Anyone ever kept octopus?

[ecto1]

I saw one for sale the other day. $30 US.

A ten-inch octopus can fit through a hole 1 inch in diameter. They really are tricky little buggers.

They're intriguing, but I don't think I'd be ready for a creature like that. If they release ink, they could kill themselves, so they need a big tank with a good filtration system.

I've been doin' a little research.

 

[stellablu]

and talking about blue-rings, I saw one for sale about 10 years ago!!
if I remember right they wanted like $119.00, or 129.00 or
something like that.

If I were to buy an octopus I would certainly steer clear of the blue-ring...beautiful but highly poisonous. I couldn't imagine the escape and my cats or dog getting a grabful.

BTW If you order LR from Tampa Bay Saltwater you have a 65% chance of bringing home an octopus hitch hiking along with the rock. They are rather small around the size of a quarter so catching is a task, but can be done. If I find one I'm prepared to hold it temperarily in a Critter Cage fitted closed with thick rubber bands. It wouldn't take long for him to make snacks out of my entire clean-up crew.

The thing that most people don't understand about keeping octopus is that they require quite a bit of LR so you most likely won't see him out and about often. They eat quite a bit, as said above, it does get costly. The tank can look quite tacky with 30 lbs of brick to hold the lid down, as they've been known to lift that amount on their backs.

There is no doubt that they are interesting. I'd love to get my hands on a Mimic Octopus. They are clever. I like to wiggle my fingers in front of them and watch their tentacles twirl out and about their bodies...almost like my hand is "challenging" them. Very cool creatures indeed.

 

[steelhealr]

Hi...agree with Miaggi and Navarre. I've seen two octopi while scuba diving...both in the Caymans and at very shallow depths, not more than 20-30 feet. Both were small and one seen during a night dive. The one I saw in Georgetown Harbor was small and extremely beautiful..almost iridescent shades of purple (don't remember the species). I've not done much research into it, but, in my Undersea Med studies, the blue ringed octopus bite is supposed to be extremely venomous. Was wondering if any of our Aussie friends here have seen them or where they are found mostly 'downunder'. SH

 

[Mr Miagi]

Well, i know i have never seen one down here in south australia, but they occur right around the coast. With different patterns in dfferent areas. For example they have smaller blue rings in southern australia than western australia. But there range can exceed the lower limits of Japan and towards the western pacific ocean.

I did some research and they are mainly found 0-20 metre deep.

 

[RamJet]

They have an extreemly short life span. As cool as they are, they rarely servive even a year and can be quite difficult to keep in the tank. Keep in mind that they may be 4 months old when caught, spend a month at whole sale, another month in the pet store. You get it home and if all goes well you may have the thing for six months befor it dies on you.