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O. Cyanea vs O. Rubescens

From what I understand, O. Rubescens is not only prone to biting, but it's bite/venom is particularly painful, at least for some people.

+1 on long arms also being strong arms. I don't see an advantage there in avoiding bites, and the bite will then come from a larger animal.

I have an O. Bimaculoides which may not be as large as you are looking for, and requires a chiller, but is interactive and not known to bite or be toxic. It's almost identical looking cousin O. Bimaculatus is larger, but tends to occur in slightly deeper water, and seldom if ever in tide pools, so while neither form of bimac is generally available for purchase, the larger Bimaculatus is harder to collect yourself. But if you can find a way to get one, and have a chiller, I suspect a Bimaculatus would be great for you.
 
I've read a little on both O. Bimaculatus and O. Bimaculoides, but I have a warm water tank, and to switch to a temperate I would have to get rid of all of my current animals. That's why I was originally thinking of O. Cyanea or O. Vulgaris. Also I read a little about O. Maya. Does anyone know of any species that are tropical and get between 2 and 4 feet?
 
Where on the Texas Gulf coast is O. vulgaris common? Very few octopuses show up on that coast, as far as I've been able to determine.
Do you mean the Flower Garden Banks, which is 80 miles offshore? O. vulgaris has been identified there.
 
Octopus Vulgaris has been reported all over the Texas coast. http://www.channelviewcondos.com/photos.php?action=details&record=26 There is also another article online that I cannot locate again. The author states that he and his son went for a walk on Mustang Beach one Christmas morning after a big freeze, and found (correct me if I'm wrong) nearly 200 dead octopus. There were a few pictures I believe and they looked like O. Vulgaris. Not to mention the people that I have spoken with that used to collect around these areas that said where and when I would be able to find them.
 
Yes there are lots of octopus on the marine reserve, but I'm talking inland close to shore. I wouldn't be surprised to find them myself. I've been fishing down there for years growing up and there are numerous places and resources for these animals. I have just never had the resources or the knowledge of how, when, and where to collect them. I mainly collected fish and small invertebrates. I plan on doing some surveying when I move down there as to what species can be found where and at what times of the year. I've also heard rumors of O. Mercatoris being found in shallow waters. Not sure how much truth this holds but I've found solid information on the Vulgaris.
 
I had a thought today. If you were to build a refugium inside a sump,(the intake on one side, the refugium in the center, and the return on the other side, alternation barriers blocking off the refugium) and in the refugium you kept a bed of sand with lots of macro algae, would this be adequate to raise planktonic octopus in so long as proper food (i.e. plankton, zooplankton, copapods, et cetra)? Kind of like this picture but there would be barriers on both sides and the water would flow straight from one side to the other. No rocks though. Just sand and macro algae. (Please note that this is not my picture. It is something If found online.)
 

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