Tis the season

[cephalopoder]

Tis the season to be jolly! Well what I mean to say is this is the time of year when a lot of different species of octopuses lay eggs and start to hatch in a in a few months. It is not uncommon to hear lots of posts this time of year with every ones octopuses laying eggs. So far I have not seen any one out here post so far this year of the good news.
I think that a vast majority got captive breed bimacs back in July and so this may account for the lack of egg posts this season. When you get a wild caught specimen from September though February there is a good chance your O.briareus, mercatoris, bimaculoides and other species common to the trade come in gravid if they are a female. Soo if any one hears of eggs in the trade please share.

 

[OctoMonkey]

Hi chris,

yep, i dont have a wild caught one this year either so there'll be nothing from me!

However, lets see what i find on that trip to the importer i told you about!!! LOL

C

 

[Rudiger]

none here, she be captive, unless it be a he, who knows.

 

[noni]

I want to raise an octopus this year. do they need a lot of room or can i have them in a 15 gallon tank?
i have a 50 gallon tank with a fifty gallon fuge and have only a trigger and a lot of macros and pods in it. would this be a great tank for my new octopus?
thanks,
noni.

 

[cephalopoder]

Hey George
A 15 gallon would be ok for a pygmy species like O.mercatoris that is nocturnal. Species like O.bimaculoides , O.briareus, and others common to the trade would need at leat a 30 gallon tank and up.
They all require a species only tank with no other life formas except, starfish, cucumbers.
The trigger would attack the octopus. I don't recommend any fish being kept with octopuses.
chris

 

[noni]

cool, i will set up another tank to make room for an octopus. I would prefer a day eater... what species do you recomend?

 

[sgenadek]

Octo tank size

Octo tank size

Get the biggets tank possible! Keeping a bimac in a 30 gallon tank would be similar to locking a prisoner into a jail cell. Unfortunately I did that very thing with my first octo. I quickly realized that such an incredibly intelligent animal deserves something more. I wouldn't recomend anything under a 55 gallon for a single bimac. The more space you can give it the happier your new pet will be!

 

[cephalopoder]

Welcome sgenadek


I have kept many O.bimaculoides over the years in a 30 gallon and I have never seen any problems. Bigger is no doubt always nicer for any animal but a 30 and up will do fine. If It was its cousin O.bimaculatus then I would recommend a much larger tank because it grows 3 times as large as bimaculoides.

 

[noni]

we just saved an octo from death. it is now our mascot at our nursery. the poor thing was sucked up through the pumps at a place i was visiting yesterday. so as a responsible reefer, i took her into my environment for healing. she made the 7 hour drive well and is doing good this morning.

 

[cephalopoder]

Good job George!
Sucked up or crawled up? I found baby octos living comfortablely before living in a rio1400 power head lol. Even at that age they are strong enough to fight of the suction of a strong pump.
If it got sucked up, chances are the stress would kill it. My very first octo tank had a undergravel filter. The species was a sand dwelling octopus and lived under the filter plate every day and would crawl up the up lift tubes and push off the power head to get out! These animals are very strong and their abilitys will amaze you.

 

[noni]

she was a little beat up on one tentacle. I think she was one of the lucky ones to get through alive. maybe she crawled up the pier and got stuck where i found her, dont know.
I fed her two 4 inch live shrimp this morning and she hammered them on the spot. we put her in a 135 gallon tank we have for shrimp counting. she looks very happy. btw, she is a big girl, fits in a 10 inch net just right. when one of my friends come over with camera, i will ask to have pic taken.
I start working very hard this next week.
tis the season 4 me , if u know what I mean.
Question:
am i gonna need a chiller for this creature?
My room temp now is 70 or so degrees and she is at room temp water right now, but what am i gonna do in the summer when water temp can be as high as 78.
thanks,

 

[cephalopoder]

George, maybe you have a bimac? Does it have a false eye spot? 78 should be ok, not much higer though.
Snap some pics and send them in!

 

[noni]

I will snap some pics soon.
I am so hapy with this octopus, i never knew how cool these creatures could be in my 26 years of reefin.
what about temperature? what are the temperature ranges?

 

[cephalopoder]

As long as you keep it under 78 you should be ok. Hows the beast doing?

 

[noni]

doing good and eating like a pig. she has two false looking eyes just like you mentioned. I really like this creature and she is starting to warm up to me. I have been giving her only live shrimp and sticking my hands in there so she knows the hand that feeds.