" is actually their digestive juices. At the very least, a bite from such an animal is going to hurt.

cerianthus

I dont kow exactly how many Octopus you have kept. I have attmpted few occassions but lost to their ability to escape and have not had chance to create/develop tank which can house them safely. From my actual experiences, it is no different than keeping any other livestocks. One should always be on top of their tank regardless. Octopus came from same area as other fish.
If you have decent background in chemistry, socalled dissolved organics, minerals and other things shouldnt be a problem as long as one stay on top of things, even w/o testing equipments for such.

Most of Octopus which are avail in hobby ARE NOT poisonous to a point where it would deliver poison. So wether their Gastric Juice is poisonous is not is irrelevant. I even know/seen on TV where they consume live Octopus. Yes, it can bite which can lead to seriuos infection but so can good amt of other fish. Higher chance in stung by Lionfish, Foxface and/or get nasty cuts from Tangs. If one is allergic to Bee Sting/peanut butter, I would think twice before purchasing any fish which can bring harm to him/herself.

As far as staff at lfs, I rather not discredit/credit and/or badmouth at all although most of lfs which I am familiar with in my area would know what they are doing if they bring in rare creatures. As matter of fact, I am even amazed at most individual's knowledge of fish. I feel that one should kick him/herself in behind for not doing their HW, not blame/discredit others. And dont make same mistake twice.
I dont care wether they work in fish store or not. No one is perfect in this world no matter how well/much one tries so dont expect of others to be.

Always do research and be prepared and most importantly Be Responsible for your action (no one forced you to buy fish).

That is all. Have a Nice Memorial Weekend!

warpedmind41

Woah. I didn't check here for a couple of days and came back to 7 replies and some minor disagreement. 0.0
Anyways, got some free time, so, lets see.
I already knew about how they are extremely sensitive to their water parameters, and I know they are escape artists, I've already got some ideas on how I could try and eliminate any holes on the top of the tank, however, I really don't know if I would get one. It was just some questions because I am in a consideration stage of getting one in the future, nowhere soon.
And yes, research, research, research, I know. Haha. I just wanted personal experiences here. I have done plenty of research, and I still probably don't know an ounce of what I would need to know to care for one. So yeah, I was just looking for experiences on them and how other people have cared for them and ensured that they didn't escape, what they fed them, just stuff that one person has done/does do.