Hi, I'm new here and new to octopuses. I have been keeping reef tanks for about three years now and I would like to try a octopus.

My question is that since we have a few cats in our house which love to jump on our tanks and chase the fish around, will the octopus get used to it or will it always be stressed causeing it to ink all the time?

Should I keep the tank in a room where I can keep my cats out?

Also how much does shipping usually run on a single octopus?
My LFS dosn't carry any kind of octopus so I will have to order one.

Thank you.

The octopus will probably be under quite a bit of stress, it will most likely ink everytime it happens since it will probably come as a shock to them.
It would be best to put it where the cats can't get to them.

As for the delivery charges, try asking www.fishsupply.com or www.octopets.com.

Hi, welcome to TONMO.com

Would be best to prevent cats from startling an octopus as is will get quite stressed... especially when new, octopuses can get frightened by sudden movements and i guess a cat landing on the hood would count! LOL

Depending on species and eventual size I'm sure you'll have fun watching the octopus trying to figure out how to get the cat!!!

Cool thanks guys. I figured the stupid cats would be a problem, maybe the octopus will have a tasty treat some day LOL :twisted: . We have too many cats anyways and octopuses are alot cooler.

One of my kittens in particular used to bat at Ink! I think Ink enjoyed the game!! My baby octo is in the livingroom where the cats have access when we are home. So far they have not bothered him at all.

Carol

Wow! thats so cute....( there should be some sort of cute smiley) If only I could see it happening, how adorable.

LOL, you should try to get some video of that if you ever have the chance.

Yeah I will probably set up the tank in our spare room to be on the safe side. That way I can keep all unwanted critters out, and keep Spike in. Spike will probably be my octo's name.

How hard is it to raise octopuses from eggs? I was looking at octo pets and they have some eggs for sale.
When they hatch do they need to be put in seperate tanks?

Here I thought I was almost done spending money on pets, then I had to go and find Tonmo. Thanks guys.

Hi and welcome!! You are sooo right!!! Finding Tonmo deffinately set off an obsession I've had for a long time! Fraid the shot of Ink with the kitten was taken in Ink's younger days! She's now blind and still with us but I'm not sure how much longer!

Carol

Hi and thanks. I'm sorry to hear about Ink. I read some of Ink's stories yesterday after I joined.
It sucks they are only with us for a very short time, but you got to make the best of it while you can.

I just lost my Clark clown fish a week ago, He was my favorite fish out of all of them. I bought him three years ago, hard to believe it has been that long

I wish you and Ink the best.

For species like bimacs, they're a large egg species so they shouldn't be too hard. Depends on how big your tank is and how many babies but it would be best too seperate them as they can be canabalistic when hungry.

It will be a 120g 4'x2'x2' aquarium. How long after they hatch should I seperate them?

I'm not too sure but I would do it as soon as possible. Try asking Colin cause he has tried raising baby briaerius before.

luckily bimacs can be batch reared :)

as long as the tank has enough hiding places though,
aim for 2 or 3 per octopus and use cuttings of pvc pipe and shells

Alright, thanks for the help guys.

By the way has anyone used Golden Pearls to feed their Octopus's, mainly babys?
I use them in my reef tank and they come in diffrent sizes from 5-1000 microns.

From,
www.brineshrimpdirect.com

hmmmmmmmm

from experience and others.. brine shrimp really doesnt seem to have what it takes to satisfy an octopus or even be healthy for it, even if vits etc are added... I dont think it would do.

Feeding an octo properly is probably one of the hardest tasks for a keeper as live crabs and shrimps cant be beaten

They have to have a bit of variety in their diet, not just shrimp shrimp shrimp.... I think you'll get tired if you ate pizza everyday of the year ( I KNow I won't :heee: )