Has anyone tried to keep an octopus

reefs reefs

reefs reefs

Member
I want to keep one but dont no if they r to hard to keep. I have 6 years experience in salt water what do you guys think tank size and all that stuff
 
kospaintball

kospaintball

Active Member
like he said, they grow to great sizes and love to crawl out. plus you have to think that if you scare them and they release ink... then what... that water is wasted. Their feeding habits? How wasteful are they? How sloppy of an eater? What kind of filtration system? Possible tank mates? Really consider all the questions before you take this challenge... keep this thread updated tho if you do decide to get one... i would love to read up on it and see its progress.
 
kospaintball

kospaintball

Active Member
The problem is they grow very rapidly and i think people have a hard time keeping them alive because not alot of people keep them / can keep them (because of size) and so there isn't alot of personal info on them to help progress our knowledge on how to keep them
 
H

Hamp

New Member
I have been looking into getting one for a year+, and have just postponed it again. They are really cool, but take a lot of dedication. You will need a species only tank, with a big skimmer and a tank that is completely escape proof. There are dwarf species that you can keep in an aquarium of 20g or smaller. There are a few that need aquariums of 55g and up, and some even way larger. They do have a short lifespan, most you will be lucky to have for a year, it seems. There is also a great website dedicated to cephelopods at TONMO.com. Some really cool people who know their stuff.
 
Basile

Basile

Well-Known Member
I was tempted too try that experiment and from what i'v red, its just that, an experiment. On the TONMO.com. site most say the same thing, they have one and have to replace them constantly. So lots of money invested in special requirements; locking tops, efficient skimmers, and on and on , for a very short time of enjoyment. They are cool but not for a home aquarium. It basically a death sentence for those great animals, so think about it.
 
J

jellyman

Member
I have kept three different species of octopus. They are awesome and probably the coolest saltwater item I have ever owned. Very few octo's grow to the large sizes being talked about. Most species will comfortably live there lives in tanks that are 65 gallons or so. The larger species such as Vulgaris are pretty easily identified so just make sure you search for a small - mis size species. There are dwarf species that can be kept in a 20g tank. The tank is the first thing you will need to research and construct. You cannot use powerheads and it must be 100% escape proof. If there is a hole slightly larger then there beak they will be able to escape. There are no reliable places to get a sexed octo so it is just luck whether or not you get a male or a female. In most cases you will never know until the female lays eggs. They are very short lived. For the most part the life span is only 12-18 months. With that being said most octo's collected are already 1/2 to 3/4 through their lifespan and will only live another 6-8 months. I had 2 that lived for 6 months and one that lived for 8 months. All mine turned out to be fertile females and all layed eggs. Unfortunately most baby octo's are larval and proper food requirements are hard to maintain in order to raise babies. I only know of a handful of people who have successfully raised the babies. Once the female lays the eggs she will protect them for a short period of time and then she will pass away. They are very cool but take alot of work to properly set up a tank for one and you will need great filtration or massive water changes because they eat alot. Another issue is feeding. About half will take to prepared foods while the other half will not and a source of live food will need to be aquired. I found a few places to get bulk fiddler crabs and would order 100 fiddlers that would last about 2 months. So, if you get one that needs live food you will also need to set up a container to hold the live food.

Hope that helps a bit.
 
