Octopus Hitchhiker ID

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Thomashtom said:
Looks like a dwarf species. Keep in a large critter container in an established tank that has alot of waterflow and biological filtration. Try feeding small fiddler crabs and maybe very small pieces of shrimp offered on a feeding stick. Keep small pieces of rock and maybe pvc pipe for him to hide. Good luck. Tom
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I threw together a 5 gallon (with sand, water and rock from an established tank when I found him. Gonna hunt down some fiddlers. Thanks so much!
 
AS
I used hamster balls, plastic toys, legos. The octo will become bored after a couple days and you have to find something new. This is more like keeping a cat or dog rather then a fish. Highly interactive once they get larger but can be mostly nocturnal. They will watch you as much as you watch them. I kept mine in the kitchen so they were always amused by the activity.
 
Deltec
ghost shrimp worked pretty well for a friend of mine for food
 
Definitely following. What an incredible find.
 
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Wow that's amazing. Is there anyway to buy baby octopus? Is this even capable to keep in a reef tank? That would be awesome
 
SnapBackReeef said:
Wow that's amazing. Is there anyway to buy baby octopus? Is this even capable to keep in a reef tank? That would be awesome
Click to expand...

Sure. Buying one isn't a problem... and they're usually not terribly expensive. Year ago, I used to see blue rings in the pet stores once in a while... for like $40. Just what you need, a pet that (A) isn't going to live long in captivity, and (B) might well take you to the grave with it. No, thanks ;)

In a reef tank? Not so much. They'll eat about anything that moves, and they're _very_ good at it. Eat lots, grow fast... crabs, other mobile inverts, and any fish he can catch will be lunch. Depending on his size, that's probably _all_ of your fish :) They don't like light... most are nocturnal, and most like colder water than where we normally keep our reefs. Really need a species specific tank for such a critter.

Live fast and die is the octopus motto. Under ideal conditions, most octopus only live 18 months or so. Some, less than that. A few of the big cold water species a bit longer.

And no, I've never kept one. Wanted to at one point, did lots of research into keeping one, and then decided against it. Exceedingly cool creatures, but IMHO, they're better off left in the oceans.

Now... cuttlefish, on the other hand... if there were a good, reliable source for Sepia officinalis in the USA, I'd have tried keeping them at some point. Used to know a couple people in the UK that had them. Neat critters :)
 
Greybeard said:
Sure. Buying one isn't a problem... and they're usually not terribly expensive. Year ago, I used to see blue rings in the pet stores once in a while... for like $40. Just what you need, a pet that (A) isn't going to live long in captivity, and (B) might well take you to the grave with it. No, thanks ;)

In a reef tank? Not so much. They'll eat about anything that moves, and they're _very_ good at it. Eat lots, grow fast... crabs, other mobile inverts, and any fish he can catch will be lunch. Depending on his size, that's probably _all_ of your fish :) They don't like light... most are nocturnal, and most like colder water than where we normally keep our reefs. Really need a species specific tank for such a critter.

Live fast and die is the octopus motto. Under ideal conditions, most octopus only live 18 months or so. Some, less than that. A few of the big cold water species a bit longer.

And no, I've never kept one. Wanted to at one point, did lots of research into keeping one, and then decided against it. Exceedingly cool creatures, but IMHO, they're better off left in the oceans.

Now... cuttlefish, on the other hand... if there were a good, reliable source for Sepia officinalis in the USA, I'd have tried keeping them at some point. Used to know a couple people in the UK that had them. Neat critters :)
Click to expand...
Not to hijack, but I just happened to be looking at this the other day:
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/product-cuttlefish-baby-captive-bred
 
Avast
Greybeard said:
Sepia Bandensis, I suspect. Dwarf cuttles. Not a bad deal, but not what I was really looking for.
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Fair enough. I get bored on lunch, what can I say? Problem is, then I want the stuff I find. Part of the reason I follow this thread...Maybe someday once the kid is out of the house...
 
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Schismgrl18 said:
Hah! When I finally realized what I was looking at, I about had a heart attack. Then I thought "Well, I'm HAVING this thought so I guess it's not a blue ring." :D I shall find him something appropriate for him to wrap his tentacles about!
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Hey, this is SO COOL!

Can you please give us an update on this little guy?
 
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