Keeping an Octopus

[stevenht]

How hard is it?

I would never do it. Seems like a real challenge but does anybody on here have one or know of anybody that has had one?

What were their thoughts about it?


p.s. No invertebrate tab for SW

 

[TMaier]

My mom had one that was wild caught and very small. This is back when I was very young so I don't remember lots of details. We were very close to a source of natural seawater she used for water changes. It kept leaving the tank. She couldn't keep it in there. So she released it.

 

[bribo12]

Honestly they don't live long and it's hard to tell how old they're when you buy them. Add their secretive nature in and you probably won't see it much. You'd need a very tight lid with no holes as they're incredibly good escape artists. I'd reccomend against one

 

[stevenht]

Yeah I've read they have short life spans and they're the best problem solving animals we have on this earth. I would like one but like I said in the OP, I don't want the challenge it takes to care for one. I just don't have the time.

I was more interested in what people have experienced in the past with them. Maybe one dsy I'll consider it, but that day isn't today.

 

[bribo12]

They're amazing inverts and I have 0 hands on experience but it just seems like more of a hassle to keep them than it's worth! Maybe one day if you can really dedicate yourself to one

 

[stevenht]

Completely change subjects.

Any experience with jellyfish? I heard the moon jelly is fairly easy to keep. Like any invert they need stable water conditions. It wouldn't need anything but sand in the bottom.

 

[stevenht]

They don't grow huge and they don't sting

 

[cgthebeast]

They need special tanks and feeding

 

[idol1]

The day octopus is out most of the time.

I had one male and one female. The male dies two weeks after mating.

The female dies right after the eggs hatch. Approx. 62 days. They only have a life span of 1 year total.

My female smothered her eggs. So I moved my night octopus in with her since she was going to die any way.

They stop eating after they lay there eggs. The night octopus ate her.

The night octopus bites and has a poisonous bite.

I think I got lucky and my night octopus is a virgin. That should give it a life span of two years.

The day octopus is my favorite but the life is so short. The main diet is crabs, But mine would take whole shrimp and silver sides from my hand.

The night octopus will only eat other octopus and crabs. The night octopus spends most of its time buried under the sand.

The night octopus doesn't like going to the top of the tank but searching the whole bottom for food. The day octopus is always looking for a way out of the tank.

I have the top of the tank secure with acrylic locks. The plexyglass top has a lot of small holes drilled into it to allow for air circulation.

A 4in cylinder giant airstone at the bottom full blast to move water from the bottom of the tank to the top. A 540 gal an hr canister filter.

I have a protein skimmer and the cup is locked in place.

I catch my own octopus or my friends bring me when I want.

A small octopus doesn't make it a baby. A head size of 2 in is a baby. Not worth the money that they are selling them at.

Any other questions just ask

 

[coralbandit]

I have seen 'pre made ' jelly fish tanks at LFS,
I believe they should never touch the sides or bottom of the tank !
The pre made units I saw were like flat sided fish bowls of 5-10 g that had a air driven filter that made the water run in a circular motion .This is supposed to keep the jelly from settling I believe..
I have never kept one ,but after 35+ years of marine and freshwater keeping and dealing with the same LFS and owners [father and son] I think the jellies are difficult also?

https://www.jellyfishart.com/collections/all/products/desktop-jellyfish-tank

 

[Sniperhank]

Both of these creatures are difficult to keep, each for their own reasons.
Octopus are amazing escape artists and will end up on the floor dried up when you wake up in the morning. Even bricks on a lid aren't always enough do to their strength. The short life expectancy also plays into this.
As for jellyfish, they need a tank where they won't get stuck in corners due to lacking a brain and other such important things. This will be why you'll see jellyfish tanks as a circle or sphere.
All in all, much better ways to make headway into the hobby than these two choices.

 

[nirbhao]

I would find ways to make it work if an octopus lived 10 to 15 years, but their short lifespan makes all of the effort seem kind of silly.

 

[idol1]

If you get a baby Hawaiian day octopus you get just under two years for it to live.

The problem is the pacific dwarf octopus looks the same as the Hawaiian day.

I have caught octopus thinking its a baby Hawaiian day and it would lay eggs that's when you know you have a dwarf.

The color is identical between the two. and they act the same. life expect the same.

The night octopus is beautiful green and white during the day, bright red and white at night.

But it spends all of the time buried in the sand. Comes out to eat at night and as soon as it eats goes and buries it self again. You only see it when it eats.

I have two dedicated octopus tanks. The hardest part was how to lock down the protein skimmer cup to the top of the tank and still make it removable.

I solved that problem. Acrylic hinge and acrylic lock. Same as all the tops.

If you cant catch your own octopus not worth having.

The night octopus is nasty, Does not give a second thought of trying to grab you and bite.

The night octopus does have poison. And hunts other octopus.

The poison isn't considered that potent, but its enough to take down a day octopus.

 

[sonwyatt]

I have seen 'pre made ' jelly fish tanks at LFS,

I believe they should never touch the sides or bottom of the tank !

The pre made units I saw were like flat sided fish bowls of 5-10 g that had a air driven filter that made the water run in a circular motion .This is supposed to keep the jelly from settling I believe..

I have never kept one ,but after 35+ years of marine and freshwater keeping and dealing with the same LFS and owners [father and son] I think the jellies are difficult also?



https://www.jellyfishart.com/collections/all/products/desktop-jellyfish-tank

Yeah I saw the exact same one at my LFS. The tank has to be completely round and have a tornado like circulation or they will get stuck and die. They are very easy to keep I’ve heard.