Macroctopus maorum?

[intrancewetrust]

Has anyone kept one of these? Im thinking of setting up and cycling a tank for an occy, and this seems to be the most likely one I will be able to catch, will be getting a young one as adults are rather large! What size tank/sump/skimmer would be recommended?

 

[Tomh]

How large?

 

[DWhatley]

@Jean has helped with them at the Portobello Aquarium in NZ. Here is a link to a running diary she posted (includes several ceph species) before the aquarium was forced to be dismantled after earthquake damage.

 

[intrancewetrust]

Thanks! As for what size, that depends what sized octopus steps up to the plate so to speak... small as possible would probably be ideal, if i can get a pygmy one instead that wont get massive thats even better, but from my research the odds are stacked in the favour of the above species

 

[perke]

Try Octopus huttoni as a species they are NZ native but potentially might be around tasmania and do not grow large at all. I had 15 for my research and they were very good research animals. I worked with Jean at Portobello we had them on a flow through. The macroctopus maroum grow pretty big as in GPO size if you keep them long enough, so depending on what you would like it for then I would steer away from them if possible due to the possibility of it growing bigger than your tank.

 

[intrancewetrust]

problem is, i cant exactly just pick what species i want, i will catch a small one but it could turn out to be anything! given that i should not return it to the wild then i would like to know whats the worst case scenario in terms of tank size? so if it does grow into a a big one i can be prepared well ahead of time

 

[perke]

At maximum size you're looking around 1.8m tank minimum and around 4000 litres, it comes down to the question of if you are keeping you want to keep it comfortable for its whole life span then you're going to need a big tank. Which could end up being quite costly.

 

[intrancewetrust]

Yes, 4000 litres is going to be hard to accomplish! Do you think its possible to ID and be able to distinguish between a small maorum, and another smaller species? I guess the problem is, once you take something home and put it in your tank you are kind of stuck with it!