Reef
- Thread starter dbowma
- Start date
Animal Mother
New member
Depends on the fish and corals.
A few folks including myself have managed to keep Abdopus aculeatus in smaller peaceful community reef tanks. I would worry about the fish and any stingy corals being a threat to the octopus though. Some fish are known to pick out octopus eyes, and octopus skin is not protective at all. Unlike fish, octopuses can't really avoid bumping into corals considering they climb and crawl along the rocks and over any object in their way. Most of the other species of octopus that are available would destroy a reef and kill the fish. They tend to horde objects for their den and corals are no exception.
I keep an A. aculeatus with a small rabbitfish and yellow coris wrasse. He harasses them when they have food. There are also a few peppermint shrimp in the tank that have yet to disappear much to my surprise. He has decided that a large gorgonia and my Duncans are a great edition to his cave.
I keep an O. briareus in a species tank with a lot of soft corals. I can't even keep a sea hare in that tank. It would no doubt kill any fish.
What kind of fish and corals are in your tank?
A few folks including myself have managed to keep Abdopus aculeatus in smaller peaceful community reef tanks. I would worry about the fish and any stingy corals being a threat to the octopus though. Some fish are known to pick out octopus eyes, and octopus skin is not protective at all. Unlike fish, octopuses can't really avoid bumping into corals considering they climb and crawl along the rocks and over any object in their way. Most of the other species of octopus that are available would destroy a reef and kill the fish. They tend to horde objects for their den and corals are no exception.
I keep an A. aculeatus with a small rabbitfish and yellow coris wrasse. He harasses them when they have food. There are also a few peppermint shrimp in the tank that have yet to disappear much to my surprise. He has decided that a large gorgonia and my Duncans are a great edition to his cave.
I keep an O. briareus in a species tank with a lot of soft corals. I can't even keep a sea hare in that tank. It would no doubt kill any fish.
What kind of fish and corals are in your tank?
TrappedMetal
New member
As above really, I also keep an aculeatus in a tank with fish (75g with a flametail blenny) - the species is not much of an algae eater unlike the similar looking bicolour and gives the octo no attention even if it has food. The octo has never attempted to chase the fish and I suspect fidh are simply not part of aculeatus's diet.
Merlin the octo also has a lot of mushrooms in his tank and a mat of green star polyps which he regularly perches on. The corals don't appreciate it but they don't sting or bother Merlin.
In a 180g full of fish you would probably be lucky to see an aculeatus and luckier still if none of your fish decided to make a meal out of him or mistook him for some tasty algae.
Merlin the octo also has a lot of mushrooms in his tank and a mat of green star polyps which he regularly perches on. The corals don't appreciate it but they don't sting or bother Merlin.
In a 180g full of fish you would probably be lucky to see an aculeatus and luckier still if none of your fish decided to make a meal out of him or mistook him for some tasty algae.
TrappedMetal
New member
Oops double post
