• 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 Occy :)

bec22

Cuttlefish
Registered
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
20
Hi Everyone :smile:
Im getting an O.Vulgaris this weekend. I have a Red Sea Max tank - does anyone have any ideas on how to octoproof it? there is about a 3cm gap between the tank and the entrance to the sump (which obviously we dont want him in) I was thinking a bit of fly screen but then im not sure how to secure it so he wont want to pull it apart!
Any ideas would be APPRECIATED GREATLY!!
:snorkel:
 
:welcome: Bec!

First, why do you think it is O. vulgaris? If you are in the US (it is helpful to edit your profile and give us a hint as to where you are located, the system does not provide this automatically), it is an unlikely species to be housing, but not impossible. If you know something about where it is coming from, it will be helpful in addition to any pictures you can provide. The species we see the most are either from Indonesia (usually in the abdopus complex) or from the Caribbean (O. briareus, O. mercatoris and O. hummelincki). There are a few others and some we never fully identify. In my time with TONMO and octopus keeping I have only seen two or three actual vulgaris but lots of the others. If your vendor has been told it is a Common Octopus, it may be a Common Caribbean which may be O. briareus but, more often than not, suppliers really have no clue.

There are no all in ones (that I know of) that are large enough for an adult O. vulgaris, even our smaller variety in the US so the tank size is a concern. I have kept one in a 65 split but LittleBit was quite small for the species and I had a 145 available if she out grew the tank. An O. briareus will need something in the 65+ gallon range.

I have found the best thing to block overflows and dissuade interest in the nice dark area of an all in one sump is to place very course sponge behind the flow openings. You will have to clean it often (the courser the better) and be sure it will not overflow the tank and will feed the return pump adequately. All in one's don't provide the best filtering and octos are very messy so be prepared to do extra water changes to keep the water clean.
 
I just saw your other posting and now know you are in AU. None of the Caribbean octos I mentioned will be a possibility but the Indonesian may still be one of the options as they are shipped all over the world. O. vulgaris, in some flavor, are in all waters but the ones in the US are the smallest. Out your way they get quite large so the tank concern is still valid. You have another common octo there that should be easy to identify but, again, tank size is a concern.
 
P.cordiformis is a NZ endemic, so no never found outside of the country. Also it's waaaaaaaay too big for a home aquarium! It can reach 3m arm spread and 20 odd Kgs! We kept ours in a 3500 L tank and that was pushing it a bit for the bigger ones. We got away with it because we had an open system (i. e. running seawater!). Why don't you try for one of the smaller Aussie octopus (NOT the blue ring!) such as the Pale octopus (O. pallidus). If it is your common octopus (possibly O. maorum) you're going to need a bigger tank. This is also a big species.

As for octo-proofing, we've had a lot of success with astroturf and of course duct tape is your friend!!!

J
 
Here is a pic of Lloyd our last P. cordiformis in our 5000L tank. That's astroturf around the top (inside and outside!)

DARN, I can't get it to post the rotated pic!.........but you get the idea~!

 

Attachments

  • conv_300221.jpg
    conv_300221.jpg
    4.4 MB · Views: 126
  • conv_300225.jpg
    conv_300225.jpg
    160.5 KB · Views: 133
I'm in aus. WA to be exact. Think the aquarium lady told me the wrong name as I went in today and the owner told me it was a common reef octopus and they don't grow that big? But still how will I keep it out of the sump? :/
 
BY the Way....
after looking at different species of occy online i think mine is an O. briareus... i will post a pic when i get him on the weekend though. (him/her haha dont know how to tell) :oops:
 
We have seen several references that they may be shipped from here but it would seem odd and they don't live anywhere but in the Caribbean. So far none of the people that thought they were getting an O. briareus did so it will be interesting to see. More likely it will be either something local or from the Philippines but you just never know :biggrin2:.

I did make a suggestion in the first reply about using a sponge to cover the exit holes but have concerns about filtration and overflow. Jean's aquarium uses astro turf but in addition to it being hard to keep clean, it is usually used around the top of an aquarium at considerable height (note Jean's round tank has several feet along both the inside and the outside).

There is a sticky that will help sex your new friend here.
 
Since you are living in Perth it probably came from Indonesia meaning abdopus although I am not quite sure( it could also be octopus Marginatus,I am pretty sure that they live near India correct me if Im wrong
 
Not likely A. marginatus only because we never see them in the trade. I keep hoping we will (I think) but initial observations from Thales' prior trip to the Philippines suggests they don't ship well. Shipped to the US from Indonesia we usually see some form of Abdopus or Macropus complexes. Often the Abdopus are aculeatus but not always. The Macropus is appears to be the same species but we have never been sure which one it is.
 
Apparently the shop i am buying him from collects corals etc themselves and i was told they collected him! i will definatley post a picture when i get him :smile:
Sponge - as in dishwashing sponge? how thick do you think it will need to be?:shock:
 

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