anyone kept an octopus?

[Sohal Tang]

I doubt if anyone is...but..is anyone keeping an octopus successfully in Ontario???

If so...please advise your secret or comments on keeping them.

What size tank do you have him in? etc etc...

Thanks
Tim

People in the USA are doing it successfully and I do not think I can but I am curious if anyone else IS...SUCCESSFULLY that is..

Thanks
:cool:

[Michael_Lambert]

There are a few reefers out there keeping them. One thing to keep in mind is that they are escape artists so your tanks would have to be totally enclosed.

[Oakville Reef Gallery]

its a shame to keep these animals in captivity as their natural life span is only 2yrs.the are incredibly smart as well.i have a video kicking around of a documantary in which they house an octopous in a 200g aquarium,in the morning they were noticing fish going missing in other tanks and couldnt figure it out for months,eventually they set up a video camera and seen the octopous slipping out of his covered tank,taking the fish and climbing back in to his tank!really cool.i also have some other cool reaf videos if anyone wants to make copies and pass around.ones a bhind the scene of the smithsonian aquarium by a friend and founding member of mast.the other is of a rare underwater video of the east side acro colonies off australia, Flavio

[Sohal Tang]

flavio YOU JUST GAVE ME AN IDEA!!!!

I am supposed to be buying a huge HD t.v. in the next little while around the time I buy the barbeque...so we could watch
the videos that day on the big screen!!!

Andy...I know you are reading this and I KNOW you are reading my mind right now...BRING IT WITH YOU!!!!!! hahahaah

Thanks
Tim
:D

[Sohal Tang]

well >....I did not know their life span was that short...
darn....I would have loved to find out if it was possible to
keep one alive and done everything possible to meet the
requirements....I love them!

oh well they are better off in the ocean....

Tim

[Chrismo]

I saw that octopus video!!! that was awesome!

Did you ever see the video where they connected 2 tanks with a tube and the octopus had to go through the tube to get the fish?

They wanted to see how thin a tube he could go through...

It could squeeze it's eye-balls into milkshake sized drinking straw tube (this was a 3 foot long octo) The only thing limiing it was its beak... It was amazing. They are so smart. like dogs smart.

The other problem with octopus is that their ink can foul the water and kill themselves.

An because they live such short lives (some only a year) you are likely to buy one that is 6 mohts old already and at the end of it's life.

[Mckitrick]

If I had an octopus, I'd name him Zoidberg.

[Mitchell]

A friend of my brother inlaw bought one at the Fish Place in N.Tonawanda. Kept it alive for about 1 week before it got out of the tank.

Leave them in the ocean

[Sohal Tang]

as I suspected NOBODY is SUCCESFULLY keeping Octopus
up here...There are some people in the USA doing it....
But...it sounds wayyyyy too much of a long shot...
I agree..leave em in the ocean..period.


Tim

[ajx22]

One other big problem with them is that they die of bordom.

Most of the public aquariums that house them have to place their food in different jars/bottles/etc. to make it a challenge to get. I have seen documentary footage of captive octopi (the big 8' + ones) opening glass jar after glass jar after glass jar to get to the treat inside.

They are AMAZING creatures for sure - but are just too much and too smart for home captivity.

[Dman]

An article by Rob Toonen, Ph.D.

keeping ocotpus (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2003/invert.htm)

Very informative, enjoy
Dman
:spin:

[Sohal Tang]

thANKS d !! eXCELLENT ARTICLE.

Tim
:D

[crystalreef]

I had one once I had to get rid of it because they love anything that is in a shell snail, clams, shrimp and any fish that is not fast enough to get away but it is really cool to see them change colour mine would, if you pissed it off or fed it a craw fish that it could not reach, would turn almost a red rust shade. Verry cool.:mixed:

[Sohal Tang]

I all honesty I kept an octopus for 3months in the year
1981. The thing was soooooo neat... I was a major rookie
and the word REEF did not exist to me...or most people.....
it was strickly a SALTWATER AQUARIUM was the WORD OF THE DAY..... Anyways...I was feeding him goldfish...he had like
4 goldfish he was holding onto AT ONCE! Not an exageration!
yUM yUM...


He was doing superb......perfect is a matter of fact...
I came home one day 3 months later and he was dead.
The fish store told me themselves..that it was likely
the CYANIDE that the suppliers some times use to catch them and it takes about 3 months to kill them sometimes...

I never even THOUGHT about ever keeping one again until recently when I heard of people in the states having tremendous success keeping them... I have since decided NOPE wont do it.

But...theya re the COOOOLEST critter on the planet.


Tim
:cheers:

[Mitchell]

Tim or anyone for that matter

Could have killed it with the goldfish as well.

I have seen an anenome spew its guts after a diet of goldfish.

Not to good to feed ANY saltwater fish or invert.

Don't see too many goldfish at sea do you??:D

For feeding meat eating fish or inverts you should feed SILVERBACKS. A saltwater minnow, purchased in frozen form.

They are whole so let them thaw out then feed.

Just my .02

[Sohal Tang]

Yes, I definitely agree with you Mitch and I KNOW BETTER NOW..but I sure as hell had NO CLUE at that time and the LFS
store could not wait to sell me dozens of goldfish....

Goldfish extremely filthy fish to feed a saltwater fish...yes indeed.

Ok for oscars but not saltwater....

but then again...I do not enjoy feeding goldfish to oscars ANYMORE either.....


I even sold my shotguns years ago because I did not want
to teach my kids to kill animals....

but...I guess in honesty it was fun while it lasted.

Tim:)

[Michael_Lambert]

Ok for oscars but not saltwater....

I personally kept Oscars for many years..

and found this not to be turn, i agree with Tim and dint do it.. alot of people do.. in fact this causes harm HOLE IN HEAD disease.. due to the dirty water plus has not neutinial value..

i found that feeding them Pellets They where much more healthy and grew much faster.. Just some quick info!