• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

catch and release

robind

O. bimaculoides
Registered
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
69
Now that my tank is running and I'm waiting the requisite 3 months, I'm trying to source a ceph. I went down to Stagnaro Bros' on the wharf, and met a fisherman there who is willing to catch one for me ("I caught a dozen or so yesterday"). He says they're small (He made a 2"-3" circle with his hands when he said this, so I guess about that size), and reddish. But he sees all kinds.

Anyway, my question is: if I get an octopus from him and it turns out to be Vulgaris or some other species that is too big for my (75g) tank, can I simply release it back into the ocean?
 
Jean's Aquarium (Portabello, NZ) and several other aquariums do return some animals but they are kept in a system that receives ocean water (and returns it) from the place of capture. Unfortunately, there are major concerns about releasing anything from a home aquarium back into the wild. Even conficated, illegally removed corals are not returned to the ocean (at least in FL). There is no good way to determine that a creature has not been exposed to a bacteria that will kill other animals (no necessarily the species returned).
 
OK, I suppose that makes sense. What if I take pictures of it and post them on the ID forum before I put it in my aquarium? Then I could release it if the consensus on the forums is that it's a large species.

I don't want to catch an octopus then have to kill it because it wasn't the right kind.
 
Sound reasoning. It is, however, very difficult to get a positive ID on the basis of (low res) photographs. Be very specific in trying to photograph things like eye spots, if at all present, however vaguely.... Whereabouts is your supplier's location?
 
I live in Santa Cruz, and so does he. I have a nikon d80, so I'll be able to take very hi res pictures. I'll probably meet him at the harbor...I can take pictures and then run (not walk) to the nearest computer to upload them.

I want a Bimac. I know they have blue eyespots. Is there other information I could give him so he might have a better chance of catching that species?
 
I'd say that the best idea is definetly wait for positive ID then release into tank. The only problem is that it could take a few days so what I would do is get about 20 gallons of ocean water, half fill a 5 gallon bucket and put an airstone in there (also make sure it stays at correct temperature). Put the octo in the 5 gallon and change the water out with fresh ocean water 1-2 times a day. Also make sure to feed him.
 
This may prove not to be a problem. Please correct me if I'm mistaken; I've been doing some research and it seems where I'm located (Santa Cruz, California) there are mostly only small species of octopus. A notable exception being GPO. So unless it's a GPO, which I read looks a lot like O. rubescens, then it shouldn't really matter which one it is (though I'd prefer a bimac). So maybe if I stay away from all red octopodes I'll be good to go.

Somewhat unrelated question:
Should I give animals I'm adding to the aquarium (that I've collected from the ocean) a rinse before doing so?
 
robind;141484 said:
Should I give animals I'm adding to the aquarium (that I've collected from the ocean) a rinse before doing so?

This is kind of a tough question to answer in absolute terms. The simple answer, anything new to an aquarium should be quarantined for a minimum of two weeks (some will say two months as a minimum, I have seen a year suggested). Certainly with fish quarantine is a must. At some point over the last year someone lost corals because a new piece carrying pathogens was put into the tank.

However, it is often difficult if not impossible to quarantine some things and food is usually needed before a safe quarantine period (or may not survive that long). Scavengers that are intended as food should be kept in an environment where they can purge what they have scavenged from the wild but a simple rinsing is not likely to do anything to prevent contamination.
 
With 8, it takes me a full day to clean and do water changes every week. The count does not include the remaining freshwater tank maintained for my silver dollar that wants to out live me, nor the food tanks that need top offs and water changes, nor the pico I keep for odd stuff ... :roll:
 
dwhatley;141498 said:
With 8, it takes me a full day to clean and do water changes every week. The count does not include the remaining freshwater tank maintained for my silver dollar that wants to out live me, nor the food tanks that need top offs and water changes, nor the pico I keep for odd stuff ... :roll:

Sorry for the change of subject, and correct me if I'm wrong, but can't the silver dollar can be acclimated to salt water?
 
L8_2_Rise, never thought about it. He gets the backwash from my RO unit so he is in brackish water but the PH is much lower. I have converted guppies successfully to attempt feeding the young to seahorses (guppies easily converted and spawned but the horses didn't find the young acceptable food) but I have never considered converting other fish. There really would not be a good reason to convert him though my tanks are either set up for octopuses, are too small, or have other fish that would likely attack and kill him (most FW can't handle SW aggression).
 
Well I'm going to ride up the coast a bit, maybe to Pelican Point, and do some snorkeling. Perhaps I can get some abalone and a starfish or two.

Also I've been playing with the idea of building a small crab pot and trapping rock crabs on the jetty. There's thousands of them and they're quite small.
 

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