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new octopus tank

randy

Cuttlefish
Registered
Joined
Jul 14, 2017
Messages
16
Location
dix hills ny
i plan on ordering an octopus for my red sea max c250 tank and wondering if liveaquaria is a good source. they sell up to 3" for $75.

any way of knowing what ill be getting and the age? just says brown.
 
There are not a lot of regular suppliers for octopuses but Live Aquaria is one of the few that often have them for sale and have excellent shipping facilities. Most will be imports from Indonesia shipped from their California facility. Often they are in the Abdopus complex but we have also seen a sweet but very nocturnal that is probably Callistoctopus aspilosomatis. The links are title searches in the journals that you may like to review. The Species link in the Posts with Info for New Octo Keepers sticky will give you a better understanding of the lack of species knowledge by vendors and which octopuses we typically see in the hobby.
 
The "mimic" is more likely a wunderpus but in either case, they do not do well in captivity and have unknown populations so are not recommended for even advanced hobbyists. The Indonesian animals tend to be readily available (ie common without population concerns) and somewhat hardy. However, if you can source a Gulf of Mexico species I would recommend any of them (hummelincki, briareus, vulgaris, mercatoris) over the imports as a first octopus.
 
You can try a Google search for "Fish Collectors in Florida" (or other Gulf state but FL is the most common) and email them with your request even if they do not show an octopus in their available products. KP Aquatics is one I have used for much of what has been in my tanks (disclaimer, I used to do web work for the original owner, father of the current owner). They now have a waiting list that you can sign up for to be notified when they have an octopus available. I would recommend that you contact them via their email as well. EBay is another place that collectors have offered octopuses but they don't seem to show up there very often any more which may be due to some of the rule changes eBay has made about live animals. Lastly, you can look for local aquarium shops and see about ordering one. These will usually be from wholesalers and from Indonesia.
 

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