2 octos in the same tank?

[B Pierce]

I was thinking of getting 2 octos and trying to breed them. Does anyone do this? Is it even possible to keep 2 octos in the same tank? How do you sex octopuses?

thanks,
Bill

 

[Richard DeChamplain]

Once she lays her eggs she will die. Most people try to get octos that they know have not bred. ie when eggs hatch seperate all to indiviual chambers/tanks and raise alone. Most wild caught females are allready carrying the goods such that when they feel safe and happy they make a nest.

 

[B Pierce]

I have heard that a female will carry a sperm packet and then fertalize her eggs after they are laid. Do most imported female octos already have a sperm packet with them?

 

[Richard DeChamplain]

thats my understanding. But I am not an expert by any means. perhaps an expert could shed some light on the subject.

 

[SurfinJK92]

so could a person keep two octos in 1 tank?

 

[nini]

its possible,though i would not recommend it for beginners,octos do fight.octos will lay there eggs @ the end of there life, then die.
please dont try the 2 octo in the tank thing, there is allways bad reports.

 

[Ochi]

They don't fight...they eat each other.

Octopi tend to be cannabalistic.

 

[nini]

same thing lol,ether way, both octos r in danger

 

[Ochi]

Eh I'm nit picky

I see fighting as 2 clowns nipping.

Out right eating something is a little different

 

[nini]

ok u win lol the octos will EAT one another,there u happy?

 

[Ochi]

For now

But to reiterate, octos don't play nice.

 

[nini]

ok lol

 

[B Pierce]

I was planning to try and breed them. How are they bred in captivity if they will eatch each other?

thanks,
Bill

 

[nini]

leave that to the experts, all u need to worry about, is trying to keep your 1 octo alive and healthy.
nini

 

[exoticaquatix]

now im worried that my octo is in fact sitting in her cave, barricaded in her cave to be more specific, gaurding her eggs. i dont want to tear the rocks apart and check on her but she has started to refuse crayfish (her favorite). if the whole "sperm packet" thing is true then this is a possibility.

 

[TidePool Geek]

If your octo has truly "barricaded" herself in a den by making an effort to block the entrance behind her, the almost certain explanation is that she is laying or caring for eggs (in some species the laying process can go on for a few days). The gestation process is quite long. For the Giant Pacific Octopus it can be 6 to 8 months; presumably, it would be somewhat shorter for the smaller species but I've got no clue about how much shorter. In the wild, they don't eat during this period and probably won't in captivity either - although it might be worth an occasional 'offering' for the first few weeks. If she's caring for eggs, she definitely won't leave the den to go hunting so it would come down to whether she might accept the food at the den mouth or not. She probably won't but what have you got to lose?

What to do now? If your octo is a so called 'large egg' species you can just wait out the gestation process and, when you see miniature octos crawling around, then take steps to segregate the babies for raising. That won't work for 'small egg' species since their young are planktonic and liable to be sucked into your pumps before you're even aware that they've hatched. Possibly you could adapt the techniques used to extract copepod and mysis napuli in culture operations.

Maternally yours,

TPG

 

[exoticaquatix]

she sure has, i got tired of waiting for her to come out so i lifted the rock she was under. what do ya know, eggs and a octo time bomb. hope im home when she dies, im not to keen on a dead octo killing my liverock/coral. im guessing these would be considered "small eggs" and i cant imagine feeding several hundred octo babies seperately!! ill wait and see what happens and let you all know.
~nick