Octopus.

[Angelfish]

Does anyone keep or know anything about octopus? My bf has decided that he would like to have one, only neither of us know much about them. The guy at the LFS said that they like small spaces (and that it would be great in a 12 gal.) , likes un-heated water, and cant be kept with other creatures as it may eat them.
Could anyone confirm this or have any other information? I tried to research buy couldnt find much. Thanks =)

 

[catfishmike]

get one if you want to watch something die cause thats whats going to happen.i highly reccomend against getting an octopus.these creatures are too smart for their own good and can even die from being bored.the ink from an octopus is toxic and in even the largest tanks if an octopus releases it's ink it can kill the entier tank,octopus included.just plese take my word for it octopuses are not for anyone less that a well experinced marine life keeper and even then you are taking a big risk. i can go one for a while about all the different things that are bad with keeping octopuses.

 

[Angelfish]

I never thought that it seemed like a good idea either, but he really has his heart set on it, and only likes to believe good things he hears about them. He has now discovered that they can come out of tanks and walk about, and wants one even more. I really dont want a poor creature to die, and they do seem very complicated to take care of. Any more info, or more reasons why octopus are bad to keep catfishmike would be much appreciated.

 

[catfishmike]

ok like you already said they are adept at escaping and do it very well.if the octopus doesn't realise how far it has traveled it will dessicate before it's too late and now you have octopus jerky.like i said they get bored very easly and need many toys to occupy it's time in captivity.they also recognize who keeps them as well,and if you have a vengeful octopus, well you get the picture(i just added that for fun i doubt it would come after you)also they are very sensitive to pollution in the tank,so you would need a very large tank or a very strict cleaning routine.an octopus can fit in an opening the size of a quarter,and i'm not talking bout a baby octo. either i mean a good sized octo. many won't feed on fish food either they want live food and they love to hunt so that means some very expensive food. i wish i could remember the name of the speical i seen on octopuses it was on pbs i think i was either nova or nature,but if you could watch this you would know how difficult it would be for the avarage aquarist to keep an octopus.i'll try to find some moer reasons i'm at work right now so i don't have too much to look at off hand.

 

[catfishmike]

here is the link to where you can buy the video "the octopus show" it was a nature speical on pbs http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/octopus/
i hope this helpes some although they don't offer any info upfront if you do buy the video you will see some amazing stuff.this is what i seen and i don't ever want to mess with an octopus after that video.and here are some more links for your octo endeavor http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/jspfk.php
http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/TCP/faq/tcpfaq.cfm
i think these should be sufficent to scare your boyfriend away from octopus keeping unless he has some real deep pockets.

 

[toodles]

To add to what Catfishmike has said.....if your bf really, really, wants an octopus, then he needs to get some experience with saltwater first. A couple of years of maintaining a fish only tank should give him a good start. Then he needs to put some serious money into an excellent filtration unit....as Catfishmike said, an octopus does not tolerate pollution at all....and if I'm not mistaken, you will need a chiller for the tank too......
They can be extremely shy and you may never see the animal. They will only eat live food, which can get expensive and you need to keep some on hand too...so that means another tank possibly.
They live on average for one year, that's it. (If you don't get a baby, you won't even have it that long) They need mental stimulation so they can at least tolerate being kept in an aquarium.
All in all, not for a beginner!!
Once you read more about these animals and their intelligence, then you have to make a moral decision to keep one or not.....

 

[Angelfish]

Thankyou catfishmike and Toodles so much!! I'm gonna tell him all of this and try and get that video. I cant see any good reason for owning an octopus so far, although they sound like amazing creatures, they seem impossible to keep, especially for someone who has only ever had experience with freshwater fish.
Thanks!

 

[mike the zealot]

get him a season pass to SeaWorld haha

(sorry I never really have anything constructive to say =P)

 

[catfishmike]

perhaps not constructive but never a bad idea.i have a pass to seaworld in my wallet at all times.i love sea world,except for the whale show that's just dumb.so what if you can get a huge whale to jump around,big whoop!the tide pool rocks.wooly sculpins are cool.sorry i supose that wasn't very constructive either

 

[toodles]

I haven't been to Sea World in years even though we only live 2 hours away.....

What's a wooly sculpin?

 

[catfishmike]

a wooly sculpin is this funny looking fish that lives in tide pools.they look something like a goby,or a blennie.also kinda like a sea raven if you have ever seen one of those.sculpins are not exclusive to the sea though there are some freshwater sculpins too.the only way i learned about the sculpin was a short article in tfh about how hot it go in some of the tide pools that sculpins spend their early days in as they develop.

 

[Angelfish]

hehe, that doesnt sound like a bad idea =)
Thanks for all the help, but he's being stuborn and I dont think I can talk him out of it.

I'm getting a Sea World pass too, we should have a myfishtank trip down there =)

 

[catfishmike]

so your b/f does have deep pockets then?i don't know if you read the article at tonmo.com but anything by aqaumedic costs a fortune so plan on shelling out 2 grand or more.yea i don't know where brea is but if your not too far seaworld is great.also on the way to seaworld is the scripps aquarium in la jolla.i keep trying to go the the scripps aquarium but la jolla is really out of the way cause i hang out in imperial beach and its an hour back to la jolla.

 

[Angelfish]

I read him the articles but he still wants one, its not final yet so if there happens to be anything else anyone knows let me know. He also doesnt believe some of the stuff, especially about them having short life spans. He also says he doesnt care about the money.
Anyway ... Breas kinda near Disney land if that helps. Theres also a really cool aquarium near me called "The aquarium of the pacific" I have a membership there, lots of fish and creatures that you wouldnt normally sea(!) They have recently got a new shark reef thing that I havent seen yet, cant wait to go again!

 

[BrianH]

Check out this thread where a previous owner talks about the life span of an octopus.

link

 

[catfishmike]

thats a great idea actualy,get everyone who can go on a trip and see if we can get a group rate or and educational pass or something like that.

 

[Angelfish]

Thanks BrianH, I just forwarded the thread to him.
catfishmike, we should go on a trip, where to sea world or some of the other aquarims mentioned? Or both?! It seems like there are quite a few of us who live in a reachable distance of these places so it could be workable, it would a be great, a whole bunch of us!

 

[catfishmike]

i'll be in the san deigo area from the 23 of may to the first of june.so let me know if any one is interested.

 

[Angelfish]

I have finals till the 28th, but anytime after that its workable. Think we should post this in the lounge where more people will see it and can participate?

 

[toodles]

Have your boyfriend check out this forum at reefcentral....


http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=38

at least there he will get info on keeping an octopus from others who have experience.

I will still say that at the very least, maybe he could set up the octopus tank (without the octopus) and keep damsels in it for several months just to get the feel of keeping a saltwater tank.....