Animal Mother
New member
It's always a crapshoot.
You may receive any variety of octopus and even within the same subspecies, individuals have a range of dispositions from shy to bold.
Try to get in touch with the business before you order it and ask questions. Where did it come from? How big is it? Do you see these kind often?
Some divers know what they are looking at.
Salty bottom reef company has O. vulgaris, O. briareus, and O. mercatoris listed. They don't have O. vulgaris in-stock currently though, I tried. O. mercatoris are a pygmy species and only active late at night so I wouldn't get one of those if you want interaction. O. briareus are typically nocturnal but will adapt to your activity once they learn you give them food. And they get fairly large, 24" arms potentially.
Saltwaterfish.com has Indonesian/Pacific species. These are most often Abdopus species. The ones I've kept were gravid females who hid, laid eggs, and died soon after purchase. They are typically very active once acclimated though.
I've also received Abdopus from Liveaquaria.
I just ordered the 2xPacificOctopus from Yourfishstore.com and I figure it's a roll of the dice. I asked in an email a while back why they sell 2 together and they say they keep them all in a tank together and it works out okay. *shrug* O. mercatoris can be kept in a community so who knows. General rule is solitary. I've kept an abdopus with fish peacefully, so maybe.
You may receive any variety of octopus and even within the same subspecies, individuals have a range of dispositions from shy to bold.
Try to get in touch with the business before you order it and ask questions. Where did it come from? How big is it? Do you see these kind often?
Some divers know what they are looking at.
Salty bottom reef company has O. vulgaris, O. briareus, and O. mercatoris listed. They don't have O. vulgaris in-stock currently though, I tried. O. mercatoris are a pygmy species and only active late at night so I wouldn't get one of those if you want interaction. O. briareus are typically nocturnal but will adapt to your activity once they learn you give them food. And they get fairly large, 24" arms potentially.
Saltwaterfish.com has Indonesian/Pacific species. These are most often Abdopus species. The ones I've kept were gravid females who hid, laid eggs, and died soon after purchase. They are typically very active once acclimated though.
I've also received Abdopus from Liveaquaria.
I just ordered the 2xPacificOctopus from Yourfishstore.com and I figure it's a roll of the dice. I asked in an email a while back why they sell 2 together and they say they keep them all in a tank together and it works out okay. *shrug* O. mercatoris can be kept in a community so who knows. General rule is solitary. I've kept an abdopus with fish peacefully, so maybe.
