just been bitten by blue ring
- Thread starter fish lad
- Start date
- Status
Twisted
Premium Member
Whats max size on him, are those ones reef safe by chance? He would look great in my 55 gallon reef, but my anemone would eat him.
Bar swap should be a go for me, my baby is due in April, so hopefully the wife will be willing to let me go.
Mars we had like 30 people show up between the Redding club and the Chico club, so hopefully we can get close to that again for BAR, a bit more of a drive though.
Bar swap should be a go for me, my baby is due in April, so hopefully the wife will be willing to let me go.
Mars we had like 30 people show up between the Redding club and the Chico club, so hopefully we can get close to that again for BAR, a bit more of a drive though.
FishyMel
New member
I think this guy was pulling our legs, I seriously doubt he came and posted this and then went to the hospital. Then he never posted again...
Anyway fro whay I've heard only 3 have died from a bluering in history and their beak is usually to small to penetrate human skin. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Anyway fro whay I've heard only 3 have died from a bluering in history and their beak is usually to small to penetrate human skin. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Animal Mother
New member
They aren't real aggressive. They aren't likely to go out of their way to bite, but people in Australia do get bit while swimming around the areas where blue-rings are common (smart huh?), and fishermen in other countries where blue-rings live do die from bites (and from eating them) yearly.
Animal Mother
New member
Well, sort of. Lions are much easier to keep an eye on, where as an octopus is going to pop in and out of holes and hide in really hard to find places, and reach out and grab you if curious.
Gonodactylus
Premium Member
Like many things that are dangerous, the major risk is becoming complacent and getting careless. When all the proper precautions are taken - use only gloves and nets, never put your hand in the tank unless you know exactly where the animal is and have it in sight, never allow access to the animals to someone who is not trained in how to deal with them, etc. - the risk is low. Still, I have had some close calls partly because I did take short cuts, was careless and occasionally because the animals are not predictable. Her are my top three "mistakes". Perhaps they will give you some insight into the risk.
1. I was moving a blue-ring from one tank to another. I tried to get it into the net near the water line. The animal suddenly climb up the wall, out of the water and started to crawl over the edge of the aquarium. My first impulse was to use my hand and push it back into the aquarium. This is what I would do with any other octopus trying to escape. I actually touched it with my finger before I realized what I was doing.
2. We keep many of our blue-rings in large plastic jars drilled with hundreds of 1/16" holes and submerged in 100 gal. tanks. The jars have coral rubble of pvc fittings in the bottom to make them sink and to provide refuges for the animals. The blue-rings usually sit on the side of the wall, but occasionally go into the refuge. I was cleaning out shrimp remains from a jar and checked quickly to see if the animal was in the rubble. I thought I saw an arm (turned out to be a piece of shrimp cuticle) removed the jar from the water and unscrewed the lid. Much to my surprise, when I removed the lid, the blue ring was in the lid and started for my hand. Fortunately, all I had to do was drop the lid and octopus.
3. We feed our animals fresh grass shrimp and usually use a feeding stick. We have long feeding sticks for use in large tanks and short, 8 inch ones for small observation tanks. Typically the blue-ring will grab the shrimp, but as they become used to being fed, they often associate the stick with food and grab it. They are so strong that we usually just let them have it until they eat and drop it. I was feeding a large male with a short stick and rather than reach for the shrimp on the end of the stick as they always do, this one swam for my fingers holding the other end of the stick. A couple of arms attached to my finger but I was able to quickly shake it off.
These were all cases where I was lax and became careless. Would I have died if bitten? Probably not. We do follow the rule that no one works with blue-rings unless there is someone else in the lab who knows rescue breathing and we all know to call 911 if there is any possibility that someone was envenomated. Also, the local emergency responders and ER's have been informed that blue-rings possess TTX. There are also signs on every door leading into the lab and on every tank contaning a blue-ring warning of the danger and directing a person what to do if bitten.
Still, if you have these animals you must take the danger seriously and most important, keep people who don't know the risk away from them.
Roy
1. I was moving a blue-ring from one tank to another. I tried to get it into the net near the water line. The animal suddenly climb up the wall, out of the water and started to crawl over the edge of the aquarium. My first impulse was to use my hand and push it back into the aquarium. This is what I would do with any other octopus trying to escape. I actually touched it with my finger before I realized what I was doing.
2. We keep many of our blue-rings in large plastic jars drilled with hundreds of 1/16" holes and submerged in 100 gal. tanks. The jars have coral rubble of pvc fittings in the bottom to make them sink and to provide refuges for the animals. The blue-rings usually sit on the side of the wall, but occasionally go into the refuge. I was cleaning out shrimp remains from a jar and checked quickly to see if the animal was in the rubble. I thought I saw an arm (turned out to be a piece of shrimp cuticle) removed the jar from the water and unscrewed the lid. Much to my surprise, when I removed the lid, the blue ring was in the lid and started for my hand. Fortunately, all I had to do was drop the lid and octopus.
