Hello Tonmo community,
I received an email that recommended that I start a thread here to introduce myself. Ta da! Here I am. Great to be here.
I'm new to this community, but not to octopus care. I actually raised a bimac when I was in high school in Portland, Oregon. It was a school-funded science project... pretty amazing experience (2006-2008ish). The octopus, pictured as my profile, lived a full, two-yearish lifespan after arriving via FedEx from an online dealer.
Now I'm in a position to raise an octopus again, this time through a work-funded hobby project in Seattle. I've got all the old equipment that worked before, including chiller. I plan to acclimate with wild harvested Pacific Northwest seawater, substrate, and live rock soon (away from any polluting industry, of course!).
Anyway... it seems like a lot has changed since my high school days. Bimacs seem quite hard to come by! I don't even remember having a difficult time finding a dealer online back in 2006/2007, but there doesn't appear to be sight nor sound of one these days. I recall getting mine for $20 and paying $30 shipping after a day or two of google searches.
I had such a wonderful experience with the bimac; so friendly, curious, and seemingly happy with aquarium life. Does anybody have any recommendations on where to find one in 2017? Am I to drive down to Cali myself and catch one? Perhaps hitting up research institutions in Seattle could bear fruit... probably not though, bureaucracy prohibits the fun 99% of the time.
If I can't locate a bimac, I know the native East Pacific Red Octopus has similar cold water demands and is about the same size (smaller, obviously). I like the cold water, West Coast native angle to compliment where I work. An unidentifiable octopus from Tahiti or a Caribbean species would seem very out of place, we've got some local pride!
So, I guess my inquiries boil down to:
1- Where are the bimacs at? I wanna know...
2- If bimacs are simply impossible, does anybody have information on the East Pacific Red Octopus? I hear rumors that they are defensive biters and have a fairly potent toxin...
3- If East Pacific Reds check out, where are they? Should I start looking at the local harvesting regulations if dealers are scarce?
Thanks for all that you all do! May the eight arms of your companions crush prey for 10,000 moons.
Best from the Northwest,
Norris
I received an email that recommended that I start a thread here to introduce myself. Ta da! Here I am. Great to be here.
I'm new to this community, but not to octopus care. I actually raised a bimac when I was in high school in Portland, Oregon. It was a school-funded science project... pretty amazing experience (2006-2008ish). The octopus, pictured as my profile, lived a full, two-yearish lifespan after arriving via FedEx from an online dealer.
Now I'm in a position to raise an octopus again, this time through a work-funded hobby project in Seattle. I've got all the old equipment that worked before, including chiller. I plan to acclimate with wild harvested Pacific Northwest seawater, substrate, and live rock soon (away from any polluting industry, of course!).
Anyway... it seems like a lot has changed since my high school days. Bimacs seem quite hard to come by! I don't even remember having a difficult time finding a dealer online back in 2006/2007, but there doesn't appear to be sight nor sound of one these days. I recall getting mine for $20 and paying $30 shipping after a day or two of google searches.
I had such a wonderful experience with the bimac; so friendly, curious, and seemingly happy with aquarium life. Does anybody have any recommendations on where to find one in 2017? Am I to drive down to Cali myself and catch one? Perhaps hitting up research institutions in Seattle could bear fruit... probably not though, bureaucracy prohibits the fun 99% of the time.
If I can't locate a bimac, I know the native East Pacific Red Octopus has similar cold water demands and is about the same size (smaller, obviously). I like the cold water, West Coast native angle to compliment where I work. An unidentifiable octopus from Tahiti or a Caribbean species would seem very out of place, we've got some local pride!
So, I guess my inquiries boil down to:
1- Where are the bimacs at? I wanna know...
2- If bimacs are simply impossible, does anybody have information on the East Pacific Red Octopus? I hear rumors that they are defensive biters and have a fairly potent toxin...
3- If East Pacific Reds check out, where are they? Should I start looking at the local harvesting regulations if dealers are scarce?
Thanks for all that you all do! May the eight arms of your companions crush prey for 10,000 moons.
Best from the Northwest,
Norris