Ok i know i've been switching a lot between what octopus i want and stuff, but i think i finally found the perfect one. I want to get a cyanea, I already contacted someone in hawaii that can get me one for a relatively low price and they are diurnal and outgoing, as well as have great coloration, and i wont need a chiller. I will set my 110 gallon tank up on Sunday, i just want to know if anyone has had any past experiences with these. Any special requirements? will it interact with me? is 110 gallons fine for it?

Cyanea is a neat species. Care will be similar to Bimacs excluding temperature. I believe O. Cyanea gets larger than a Bimac so a stronger lid and bigger/more food items should be offered. Should be interactive.

Shoot be a PM with your supplier, please (if possible). I'd like to know where to get one for next time I need an octo.

O. cyanea is a pretty large species, reaching a total length of about 1 meter if I remember correctly. 110 gals would likely be fine for an octopus of shippable size, but this species will be able to outgrow a 110 gal.

I was told that a 110 gallon would be fine with a vulgaris which reaches about three feet, and the cyanea gets to that same size as well, so why would the cyanea not work? I will have a skimmer thats meant for 210 gallons as well as a wet/ dry filter, canister filter and a small hang on back filter, with 100lbs of live rock, so i doubt that the bio load produced would be an issue (i will also do weekly water changes). The octopus would also have no other livestock in the tank with him, so he will be the only inhabitant..Please tell my why cyanea wouldnt work and vulgaris would, so i could change my plans, and look for an alternate option.
Thanks

I was told that a 110 gallon would be fine with a vulgaris which reaches about three feet

I don' know if I'd keep a vulgaris in a 110. Honestly, if my bimac had grown bigger I think he would have been a little cramped in my 75.

O. cyanea would be miserable in 110 gallons. These animals roam 10 - 50 meters + on a given foraging bout. Plus, keeping up with its voracious appetite would be a challenge to say the least. It's true- cyanea is an amazing animal- and you could make an escape proof lid, and feed it pounds of seafood a week- but whether you should requires serious thought. Also- it's against the law in Hawaii to take a cyanea smaller than 1 lb, unless you have a research permit (and if your friend did, then it would be against the law for him/her to send it to you). These are very large, smart animals. Keeping one is a major decision.

i live about 3 miles from the ocean (in miami, florida) so i would have access to a lot of crabs and such, i could make the lid escape proof as well and he should be fairly entertained, since the tank will be in my room and i have already gotten legos and other safe toys that i plan on giving it. The reason i want cyanea so much is the fact that its diurnal, and i cant pay for a chiller for a bimac, briareus aren't very diurnal, i can't find anyone with filosus and i don't want to take my chances buying online form a dealer that says the have "assorted octopus," in other words i have no idea what i would be getting. I have a big asm skimmer for up to 200 gallons as well as a large overflow with bioballs, and then another wet/dry filter with bioballs in the sump that leads to a large canister filter before going back into the tank..So with the right entertainment (toys, bottles,etc.) several hiding places (100lbs live rock), a strong escape proof tank, a lot of filtration, as well as food being available all the time would the cyanea be fine or would he still become miserable?

For what it's worth, I've never heard anyone complain that briareus is too nocturnal, shy, or non-interactive. They may be primarily nocturnal in the wild, but they seem to adapt to life with humans pretty well, so ruling them out purely on the nocturnal label seems like jumping the gun. Heck, cats are pretty nocturnal by nature, too, but they make pretty good pets and interact during the day. There is definitely a scale, it's not just "nocturnal or not"-- there are some dwarf octos that will only venture out if they think it's quite dark, and they are very shy. Most larger octos are not so picky about the light levels, even if they may be more likely to hunt at night in their natural environments. Bimacs don't even seem to come out much in their natural environments during the middle of the day; they're around some at dusk (and maybe dawn) and marinebio_guy told me they're actually pretty night-active in the wild. Most bimac and briareus owners report that the octo will adapt its schedule to yours (in particular, when you feed it) which doesn't seem to be true of the dwarf species so much. I'm not sure about other species, it seems like the larger they get the more likely they are to be adaptable in this way.

yea i was thinking briareus, but cyanea still amzes me a lot more with the fact that their so good at changing colors and the white spots make them look quite beatiful even when their in neutral mode, but i wont get a cyanea just for my pleasure w/ out considering its happiness so my question is, would it be happy with proper care? or should i just forget about getting a cyanea?