Basile

Basile

Well-Known Member
jellyman said:
I have kept three different species of octopus. They are awesome and probably the coolest saltwater item I have ever owned. Very few octo's grow to the large sizes being talked about. Most species will comfortably live there lives in tanks that are 65 gallons or so. The larger species such as Vulgaris are pretty easily identified so just make sure you search for a small - mis size species. There are dwarf species that can be kept in a 20g tank. The tank is the first thing you will need to research and construct. You cannot use powerheads and it must be 100% escape proof. If there is a hole slightly larger then there beak they will be able to escape. There are no reliable places to get a sexed octo so it is just luck whether or not you get a male or a female. In most cases you will never know until the female lays eggs. They are very short lived. For the most part the life span is only 12-18 months. With that being said most octo's collected are already 1/2 to 3/4 through their lifespan and will only live another 6-8 months. I had 2 that lived for 6 months and one that lived for 8 months. All mine turned out to be fertile females and all layed eggs. Unfortunately most baby octo's are larval and proper food requirements are hard to maintain in order to raise babies. I only know of a handful of people who have successfully raised the babies. Once the female lays the eggs she will protect them for a short period of time and then she will pass away. They are very cool but take alot of work to properly set up a tank for one and you will need great filtration or massive water changes because they eat alot. Another issue is feeding. About half will take to prepared foods while the other half will not and a source of live food will need to be aquired. I found a few places to get bulk fiddler crabs and would order 100 fiddlers that would last about 2 months. So, if you get one that needs live food you will also need to set up a container to hold the live food.

Hope that helps a bit.
Click to expand...

So essentially your saying owning any octopus species for only 2/3 of it life and repeat the process every time one dies on you is; an egotistic, self indulging,self gratifying, ocean poaching exercise, which i happen to agree with. And to leave those beautifull creatures in the ocean where they belong, and most importantly will survive.
 
Surfnut

Surfnut

Active Member
I've owned a couple of tropical Octopi. In general the warm water octopus wont live longer than 2 years in a home system; Seeing as how these animals, warmwater, have such a short natural lifespan. Most warm water octo that you will find available in your LFS will not grow to a large size. The 3 that I have owned never got bigger than 14" across.

I kept a single octo at a time in a 24g aquapod with great success. They will climb out of the tank given the option. I found that putting a 4" strip of Astro-Turf on the upper edge of the tank keeps them at bay; I've heard it irritates them somehow & they wont cross it.

I kept mine fed on crabs,.. nothing but crabs. I bought the crabs for a while, then started going to the coast to catch them in bulk.

Hope this helps
 
Basile

Basile

Well-Known Member
I stand correct; you buy it to watch it die in a few months in your very own little arena. So it should stay in the ocean to survive.
 
J

jellyman

Member
Basile said:
I stand correct; you buy it to watch it die in a few months in your very own little arena. So it should stay in the ocean to survive.
Click to expand...

Unfortunatley, Almost everything in our tanks came from the ocean. Even our "captive propagated" corals or fish initially were taken from the ocean in mass numbers before they were ever propagated. Octo's have a short life span in the wild and actually live longer in a properly maintained aquarium. The issue is usually tha the owner does not have a proper setup. I had many months of enjoyment with the three octo's I've kept. I only wish they had a longer lifespan. I would recommend trying to find one as small as possible so you can enjoy them a little while longer.

I guess they are much better of in a properly constructed aquarium then they are in a frozen ball at the seafood market.
 
F

funkpolice

Active Member
basil, Octopus only live for a short time in the wild. There is some kind of giant octopus that is thought to live the longest, and it only lives for 3 years. Most all of the smaller ones reproduce and die within two years. It's not a matter of aquarist buying them, not caring for them properly, and them expiring prematurely, they just have very short life spans. Humbolt squid are the same way. They grow over 3 ft. long in one year, then die. I'm sure there are plenty of people killing them early, but even perfect conditions aren't going to keep them alive for very long. I feel like you're attacking this dude, accusing him of being irresponsible, but to me it sounds like he's doing a pretty legit job. I don't and never have owned a cephlopod, lifespan being the biggest reason.
bill
 
Wolfgang8810

Wolfgang8810

Active Member
The only Octo I keep is in my freezer. To be fed to my Zebra Moray
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lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
According to the link I found you guys are correct. They quit eating after their eggs hatch and then die no matter where they are. I believe the larger ones live a bit longer but it is only a couple of years at best.
Now if people don't take appropraite measures to give them a good captive life, then that is another story entirely.
Personally, I wouldn't have one, but I don't want to own a lion fish or lots of other commonly kept fish either.
 
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