• 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.

New kid on the block

louisfez

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Apr 3, 2018
Messages
3
Location
Bristol
Hi everyone, been looking at getting an Atlantic pygmy octopus or two for my 75L tank, was set up for fish so has a heater, a filter and a light. Have done quite a bit of research but cant find much info on keeping pygmy octopus. I understand that i will have to octopus proof the lid (might just get rid of the old one as it also seems the octopus don't like bright lights either) and sounds like i need some sort of external filter. so was wondering if that's all i need to make the tank able to house an octopus, but also know i would have to cycle the tank for 3 months. Was also hoping for some help in how to set up the water as in an air filter or not and heard that carbon needs to be added (not sure how that is done). Also wasn't sure with how these octopus should be fed, was planning on feeding them brine shrimp? Thanks for any of your suggestions.
 
Also as a little additive would appreciate any recommendations if another species of octopus would do better in the tank. did see that blue ringed octopus do well in aquariums but also saw that only experienced handlers should buy them and know how poisonous they are so would probably be best for me to avoid them.
 
:welcome: @louisfez! I am not sure how easy it will be to find an the common Atlantic pygmy that we see in the states (O. mercatoris) in the UK. Most of the dwarfs we see are sourced from the Caribbean and I don't believe there is much of an export business but we have seen a few Caribbean O. briareus for sale in Canada. There are other dwarf species and O. bocki seems to have recently been available thorough importers here and may be available in the UK as most octopus exports for the hobby originate from the Philippines.

Almost all dwarf species are nocturnal so you will want to minimize your lighting. As far as the octopus is concerned, room lighting would be fine. For night viewing, you will want a red light.

Brine shrimp will not sustain an octopus. You will need small live crabs and/or small live shrimp to start and may be successful with feeding frozen mysis or even pieces of frozen table shrimp over time.

You will need some kind of filtration. I have used a hang on filter with charcoal and filter media for O. mercatoris by lowering the tank level to 2" below the top and adding sponges around any openings.

The bite from a Blue Ringed octopus is deadly if you are not immediately given assistance breathing and rushed to the hospital. Fortunately, most are not aggressive but it is foolish to consider this animal for a novice keeper.
 

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