About a week ago I went to my LFS and saw the neatest thing ever for salt water, a Octopus!! I have not stopped thinking about getting one since that moment.

Afew problems.

1) I have a Eclipse system 12. I know this is to small for the larger Octopus such as, Bimac. (SP) I have seen some post about Dwarf Octopus's but can not seem to find any info on them. As to how big they get. I am to the point now where I wanna throw caution into the wind and buy a bigger tank to house a Octopus. I do have a line on a used 55 gallon set up.

2) I can not seem to find any LFS that knows anything about any octopus noless a dwarf. Everyone is ready to point out that Blue ring Octopus are not a good pet. I have read that you can mail order some octo's. Does anyone sell them mail order? I also know they do not live as long as they are caught and not hatched. i'm willing to suffer the early loss for a chance to observe and enjoy one.

3) I just reset up this small tank about a month ago and have to wait atleast another 2 before I can move on anything. This is a old set up and still has some of the old rock in it. I have added more LR to it also. Hiding places.;)

So if anyone can take a few minutes out and give me some links, or more info, I would be very thankfull.

Awsome site by the way. Best I have found so far, by far.

Thanks

Lon

Well, welcome to Tonmo!!!
Regarding care and setup, there are some great articles under Ceph care, as well as an entire checklist for bimacs !
Octopets sells captive raised bimacs for a very reasonable price, and ships them out frequently.
Dwarfs are hard to locate with any amount of regularity...even us lucky enough to catch young ones only get a few months of life in the tank out of them, whereas a bimac can live for a year or more...
Be sure to look at the care sheets written by the Tonmo staff, and hit :
http://www.octopets.com
Glad you found us!
greg

Bimacs are definitely the best choice, they're interactive, not escape-prone, flash brilliant colours and patterns, plus as Greg stated, they're captive bred. That means they're disease free, reasonably priced and can get to a good lifespan.

If you can get the 55 it would be perfect for one.

Two very capable people answered your questions, so I'll just say welcome, Lon!

Melissa

Hi and welcome to TONMO.com :welcome:

You've already been given good advice - it's worth it to set up a tank for a bimac, even if you have to wait 3 months until it cycles. Be sure to read the articles in Ceph Care (click on the button above) there are a lot of things to consider like where you will get food for for octo, a supplier for RO/DI water, and so forth. It's not all that complicated and not too much different from keeping a reef aquarium.

Just avoid used tanks that have ever had any copper treatment in them - copper is fatal for octopuses.

People report in about their pet octos under Journals and Photos, so you can see what it's like having an octo pet.

Glad you like the site!

Nancy

Thank you guy's for the replies. I have already been all over this site and read most what you have told me to already. This is the only site I have found with good info on it. I have seen the warnings about past copper use. This tank I may get was a reef shark tank, and has never had copper in it. It's a friend so he wouldn't mislead me.

I was hoping to get some Dwarf ocotpus info from you guy's. Like maybe even some names to search, or some links. I'm in the WOW phase and just want to read every thing I can find. I'm sure there are some people on here that have Dwarfs, what are there screen names? I'll search their names and read what they have posted to share.

Thanks again.

Lon

the only one I have worked with was Octopus digueti...after my last male died, I haven't had the heart to keep any more...my wife and I are kicking around getting a bimac, as our bichir has outgrown the 60 and will be moved into a 150...which leaves us with an empty tank...can't have THAT now can we? :D
O. digueti is from mexico and bits of baja california, it does very well in the aquarium, but lives such a short life, less than one year as far as I can tell. They do bite, and are somewhat aggressive compared to bimacs...
Cool deal on the tank...once you get it set up, be sure to enter it into the database!
greg

Actually, there aren't many people who keep dwarves (or pygmy octos) because they're not readily available at your local fish store. When they do come it, it's usually by accident. Carol (corw314) recently kept one - you can read about him in Journals and Photos. His name was Rummler.

Also, they don't live very long and most seem to be adults by the time they reach the aquarium store.

A bimac can be kept in a 55 gallon tank and most people eventually opt for this solution.

