Check this Octo at a LFS

[myerst2]

Sorry about the horrible pics, many of the problems with the damn Iphone. Anyway after seeing the documentary on the Mimic octopus a year a so ago i have been very intrigued. I know few people have tried to keep them, but they usually kept adults. Being that Octopus and other cephs. are short lived, a year or two at most, I always stayed away. Also I personally think all ocos need a dedicated tank for them to thrive. So i went to my LFS which is an hour away. They carry all of the really exotic stuff. I looked into a tank they had set up with actinics on it and saw a really small octo in it which contained a baby formula jar with a small whole cut into it. Could it be a small mimic they had in the display. After looking closer, yes it was a baby mimic and what an amazing animal to watch. Though they don't mimic other animals, i.e lionfish, crabs, etc, as they do in the wild this was an amazing animal to watch. Personally I would never set up a one fish or animal display, but after seeing this guy I want one in a bad way. I know the guys pretty well at this LFS. They are very knowledgeable and the head guy showed me the Octo pull a hermit crab out of this Baby formula jar. Amazing!!!! This Mimic was not for sale and was scared to ask how much they go for, and didn't even bother. Here are some poor pics, damn Iphone!!! Anyone ever keep one of these amazing animals? Thinking of setting up a display for one. I have tons of research to do before even considering getting one. Thanks, Tim

 

[Bluespot22]

Those guys are super rare.

 

[Chibils]

I would stay away from the wonderpus. They're recently discovered and their wild populations aren't even known. That could be an endangered species.

Shoot "Thales" a pm. He can tell you more than you ever want to know about them.


But if anyone in your area is qualified to take care of one, it'd probably be you, Tim.

 

[mrwilson]

I could also imagine doing a ceph tank at some point. But cuttlefish seem somewhat more do-able, and have very interesting behaviors. Check out this thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1245638&highlight=cuttlefish

 

[nah2orocks!]

Make sure the lid is tight!

 

[ed4]

Might be off-topic, but where'd you see this? I'm not too far away.

A LFS closer to me has one too - they call it a zerba octopus.

 

[SDguy]

Hmmm, maybe we'll see the flamboyant cuttlefish next?

 

[philter4]

The wonderpus and mimic are cool, they need their own tank and they usually only live a year (even in nature). As far as staying away from them, or how rare they are, the problem with that is no one knows, they could be common because the habitat they live in is the mangrove sand flats and no one really dives there. I've been to Sulawesi diving in the 90's and we dove the flats on one day and found 2 in an hour. The other thing to consider when researching the animal the things it mimics are not found on the flats so where did it learn to mimic things like a lion fish? They may be much more common then people believe. I'm not saying collect them without research, but IME they are a specialty animal and the people willing to pay for them are going to be the best people to keep them and possibly breed them. The other thing to consider is the availability of the animals is low so only a few will pay then the demand will go down so the animals will eventually stop being collected because you can't sell them. Both ways the wild population will not be seriously hurt.

 

[myerst2]

Not considering purchasing one, just very intrigued by them. Don't think the octo was for sale and didn't ask how much they go for. The store was Country Critters in Medford. Regards, Tim

 

[ed4]

Ah ok, thanks Tim.

Same here, I'm not considering buying it either.

 

[lil_cheeks]

i had a small octo for a while, it was a fun thing to watch. You feel like they are watching your every move, and they really are filled character.