Best of the Small octos???

The Unit

New member
i am trying to get one of the smaller octos but dont know much about them except that they staf small..."Octopus joubini, mercatoris, bocki, digueti and micropyrsus"...the only thing i know is that mercatoris is a night octo....any other info would be great.....
 
Joubini is the only other one on that list that I've heard of, besides mercatoris, and I've heard good things about them. That may be a matter of availability, but may reflect keepability. Is there some reason you are not looking at bimacs? Lack of space, etc? My bimac is awesome.
 
well at the moment i am only learnign as much as i can...i dont plan to try an octo till october...also tight funds dont allow for a larger tank....i only have a 20 and just looking at some option...my LFS is pretty good at getting what people waht....they always have things u dont normaly see.....right now they have an O. Cyeane [spelling?] but i have learned he will get very big......also i think an octo of a smaller size would not eat as much and less for to decay in the tank....i do have a 55 that currently has an eel and lion but it has no live rock [ only the 13lbs in the refuge]...i just dont know if that would be the best place to keep an octo as there are only 2 fake corals and 2 rock[ pretty open tank].....
 
Hi

From experience, Octopus bocki and similar species are nocturnal also.

I reckon I have had 3 of them since I started keeping cephs and none of them were active during the day, and they were all sold as adults and died a short time later...

I should hopefully be getting two octopuses this week. With a bit of luck they will be bimaculoides, and not another dwarf!

Colin
 
when i was posting about this i wanted to use my 20...but cant find much info on the smaller ones so i think i will take the eel out of my 55 and use the credit on food for an O. bimac....also i have seen an O. Cyeana[spelling?] and they color s always changing...but he will get to big...do bimacs change color alot?
 
Bimac Biff changes color frequently and rapidly. It's fun to watch him change colors when he's thinking, especially. Like when he's getting ready to come out of his cave to chase his dinner.
 
since u have a bimac ...how do u tell it is one?.....my LFS has an octo but i dont they really got it right as they make up names for most thier stuff....
 
The definitive way to recognize a bimac is the blue circles below the eyes on the mantle. They are usually brownish in color when relaxed, but the blue spot is quite prominent on both sides. Biff's blue spots will pulse with color when he is changing colors, especially when he is eating. Flying Fish Express has pictures that show the spots clearly. I don't know the url, though.
 
...and the difference between bimaculatus and bimaculoides is that the bimaculoides' ocellus has an unbroken chain of blue whereas bimaculatus is broken.
 
If you get a pygmy octopus in the usa most come in as O.mercatoris. A nocturnal species. I have yet to meet any importer or LFS that can get exatcly what they claim or really know what they have for a species. A bimac is your best bet.
I am interested in the O.cyanea they have. Do you notice fale eye spots? How big is it and how much is it?
thanks
 
i have not really gotten a good look at the O. Cyenea to see what it really is....but is is only $40 and is almost the size of a pool ball...it is in a critter cage in a tank ...an it is always trying to find a way out...it has been their for about a month....it stays in a ball at the top of the cage so i never see how long it is but it is small from what i hear about them gettign so large...i would love to get it but i only have a 55....
 
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