octopus research

[leib]

Hi,
I am a doctoral student from New York with an interest in comparative psychology. Recently my colleagues and I developed some intriguing questions pertaining to octopus intelligence. We came up with some simple experiments that would look at various ways in which octopuses camouflage. ( I wont bother you with details of the experiment here, however I would love to describe some of our ideas to anyone who is interested).
Despite our expertise in conducting research with human and animal subjects weââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve never actually done anything with octopusesââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Âhence I would appreciate some help with the basicsââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦

The first thing Id like to do is to buy an octopus, particularly the type that can change color in response to a change in the environment. I did some research and it looks like O. vulgarus is a good species to go with. It has 19+ chromatic components which should make for a wide array of color patterns, and its also relatively easy to buy... Is this right?

Also, being completely new to most things marine, I need to know the kind of a tank O. volgarus needs. Any and all information about the specific tank and the environment that would be optimal for O volgarus would be greatly appreciated. ( there really is no such thing as too much detail here, since I know very little about octopuses and tanks)
Looking forward to your responses,
Leib

 

[fishteacher73]

O. vulgaris is usually the easiest to obtain, but they are not always the octopus you think you are going to get (Many collectors and distibuters are not really aware of the exact species of octo. they have got). The best place to find info(and also contact a REALLY EXPERIENCED person is with cephsource. While I'm not sure if they are still breeding their stock, I think the site is still up and has a very good background and general info on husbandry.
You will need a lot of space for this experiement, these guys cant be housed together, and do get reasoanble size.
Good Luck with this and I hope this helps a bit. Let us Know what you find out!

 

[Rinaldi]

To do it right you are going to need to do alot of research. These guys have specific requirements. Basic marine / reef tank experience is an essential and there is alot to learn before one should even attempt to create a dedicated octopus tank.

Once you have marine / reef knowledge then here's some specifics on octopus:

http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/index.html
http://www.sealifeaquarium.com/cephsource/

Cepsource is basically defunct, but the information is helpful.