how do i do it?

[epaulette13]

i want to get an octopus i want to know what the ideal small octopus system would be not to mention how do i keep him in the tank? i would like to get a dwarf octopus or a mimic octopus. i was thinking a 30 gallon set up would work but that was only in my mind. i would like some advice on what to do and how to do so i can keep an octopus.

 

[Bluemon]

no on mimic octopus.

 

[Kharn]

i want to get an octopus i want to know what the ideal small octopus system would be not to mention how do i keep him in the tank? i would like to get a dwarf octopus or a mimic octopus. i was thinking a 30 gallon set up would work but that was only in my mind. i would like some advice on what to do and how to do so i can keep an octopus.

www.TONMO.com

That is "The spot for Ceph Talk" it is the perfect site for anyone looking for information about cephalopods! A couple of the Mods on there got together and wrote a book to (I purchased one =D) it's called "Cephalopods: Octopuses and Cuttlefishes for the Home Aquarium (King and Dunlop both mod's on TONMO)".

If you can't get help on that site or find what your looking for you never will.

P.S. +1 on NOO mimic octopus

 

[epaulette13]

why no mimic?

 

[asid61]

Well, mimics are generally unavailable, though a lookalike known as the wonderpus is sometimes available. However, neither of these do well in captivity, and there is only one instance I know of where someone has kept one for more than a couple of weeks.
A 30 gallon setup would work for 2 cuttlefishes or 1 octopus mercatoris, but the octopus is nocturnal and can only be trained to come out a 10:00 at the earliest.
On a side note, how long have you kept saltwater? Octopuses and other cephalopods are notoriously hard to keep.

 

[Bluemon]

why no mimic?

Well the only reason to keep mimics are for their mimicking behavior, which they do not show in an aquarium setting

 

[Cyril]

I've never owned a octopus debated it for a while. Asked a few lfs owners that had them what it would need. They all said a lid they couldn't squeeze out of because they don't have a skeleton they can be a Houdini of sorts and squeeze themselves out of the tank and they would only need a hole the size of a pencil. Too much of a hassle for me but good luck I still think they are amazing creatures

 

[epaulette13]

i have kept saltwater for 4 years or so. had freshwater for a long time before that. kept just about everything in freshwater got bored and said its time to go to salt. i have had lots of different fish and inverts. i thought it would be awesome to own a octopus but now looking at it and understanding that they dont typically live very long makes me not very fond of the idea. i would like to have an octopus because i feel i am capable of caring for one, but the lifespan ruins it for me because i will feel like i managed to screw something up and that why it died.

 

[asid61]

Well, it'll be pretty obvious when it dies of old age/natural causes; it loses color and eyesight, stops eating, and becomes oblivious to everything. The only other way to go is climbing out and drying out on the carpet, or ammonia/nitrite spikes.
You seem pretty accomplished. I wish you good luck!
Also, consider getting a 40 gallon instead, because then you could keep an abdophus aculeatus (I hope I spelled that right). They are diurnal and much more responsive.