i live about an hour away from the beach and i was wondering if i could just catch crabs for my octo to eat? there are crabs everywhere at the beach and it would be a lot cheaper.

Sure.

Make sure you know what the rules and regulations are for taking crabs from the local beach; you can get in big trouble if you don't have the right permits or licenses in some places...

When I go scuba diving, we collect dungeness crabs, and rock crabs, but have to have a fishing license to do so.

However, we never say "we got crabs", instead we say "we got dungeness crabs" or "we got rock crabs."

Trust me, sounds much better. ;)

if you live close to the beach check the bait shops . they usually sell them pretty cheap. i pay 1.00 each for good size crabs here in florida. and i get live shrimp a dozen for 4.00