CR Member
Good luck with that, if you do decide to get one, Jim. They are quite the species to keep.
CR Member
Oh no Jim! Turn back, turn back now before it's too late! Don't go over to the darkside......literally.....they don't like a lot of light.
I was looking into keeping an octopus a while back. I think it would be really fun. I did a bunch of research and started asking a bunch of questions. I'd suggest checking out the link below. People in this forum have some really cool pictures and are quite knowledgable.
http://www.tonmo.com/
-Craig
CR Member
Do it, do it!!
"We shouldn't think of an environment where livestock can survive, we should ensure an environment where livestock can thrive."-Rabidgoose
"If it's gonna be that kinda party, Ima stick my ........ in the mashed potatoes!"-Beastie Boys
Craig I was checking out that site last night.
I've got this 55 corner bow front sitting empty in the office...thinking it could be a good octo tank...octpus and octo corals.
CR Member
That might not be a bad tank to start with. I know they prefer to have quite a bit of room to move about. Just make sure you octo-proof your tank, including overflows. They can squeeze through anything that's larger than their beak so that leaves their options pretty open.Originally Posted by jimsflies
The only real bummer is that you can only keep them for about 12 months max. They're not a very long lived animal even in the wild. Keep me posted if you decide to go that route. Would love to see the setup.
I thought I was a nut, Jim! LOL
I've kept one species before, it was an amazing animal. He was tiny, tiny when I first got him, and grew quite rapidly - they're viracious predators and eat all the time. As mentioned they can get out of just about anything, you'll want to weight down the top and not use the overflows... personally I would remove them completely and plug the holes.
Mine lived for just under a year, and had grown over five times it's original size. They can and will actually die of boredom, so you want to give it plenty to do... lots of different sized shells to push around and more. I punched a hole in a ping pong ball and sunk it. I also had a fist sized upside down shell buried in the sand - I would dump a dozen hermits in every few days and he would collect all of them and put them in the shell. He would sit on top of the shell and occasionally reach down and grab one for a snack. Before I left to go anywhere I would reach in and grab the shell and dump all the hermits randomly around the aquarium. He would quickly gather them all back up in the shell and resume his position, but it kept him busy
Definitely check out tonmo, RC has decent info here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=38
The Tropicorium can get them, along with other shops... they're on wholesalers lists all the time.
CR Member
Actually I read that baby toys work well and building blocks. Example: the plastic baby keys or giant plastic building blocks. Anything plastic with color works well.
I like the idea with the hermits though. That's pretty clever and neat to watch I bet.
Absolutely Craig - anything inert that can be moved by them is perfect.
It was awesome to watch him "play" with the hermits, he put on quite a show!
I've seen a video where someone had taught an octopus to do math on an abacus; Talk about a smart animal!
And they only live a year! Sounds smarter than my kid!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
