Octopus

[caleb.vandoren]

Hey everyone I was thinking of starting a new tank for a bimac octo are there any tips or ideas you can give me for tank size filtration tank set up or anything of the sorts thanks

 

[Biotopes]

My one bit of advice, octopus (almost any species) are fairly difficult to keep alive for any length of time. Unless you have kept marine fish for awhile, and are confident in your ability to keep anything you buy, I'd not try one yet.

 

[smith22295]

My first saltwater tank was an octo tank. Started him in a 20 gallon then moved him to a 30gallon long tank which is not a recommended size... I had little to no experience in saltwater tanks.I kept it alive for 9 months, which is an awesome length of time if you consider that one year is the max you can except to keep one in captivity. And i never made him ink, not once. Keeping the octo happy is the main thing, like giving him hiding spots even though you want to see him all day.... I had a Carribean reef octo, and the most difficult/expensive (unless you live on the coast, which i did) thing to do is have live crabs on hand all the time, and along with that being their main diet you seriously have to feed them a variety, and it really should be live, that would be ideal. You wont see much growth if you dont give them a solid diet, plus watching them eat is awesome anyways, I once bought 100 ghost shrimp from the lfs and when i went to dump a FEW in the tank the bag caught some current and every last shrimp was in the tank. The octopus did not stop until every last of the 100 shrimp were gone, literally, his colors were changing like you wouldn't believe, it was a feeding frenzy and a huge mistake lol, he had a giant ball of wriggling ghost shrimp in his web and was happy as can be... i have some videos and pics of my set up if you wanna see them pm me.. If you want to know more i can certainly help you with any questions, as i learned a lot of do's and donts. they are super fun to keep and arent nearly as difficult as everyone claims.

 

[smith22295]

Plus, he was only 40$, for 9 months of a happy octo that is totally worth it. I sunk over 2,000$ easy in the reef tank i set up in the same 30 gallon, and that tank is gone now too. I recommend keeping one for sure, if you are serious about it no doubt it can be done.
Also all i had was a 55 gallon cascade submersible filter. no skimmer no other pumps. That particular filter is perfect for octos from my experience. he couldnt get in it. Id watch him try but he never could.

 

[caleb.vandoren]

Thanks man that's awesome and yeah I'd love to see those pics and vids and thanks I've been doing a lot of research my self and I'm really excited about starting my own octo tank but thanks for the info

 

[Nina51]

I kept it alive for 9 months, which is an awesome length of time

hmm, wonder if the octopus would agree with you.

 

[Calappidae]

Thanks man that's awesome and yeah I'd love to see those pics and vids and thanks I've been doing a lot of research my self and I'm really excited about starting my own octo tank but thanks for the info

TBH, but extremely careful. A new hobbiest naturally is going to make a mistake here and there and some animals just aren't bullet proof or forgiving enough for the trial and errors.. octopi are probably one of the best examples of something best left for someone advanced in the hobby and can't take mistakes.

You can research, research, research, there will always be something around the corner whether it's just something small never mentioned in anything you researched or just a tiny mistake you make like a small over dose, forgot to rinse your hands before going in, over feed, accidentally using the wrong water source when you have an RO system sitting right next to the tap spicket (I've done that before.. :facepalm: caught myself right before I dumped it into the tank..)

Not saying you can't try one, but it would be worthwhile to learn more with something hardier to start out with than jump into one of the most advanced special care animals in the hobby. Then take a step forward torwards your goal. It's sad enough an octopus only lives around a year depending on species, but it's even sader obtaining one and it only lasting a few weeks or days from improper care or recieved it at a late point in it's life.

To the OP, all the octopus I see retailed online and at my lfs are 80-140 dollars or more. That was a sweet deal you got.

 

[henry ortega]

i once had one in a twenty gallon tank for about seven months. you could tell they are very intellegent animals. they are very shy about coming out to see you, mostly at night, they love to eat crabs and or shrimp. mine laid a few strings of eggs attached to a piece of rock then died shortly after that. eggs never hatched. must make sure that your tank is covered tightly or they can get out.