3. We feed our animals fresh grass shrimp and usually use a feeding stick. We have long feeding sticks for use in large tanks and short, 8 inch ones for small observation tanks. Typically the blue-ring will grab the shrimp, but as they become used to being fed, they often associate the stick with food and grab it. They are so strong that we usually just let them have it until they eat and drop it. I was feeding a large male with a short stick and rather than reach for the shrimp on the end of the stick as they always do, this one swam for my fingers holding the other end of the stick. A couple of arms attached to my finger but I was able to quickly shake it off.
These were all cases where I was lax and became careless. Would I have died if bitten? Probably not. We do follow the rule that no one works with blue-rings unless there is someone else in the lab who knows rescue breathing and we all know to call 911 if there is any possibility that someone was envenomated. Also, the local emergency responders and ER's have been informed that blue-rings possess TTX. There are also signs on every door leading into the lab and on every tank contaning a blue-ring warning of the danger and directing a person what to do if bitten.
Still, if you have these animals you must take the danger seriously and most important, keep people who don't know the risk away from them.
Roy
Animal Mother
New member
55 gallons is all you need for most of the commonly sold octos. Just avoid vulgaris and probably briareus. They both grow significantly larger than others.
Animal Mother
New member
Most collectors don't know anything about the different species and you're lucky to even get a confirmation of where the octopus came from, which can narrow down the kind of species you would get. To them it's all about the paycheck and "an octopus is an octopus".
Bimacs are fine in a 50-55 gallon, but their life is shortened in warmer tanks, so a chiller is ideal for them. It is very rare to find Bimacs for sell as they aren't legal to collect for sell by California state law. However their babies are, so if someone captures a gravid female and raises her young, the babies are fair game for the market. You may find captive raised or tank bred baby Bimacs occasionally. www.marinedepotlive.com lists them on their site along with 3 other kind or at least 3 other locations they receive octos from.
The Caribbean species is usually O. briareus, sometimes O. vulgaris, but could also be dwarf O. mercatoris or joubini, OR O. filosus/hummelinki. Filosus are very fun pets (day active, interactive) and can be kept in smaller tanks. www. saltwaterfish.com is a good source for them. Their octos always come from Haiti, and so it's a pretty good bet that it will be O. filosus.
Pacific or Indo-Pacific is usually A. aculeatus, and they are typically diurnal and interactive. However there are also other octos that occasionally come from these areas like O. luteus which is strictly nocturnal. www.liveaquaria.com typically supplies A. aculeatus as their Indo-Pacific 'pus, and www.marinedeptolive.com also receives them. I don't know what Caribbean species LiveAquaria gets, but considering the tank size they recommend for it, likely O. vulgaris or briareus.
Atlantic would most likely be O. vulgaris, although they are quite common just about everywhere tropical/sub-tropical. Hence the name vulgaris which means "common". Don't let that label at the LFS fool you though... "Common Octopus/Common brown Octopus"
Really annoying.
Keep in mind all of these are just based on the most commonly collected species coming in from these areas and not a guarantee. I saw an O. macropus on Ebay, and it is Caribbean, and also grows as large as O. vulgaris, but is strictly nocturnal. Also, while I'm ranting, avoid "Zebra", Mimic, and Wunderpus. They are WAY overpriced because they are very rare, and being very rare, really shouldn't be collected and exploited until more is known about their wild populations, if ever.
Pretty much the best thing you can do if you're serious about keeping an octoups is set up your tank and wait until you find a good source that won't try to BS you about the particular species they provide. It's a guessing game at first, but once you're familiar with the suppliers you get a feel for who has what. A picture of the specimen available is always helpful if they can supply you with one. If you check out TONMO.com you'll find a list of octos in the Octopus Care section of the forums, and the list contains what kind of octopus and who it was purchased from. This can give you an idea of what kind of octopus you would get from which supplier.
Bimacs are fine in a 50-55 gallon, but their life is shortened in warmer tanks, so a chiller is ideal for them. It is very rare to find Bimacs for sell as they aren't legal to collect for sell by California state law. However their babies are, so if someone captures a gravid female and raises her young, the babies are fair game for the market. You may find captive raised or tank bred baby Bimacs occasionally. www.marinedepotlive.com lists them on their site along with 3 other kind or at least 3 other locations they receive octos from.
The Caribbean species is usually O. briareus, sometimes O. vulgaris, but could also be dwarf O. mercatoris or joubini, OR O. filosus/hummelinki. Filosus are very fun pets (day active, interactive) and can be kept in smaller tanks. www. saltwaterfish.com is a good source for them. Their octos always come from Haiti, and so it's a pretty good bet that it will be O. filosus.