You've got some really great friends here who are steering you toward briareus, and with good reason. I think you could make one a lot happier than you could make a cyanea.

even if size were not an issue id recamend briareus...then again im a little biased

so what size tank would be good for cyanea? I just really like them, and im willing to pay a little extra so that i can have one.

would 130 be ok?

People who have studied adults have kept them in large saltwater pools and ponds. While they have been housed temporarily in 1.5 cubic meter flow-through seawater tanks (not sure how many gallons that adds up to), this was not enough space for them in the long term. They outgrew these tanks and the owners let them go. Unfortunately you don't have that option in Miami. O. cyanea are fast-growing and very active animals that - unlike E. dofleini that can handle captivity- don't typically do well in small spaces for very long. It would be like trying to keep a Labrador in a small studio apartment. If I had to venture a guess, I would say one could get by long-term in a ten foot diameter tank....maybe.

10 foot tank for an octopus with a maximum arm span of 2 to 3 feet (according to: http://www.waquarium.org/MLP/root/html/MarineLife/Invertebrates/Molluscs/Octopus.html ?!? Bimacs get to almost two feet in arm span so if a cyanea needs something that big wont a bimac need something much larger than the recommended 55 gallons?

10 foot tank for an octopus with a maximum arm span of 2 to 3 feet (according to: http://www.waquarium.org/MLP/root/html/MarineLife/Invertebrates/Molluscs/Octopus.html ?!? Bimacs get to almost two feet in arm span so if a cyanea needs something that big wont a bimac need something much larger than the recommended 55 gallons?

You're missing the point. Bimacs aren't really all that active in their natural environment. They hide under rocks. The come out to find food, unless it comes to them. They might wander about but they don't venture off far from their den.

Cyanea on the other hand roams around all over the place. Very active. That's where the comparison to the much larger Giant Pacific Octopus comes in. They aren't nearly as active so they are much better suited to being kept in captivity.

Think of it like this... Great Danes and Greyhounds. While a Great Dane is a very large dog, it's very lazy, so a small space is fine for it. A Greyhound on the other hand is a bit smaller dog but needs lots of room to run.

If you want a large diurnal octopus, look for a Vulgaris. But for now, a 110 gallon would be great for a Briareus.

ok,i understand, sorry i was just confused,no one had explained it like that, but now i see what you mean. I would very happily take a vulgaris if i can find one, unfortunately i haven't been able to, i could get a briareus and i already know someone that can get me one, but i rather wait a bit and see if a vulgaris comes along..any help finding one would be appreciated.
Thanks

http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/ can get them, I believe Nancy posted fairly recently that they were going to be getting some.

It would need more than 110 though in the long run.

ok i think ill try them since i live relatively close, and i will upgrade once i get more money.

ok i placed an order online for octopus vulgaris at tampa bay, so im crossing my fingers and hope all goes well.

ok i placed an order online for octopus vulgaris at tampa bay, so im crossing my fingers and hope all goes well.


Have you checked the parameters on your tank? It could still go through a mini-cycle since you just set it up in your place a few days ago. Do you have a variety of food available for your octopus? Make sure you have your food before your octopus is delivered.

yes ammonia is 0 nitrites are 0 salinity was at 2.028 but i put some fresh r/o water to bring it down, nitrites were a little high at 40 ppm but in one of the articles it said they're fine up to 80-100 ppm. I live 2 miles from the beach so as soon as i find out when i'm getting him/her i can just go bike over there with a bucket and collect some. It might not even come soon since the owner still has to make sure they have, and i did ask for a relatively small one so i'd know its young, meaning it might be even more time before they ship.

Unfortunately i just got an e-mail that tampabaysaltwater has no vulgaris in stock. =( i got so excited for nothing

There are certain times of the year that they have them - ask them when they might have vulgaris. The last time I talked with them, they thought it would be fairly soon.

Nancy

i asked him to e-mail me as soon as he gets vulgaris but he hasn't answered.