Yes, you can mail order a bimac from www.octopets.com or from Fish Supply - our Tonmo members have ordered from both with success.

Nancy

Theres a site which sells either joubini or mecatoris i believe, but again, they're wild caught and you could end up with a baby vulgaris or an adult dwarf. Hope this helps :)

Thank you all for the repleis. I know have enough info to keep me busy for a few more days. (Searching and reading) I've got the 55 set up I mentioned in my first post home now and will start setting it up this week :D Which raises a new question. Now I will have to wait awhile for this new set up to cycle, which will be after my Eclipse set up is ready. Could I get a Bimac and keep him or her in the 12 gallon for a few months till the 55 is in perfect condition? Will this just be to much stress moving a Bimac after a few months ? If you can not tell I'm chomping at the bit to get one. I talked to a guy at my LFS. and he has 2 Octopus's now. He did not help matters any, he has me wanting one more than ever. Once I mentioned what my plans where (Octopus) he had all kinds of questions and info to share. Seems people have a passion for Octopus's once they have had one. I feel like I'm missing out on something great right now.

Some members have had some luck with starting the octo in a smaller tank, some not...if it was me, I would just wait until february or so after the tank is cycled...but, I also understand the desire to have an octo!!
Nancy and Carol might be able to shed some more light on the merits of either situation...
greg
ps, this is an old photo of a cute O.digueti...clever little things!

Octopus vulgaris
24.00 each

Pygmy Octopus
Octopus joubini
24.00 each

Reef Octopus
Octopus briareus

I found these on this site.
http://www.caribbeancreatures.com/invrt_ostps.html

None of these is captive bred. The joubini and the briareus would be at the end of their lives by now. Maybe the vulgaris would live a little longer, but would be too big for your tank!
So pass on these - only order in the spring.

Nancy

Yeah, that is the sad part...you get them in april or may, and by september, they are done in...if that long!
greg

Ok I'll pass on those for sure. What about the captive breed Bimac's and transfering to another tank in a few months? Is this just to much stress on them or would it be ok? Thanks

Lon

Twelve gallons is very small for a four month old bimac. Not only do you have to think of room for the octopus, but the strain the octo will put on your filters, inking, etc. You just need to be a little patient!

Nancy

Thanks Nancy. I guess I knew the answer to my question before I asked but I want one so bad right now. I'll just have to hold off for now.

I'm bumbed out now :(

My LFS did give me a copy of the August 2004 Tropical Fish with the "8Whys & Ways to keep an Octopus" has some good info in there and some really nice pics.

:welcome: I too am not so sure I would start a bimac in a 12 gal. Now I know someone on this site, I believe the octo's name was Alice, was moved to a bigger tank without problems. But 12 gal is really small for a bimac, even a baby. Who wrote the article on Octos' in the mag?

Carol

:welcome: I too am not so sure I would start a bimac in a 12 gal. Now I know someone on this site, I believe the octo's name was Alice, was moved to a bigger tank without problems. But 12 gal is really small for a bimac, even a baby. Who wrote the article on Octos' in the mag?

Carol

Philip A. Purser is the writer.

So any suggestions on what to get for my 12gallon to hold me over for 3 or 4 months?

I was hoping to get some Dwarf ocotpus info from you guy's. Like maybe even some names to search, or some links. I'm in the WOW phase and just want to read every thing I can find. I'm sure there are some people on here that have Dwarfs, what are there screen names? I'll search their names and read what they have posted to share.

Dunno bout all that but if i had a dwarf octo it would have to be called an umpalumpa (charlie an the chocolate factory) or something off the wizard of oz

ive always wanted a rug in the middle of the livin room thats the start of the yellow brick road, so every mornin before work ya could start in the middle an say follow the yellow brick road..follow the yellow brick road...etc an a load of dwarfs would pop out from behind the couch an the tv an shout follow the yellow brick road!!! hey a dwarf octo is the future.....your onto somethin mate :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


btw!!! :welcome:

Just so you know I'm a Dwarf.