Pacific or Indo-Pacific is usually A. aculeatus, and they are typically diurnal and interactive. However there are also other octos that occasionally come from these areas like O. luteus which is strictly nocturnal. www.liveaquaria.com typically supplies A. aculeatus as their Indo-Pacific 'pus, and www.marinedeptolive.com also receives them. I don't know what Caribbean species LiveAquaria gets, but considering the tank size they recommend for it, likely O. vulgaris or briareus.
Atlantic would most likely be O. vulgaris, although they are quite common just about everywhere tropical/sub-tropical. Hence the name vulgaris which means "common". Don't let that label at the LFS fool you though... "Common Octopus/Common brown Octopus"
Really annoying.
Keep in mind all of these are just based on the most commonly collected species coming in from these areas and not a guarantee. I saw an O. macropus on Ebay, and it is Caribbean, and also grows as large as O. vulgaris, but is strictly nocturnal. Also, while I'm ranting, avoid "Zebra", Mimic, and Wunderpus. They are WAY overpriced because they are very rare, and being very rare, really shouldn't be collected and exploited until more is known about their wild populations, if ever.
Pretty much the best thing you can do if you're serious about keeping an octoups is set up your tank and wait until you find a good source that won't try to BS you about the particular species they provide. It's a guessing game at first, but once you're familiar with the suppliers you get a feel for who has what. A picture of the specimen available is always helpful if they can supply you with one. If you check out TONMO.com you'll find a list of octos in the Octopus Care section of the forums, and the list contains what kind of octopus and who it was purchased from. This can give you an idea of what kind of octopus you would get from which supplier.
Animal Mother
New member
Glad to know all that finger tapping isn't pointless. 
I researched for about 2 years before I got one, and I'm still learning more and more with my 4th octopus.
They are very fun and rewarding when you find an healthy one. No fish can reach out and touch you. But yes, heart break is inevitable.
I researched for about 2 years before I got one, and I'm still learning more and more with my 4th octopus.
They are very fun and rewarding when you find an healthy one. No fish can reach out and touch you. But yes, heart break is inevitable.
richofoz
New member
Animal mother you seem to be quite well informed on the subject however I find the "smart huh?" comment referring to us swimming in "their" habitat a little ignorant.
You may want to have a look at the distribution of Blue rings around Aus. Or even take in to account, the various stonefish, coneshells, stinging jelly fish, sea snakes, stargazers, bull /tiger / great white sharks, SW crocs and yes, even stingrays before making such comments... (Should we not swim / surf at all?!)
Dangerous / venomous creatures inhabit every part of this continent. It's due to this fact Aussies (from a very young age) are educated in a way that fosters understanding and respect for these animals rather than irrational fear.
Do the divers that collect our coral from the oceans fall in to the "Smart huh?" category too, for diving in water where there may be sharks?
Everything in life comes down to an assessed risk, and when you understand these animals the risk is greatly reduced.
Please don't take this understanding as stupidity.
Sorry for my rant, but I had to get that out!
Rich.
You may want to have a look at the distribution of Blue rings around Aus. Or even take in to account, the various stonefish, coneshells, stinging jelly fish, sea snakes, stargazers, bull /tiger / great white sharks, SW crocs and yes, even stingrays before making such comments... (Should we not swim / surf at all?!)
Dangerous / venomous creatures inhabit every part of this continent. It's due to this fact Aussies (from a very young age) are educated in a way that fosters understanding and respect for these animals rather than irrational fear.
Do the divers that collect our coral from the oceans fall in to the "Smart huh?" category too, for diving in water where there may be sharks?
Everything in life comes down to an assessed risk, and when you understand these animals the risk is greatly reduced.
Please don't take this understanding as stupidity.
Sorry for my rant, but I had to get that out!
Rich.
Animal Mother
New member
You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to generalize that people who swim in those areas are plain stupid. I just find that death isn't a risk I'm willing to take in the name of good times, doesn't seem wise to me. I'd probably be more afraid of those tiny jellies than a blue-ring actually.
aquaholic85
New member
Sorry don't mean to be harsh and cruel or anything...but this thread was posted by someone who 'supposedly' go bit...any one know how he/she are doing??
I'm also sure Animalmother ment no harm in her post.. Don't take offense on what she said..sure ya Aussies may be educated on the dangers but careless mistakes do happen... Think about it this way...everyone is informed on dangerous drugs but ppl. still do them.
Well i am noone to give advice on Octo's themselves..so lets just keep salwater creatures in the salt water and keep humans enjoying there beauty
I'm also sure Animalmother ment no harm in her post.. Don't take offense on what she said..sure ya Aussies may be educated on the dangers but careless mistakes do happen... Think about it this way...everyone is informed on dangerous drugs but ppl. still do them.
Well i am noone to give advice on Octo's themselves..so lets just keep salwater creatures in the salt water and keep humans enjoying there beauty
- Status
Similar threads
