Greetings

Czechnology

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Apr 29, 2018
Messages
4
Location
PDX
I’m an environmental biology major outside of Portland OR, and have been keeping reef tanks off and on for over 20 years. I’ve spent time doing research in the Caribbean, and have gone diving or snorkeling in Virginia, California, Hawaii, Belize, and Okinawa. My favorite moments with a cephalopod have been encountering a small group of cuttlefish off Oahu, and an O. briareus who spent 20 minutes crawling all over me on a night dive off Ambergris Caye.

I’m back in a position to keep a tank again for the first time in 4 years, and I picked up a 60gal cube with an octopus in mind. I’m moving slowly, reading up on captive care, and deciding where/how to source one. A. Aculeatus or another diurnal species would be ideal, and I’m not on a timeline, so I’m willing to wait.

Favorite past tanks include an Indo-Pacific invert-dominant tank, and a dedicated N. wennerae tank.

Hope to learn more and find an ethical source for eggs, or a captive raised diurnal. Thanks for having me!
 
Unfortunately, octopus eggs are not a common thing to find. Successfully raising an octopus from an egg in a home aquarium even less common (but has been done and journalled for O. mercatoris, O. bimaculoides and O. briareus on TONMO -- all are large egg species).

Currently, the most likely source for A. aculeatus will be Indonesian imports from Live Aquaria, however, as with most suppliers, the species ID is frequently in error (sometimes it will appear to be a member of the Abdopus family, sometimes it is a macropus). At the moment, their normal page is not available. I only see a waiting list for Atlantic dwarfs so they may be changing this offering (they were purchased by PetCo in 2015 and may be beginning to change their less profitable offerings).

O. briareus can often be found by contacting local collectors in the Keys (KP Aquatics has furnished many) with spring being the best time to source a young animal.
 
Thanks for the replies, and DWhatley; I got my wennerae and others from KP, and they were excellent. I’d be thrilled to give them more
money, but I haven’t even set up the tank yet. I’ve got a 10gal sump under the 60, and was thinking of a wet/dry type setup with a smaller skimmer.
 
Actually, your post prompted me to send them a note to keep a look out for an octo and Spanish lobster for me (I lost my 5+ year lobster last year). I also have kept a wennerae or two from them in addition to many octopuses of various species.
 
Do you have suggestions (or a link if you've covered this ad nauseum) on maximizing a small sump for cephalopods? I've always used canisters and in-tank refugia before.
 
I can't think of anywhere this topic is addressed. Many people like to create a refugium in their sumps but my rather poor attempts did not include the needed lighting to grow algae and I gave up. I DO recommend that you use a sump rather than a canister, if for no other reason than to place all the hardware away from the octopus (the extra water volume does not hurt either). We have also seen keepers use the sump to house live food but you need to take into consideration the extra waste volume (crabs are messier than shrimp but you still have to feed the food and remove any unconsumed dead). I recommend setting up an unconnected 10 gallon for live food rather than trying to maximize the use of a small sump.
 
I can't think of anywhere this topic is addressed. Many people like to create a refugium in their sumps but my rather poor attempts did not include the needed lighting to grow algae and I gave up. I DO recommend that you use a sump rather than a canister, if for no other reason than to place all the hardware away from the octopus (the extra water volume does not hurt either). We have also seen keepers use the sump to house live food but you need to take into consideration the extra waste volume (crabs are messier than shrimp but you still have to feed the food and remove any unconsumed dead). I recommend setting up an unconnected 10 gallon for live food rather than trying to maximize the use of a small sump.

Any thoughts on a skimmer that might work for my current setup? I have used an eshoppes HOB in the past, and the cube came with a Remora, but I’ve never heard anything good about them.
 
I have lower end skimmers. The one medium I tried was one of the worse. For the money, it is hard to beat Coralife. For most others, the recommendation is to double the rated size. Coralife tends to rate theirs more accurately. Keep in mind that if you don't use a sump, you will need to protect the impeller from curious arms (or is that visa versa :wink: )
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top