Thoughts on owning an octopus?

SimplyVibing · Nov 2, 2019

Saw an Atlantic Pygmy octopus on LiveAquaria and I’m amazed that people own them. Have any of you ever owned an octopus? If so, how did it go?
I could never own one tbh. They’re probably smarter than I am

ScottR · Nov 2, 2019

Betta_baby said:
Saw an Atlantic Pygmy octopus on LiveAquaria and I’m amazed that people own them. Have any of you ever owned an octopus? If so, how did it go?
I could never own one tbh. They’re probably smarter than I am

Funny you ask this. I have 25g nano I’m itching to set up. Was thinking octopus so following along. Looking for something relatively easy.

Crabs McJones · Nov 2, 2019

I've never owned one, but from my understanding there are a few issues with them.
First one being that they dont live long. Pygmy octopus average 8 to 10 months lifespan.
Second being that you need a very very high security tank. They're very smart and can get bored very easily and try to escape.
As cool as they are they can be alot of work and, to me, the lifespan just isnt worth it.

Paul B · Nov 2, 2019

Octopus are arguably the coolest creatures we can keep. But they do have a few quirks that make them difficult. They will escape through any hole as large as their beak which is not that big, so a 2" octopus can get through this --------> 0 <----------

You can fix that by having a few inches of material like Velcro all around the top of the tank as they can't climb on that. They will also go into any air hoses, filters or pumps. Remember they can swim, crawl and maybe fly

The other problem is they only have a life span of maybe 2 years so if you get one a year and a half old, he will croak soon.
I feed them fiddler crabs which I can easily collect here but they will eat small fish and sometimes clam meat.
I had this one spawn in my tank. The female dies after that. I fed the babies adult brine shrimp.
They catch the shrimp and while they are wrestling them, they "ink".

Very cool.

You can see the babies here.

NotFishyFishGuy · Nov 2, 2019

I think they are one of those types of animals that are best left in the ocean. Even public aquariums sometimes house them in spaces too small. They are very smart and most of the time, escape from home aquariums. I don’t know about anyone else, but whenever I see the videos of them getting out of a jar or squeezing through a pipe, I just think they are amazing creatures.

SMSREEF · Nov 2, 2019

Paul B said:
Octopus are arguably the coolest creatures we can keep. But they do have a few quirks that make them difficult. They will escape through any hole as large as their beak which is not that big, so a 2" octopus can get through this --------> 0 <----------

You can fix that by having a few inches of material like Velcro all around the top of the tank as they can't climb on that. They will also go into any air hoses, filters or pumps. Remember they can swim, crawl and maybe fly

The other problem is they only have a life span of maybe 2 years so if you get one a year and a half old, he will croak soon.
I feed them fiddler crabs which I can easily collect here but they will eat small fish and sometimes clam meat.
I had this one spawn in my tank. The female dies after that. I fed the babies adult brine shrimp.
They catch the shrimp and while they are wrestling them, they "ink".

Very cool. You can see the babies here.

These guys are so cool! Thanks for sharing

I love octopus and would have one in a second if they weren’t such great escape artists.

gdubs · Nov 2, 2019

A friend had one and would challenge it to get food. He hid food in bottles with small openings or in pvc mazes and the octopus could always get the food. It was fun to watch but like other have already said, it only lived about 1 yr.

Lovemyreef2015 · Nov 2, 2019

My husband and I owned one. Even though he didn't live long it was the coolest experience. We would buy one again in a heartbeat. This was inky.

andrewkw · Nov 2, 2019

I’ve kept 2 but never a Pygmy. Both times was O. briareus. Great times. I would certainly keep one again.

Retro Reefer · Nov 2, 2019

I had one 30 years ago, the most amazing creature you will ever keep in an aquarium! Hard to describe but Im still touched by that experience.. as others have pointed out they are short lived, will escape in a heartbeat and need live crabs or shrimp to eat.

sorry no digital cameras back then

for confirmation on date note the air stone and uplift pipe for my UGF.. lol

Retro Reefer · Nov 2, 2019

Paul B said:
Octopus are arguably the coolest creatures we can keep. But they do have a few quirks that make them difficult. They will escape through any hole as large as their beak which is not that big, so a 2" octopus can get through this --------> 0 <----------

You can fix that by having a few inches of material like Velcro all around the top of the tank as they can't climb on that. They will also go into any air hoses, filters or pumps. Remember they can swim, crawl and maybe fly

The other problem is they only have a life span of maybe 2 years so if you get one a year and a half old, he will croak soon.
I feed them fiddler crabs which I can easily collect here but they will eat small fish and sometimes clam meat.
I had this one spawn in my tank. The female dies after that. I fed the babies adult brine shrimp.
They catch the shrimp and while they are wrestling them, they "ink".

Very cool. You can see the babies here.

Amazing Paul!

Stichaeidae · Nov 2, 2019

I have cared for O. bimaculatus, O. briareus , and E. dofleini in work settings.

+1 to what everyone else has been saying. They are amazingly intelligent creatures. They are very secretive, need pristine water, short live span, and escape artists.

Mr Fishface · Nov 2, 2019

I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. They are one of my FAVORITE sea animals. I honestly don't think I could do it justice though. I have seriously considered getting cuddlefish though. Similar and not such an escape artist.

DSC reef · Nov 2, 2019

ScottR said:
Funny you ask this. I have 25g nano I’m itching to set up. Was thinking octopus so following along. Looking for something relatively easy.

Make sure its tightly sealed. I had to customize the lid of a biocube.