anyone keeping an octopus?

[johnfallon135]

i'm thinking of keeping one i know the tank has to be sealed well and the water must be pristine with low nitrates.

does phosphates matter too?

what's the life expectancy of ones that can be housed in a 80 gallon tank?

they can eat dry foods right? also since they're nocturnal do you rarely get to see them?

anything else i should know? thanks!

 

[2smokes]

They have short lifespan.Do not buy that blue ring octopuss thats venomous.It is for sale ,its beautifull but it can kill you instantly.Its not like keeping toxic corals,its much more dangerous and doesnt worth the risk.

 

[ddforsyth]

There are several good online sites to learn about ceph's. start at TONMO. They are a real commitment, short lived, expensive to feed.....but utterly amazing pets.

 

[johnfallon135]

thanks guys! and i signed up for TONMO thanks ddforsyth!

 

[andrewkw]

They won't eat dry foods but frozen shrimp from the grocery store as well as clams and other seafood is fine. O. briareus is probably the species you want for an 80 gallon. 8-12 months is likely how long you will keep one maybe slightly longer if you get them young enough. I kept 2 and they were both around for that time frame. Water quality should be similar to sensitive fish. Feeding shrimp from the grocery store they are loaded with phosphates it's not an issue for the octopus but may leach into your rock (run gfo ect or acid wash when done with octopus).

Tonmo is where to go for all your questions. They are really interesting creatures to keep I really enjoyed keeping them in the past. Once they get comfortable you will see a lot of them and can hand feed. Keep in mind they will likely require live food initially. Fiddler crabs are the best option imo.

 

[johnfallon135]

thanks andrew! why do people use red light for lunar lights? i know that octopus's can't see red but if that's the case why use a red lunar light at all then? is it so they can see without having to see the color? also how many different types of pet sized octopus's are there?

 

[johnfallon135]

also my 70 gallon is a biocube and i'm very limited to protein skimmers. i can only fit a tunze 9004 protein skimmer inside the back and was wondering how much of a load is a octopus? is 1 octopus more of a heavy load than a fully stocked mixed reef?

 

[2smokes]

Mimic octopuss its the one i would like the most but needs a bigger aquarium altough she doesnt grow too big.Here it costs like 100 euro and it mimics a lot of venomous amimals from lionfish to poisonous flat fishes.Stay away from that tiny blue ring octopuss.Its cheap ,costs half as the mimic octopuss but if it bites you,your dead in 5 minutes.The good thing with an octopuss is that you can let the light dim so that algae wont grow in the display.For filtration you would need a protein skimmer but also a soird of biological filtration,eyther by bacteria (wet dry filter ,lots or live rock in the sump etc) or by plants ,refugium,algae scrubber.

 

[andrewkw]

thanks andrew! why do people use red light for lunar lights? i know that octopus's can't see red but if that's the case why use a red lunar light at all then? is it so they can see without having to see the color? also how many different types of pet sized octopus's are there?

People use red because its the least intrusive. You may see your octopus more. That being said depending on the species once they are acclimated they come out a lot. This may take a while and their lifespans are short so keep this in mind.

https://www.tonmo.com/categories/cephalopod-articles.88/

There are several species available in the trade. You want to make sure you don't get one that will kill you, or is nocturnal. Or too big for your tank for that matter. You usually have to look at them in person as they typically will come in mislabeled or just labeled "octopus".