And I have a carpet with a yellow brick road on it. :jester: :jester: :jester: :jester:

http://www.freepichosting.com/Thumbs/421581447/1/1.jpg?SSImageQuality=Full

This is my new buddy that I have named Stumpy. He is going to keep me happy till my 55 is set up and cycled. He's no Octopus but he is cool in his own right.

Not really a picture of him, but thats what he looks like to a "T"

And what is Stumpy??

Nancy

Leaf fish? :roll: Make sure to get him out when the octo arrives :) I love these fast striking predatory creatures, Its real run to watch them feeding. I found my frogfish dead this morning, I think it ate a dead shrimp.

Meet the Species

Most of the Scorpionfish that are regularly available to the hobby are part of the subfamily Scorpaeninae. Within this subfamily are roughly 15 genera, and possibly over 150 species. The genus Taenianotus, or the Leaf Scorpionfishes, including the popular Taenianotus triacanthusare, are potentially suitable species for aquariums for several reasons. First, they can be housed in very small aquariums, a 20 or 30 gallon tank can adequately hold a pair or trio of these fish which are usually less than four inches in length. Second, they usually like to perch on rocks or caves out in the open and can thus be observed easily by aquarists. Third, they come in a virtual rainbow of colors: red, maroon, pink, yellow, tan, brown, and even black specimens are available. The difficulty in keeping these fish, as with other family members, is getting them to accept appropriate prepared foods. The hobbyist should start with live ghost shrimp, and slowly wean them to frozen/thawed Mysis shrimp, if possible.

This was found here. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2.../hcs3/index.htm

Thats the info I could find on Stumpy. He is very good at acting like a leaf in the water. Tumbles around the tank, it's fun to watch. I'm going to get some feeders tomorrow for him. Part of says not to because he takes froozen foods now and might stop if he gets live food.

Joel_ang, He is in my 12 gallon set up and the Bimac one day will be in the 55 set up. So it is likely they will never even see each other. I would like a Frogfish but they also get to big for the 12 gallon set up.

Gotta admit, Stumpy's kinda cute, even if he isn't a ceph!

Nancy

I almost bought one of those! It was between that, an orange angler but then I saw Elmer....Blue Bird Wrasse from Indonesia! He is presently residing in my old octo tank!

Carol

Carol do you have a pic? Does Elmer eat Bristle worms? I have a few and want them gone. Did the lights out, with a red flash light last night and counted 5 or 6 worms. I know they are not really bad for the tank but Ick they gotta go. I have read that some Wrasse eat them.

Picture??? Do I have pictures.....But I'll only post one!!! Not sure if he eats the worms... He had my daughtor cracking up this morn. Was coming out of the water to get prawn from my hand and making these smacking noises when he missed! She said he reminds her of a dolphin!

Carol

Thanks for the picture Carol. She's a beut.

Stumpy update : Turns out froozen food is a joke to him. Tossed in some Ghost shrimp and oh boy he likes those alot better. I think he'll eat till he pops. First feeding he ate 3 which I thought was alot given his size compared to the shrimp. His belly was bulging out alot. 2 days later I go to the LFS and the Octopus owner is working. We catch up alittle and tell him about Stumpy and I need some Ghost shrimp. He says how many? I say 4 (we'll see how big of a pig he really is) Well the guy hands me the bag with atleast 12 shrimp in it marked as 4. So I head home and dump 11 shrimp in the tank (1 went down the bathroom sink drain) with in 4hrs they are all gone!! Wow!! He is a real pig. I did see my cleaner shrimp catch one and eat it. That was grrruusoommm. With no real tools to kill with he just picked it apart, the hole time the ghost shrimp was trying to get away.

It's good that Stumpy has found something he likes to eat. Trouble is, ghost shrimp aren't very nutritious. It would be better if you could switch to salt water shore shrimp or the like. However, those are more expensive and you might have to have them shipped in. You might try other kinds of food, including pieces of fresh scallops and live crabs. Have you tried good quality frozen shrimp (thawed, of course)? That might make a difference.

Nancy

Thanks for the tips Nancy I'll see what I can come up with.