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Species recomendation

Omega

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Nov 30, 2009
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I have a 110g tank, running for about two months. The tank currently has 100lbs of sand(a little over an inch of substrate) and 30lbs. of live rock, with another 90lbs in a separate tank curing. I have a sump rated for a larger tank, and also an extra canister filter rated for a 100g. I'll be picking up a protein skimmer later this week and adding it into the mix. So now the question is...What species? I would prefer a diurnal octopus but I know you cant be to picky since its already hard to find any octopi. My tank stays around 74-76 degrees and can be lit either by a fake light, or natural sunlight as its near a window that currently is shut so it doesn't allow light in. Id prefer a larger species but I don't want anything that wouldn't be fully comfortable within the tank. I'm not planning on picking an octo up till late march but wanted to go ahead and try and find a species and seller =] Any recommendations on the species or tweaks to make to the tank please let me know thanks =].
 
IF this cold spell does not badly deplete the octopus population in the Caribbean, March SHOULD be a good time to get a YOUNG Caribbean species.

With a 110 you can consider a Caribbean/Atlantic vulgaris (or a brieareus, of course) IF you can find one. They are somewhat less nocturnal than brieareus and hard to come by but worth looking for.

Roy has said that a Cyanea (Hawiian) can also be kept in a 100 tank with care but with the 4' arm span in the referenced post, there is likely a lot of "it depends" involved and Roy makes a point of saying getting them young is very important. Cyanea would be the ideal species as it is fully diurnal, has extremes in body shaping and has been successfully kept in the lab at Berkely. Note that Cyanea is a Pacific animal and will likely require a chiller. Finding one would be very difficult.

Hummelincki/filosus will be seen in a 100 gallon tank but does no need that much space. They seem to come in two sizes, dwarf and medium and there is no good way to know which you are getting if it is small. I have been excited twice about getting small females just to have them start brooding in two weeks. My two males were much larger and with me much longer.

For first hand information about individual species, you can use the List of our Octopuses 2009 and 2008 for links to journals on the various species.
 
I was looking for facts about the Cyanea yesterday it seems like the few places that have information about them disagree on how large they can get. Also nobody cared to mention temperature ranges =\. Vulgaris was the one I figured would be the best fit, but I do like a lot of what I've read about the Hummelincki even if they are smaller. On a side note about tracking down a Cyanea, while I was digging around the internet yesterday I found a PDF business report from Hawaii that was talking about the octopus trade in hawaii(for the purpose of them being someones dinner). It mentioned Cyaneas are very common since they are a larger Hawaiian native species. Anyone ever tried getting one from companies that trap them? I realize this leaves a large chance of them being injured, but i believe I remember reading that some of the websites that sell octos (tom's Caribbean i believe was specifically mentioned) rescue them from trappers anyway. Better they get put in an aquarium that someone's stomach =\
 
Welcome to the world of Octopuses not for consumption:hmm:. IMO you are doing very well with your research and should you find interesting biological or habitat information, please post links. Octopuses are still not a main stream home (or even public) aquarium animal so finding and gleaning information is a lot of what this part of our forum attempts. In truth, Tony never really had thoughts about having live animal keeping as part of TONMO back when he started developing the platform but the need for information and some innovative keepers has made it a main topic (thank you Nancy, Colin, Rich and Daniel!).

There has been rumors that there are legal collectors in Hawaii that would catch and ship a cyanea but no one has reported getting one. Obtaining any octopus directly from the fishing industry is likely less stress on the animal than having one that goes to a wholesaler(and still may have been obtained this way). One way to determine proper temperatures is to find their habitat and look at the water temperature ranges.

Vulgaris are simply hard to come by (and need a larger tank than most of us have). If I converted my 140 (something I think about from time to time) I could think I could keep a vulgaris comfortably (gauging from the ones in the photo at Mote in a similarly shaped aquarium that were thought to be 2 years old at the time of the photo) but the pent shape and lack of length is not likely suitable for a cyanea. It stays in the back of my mind to try though and I am not overly happy with the tank in its current state (and it does have a chiller).

All that being said, when you order an animal, you never quite know what your are getting. In all the time I have been here, I have only seen two or three people trade an octopus back/sell it or give it away because it was not what they wanted so most of us take our best shots and then enjoy what comes our way. Keep in mind that the animal is likely to live less than a year (6-8 months in most cases unless you are really lucky to get a very young one or one of the larger species). Their life span is very short so as you build out a tank, it is important to remember this and attempt a tank that is flexible.
 
well i went back and found the PDF, and read the entire thing. its a proposal to farm Cyanea as an alternative to importing Japanese octo's for food. It does contain some scientific info about their reporduction habits and den. I'm sure some of you might be able to pull more from it. http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/...nt/media/MBA_SeafoodWatch_HIOctopusReport.pdf It does list scientists and fisheries that contributed at the end. Perhaps one of the fisheries might be able to ship one. I might start looking this week. If its a proposal that they be used for food..then they must know how to ship them alive.


I've also found two websites that sell octos that have mimic octos listed...which I've read are extremely sensitive and hard to keep....stopped to google them and it says they're incredibly rare and flown from Indonesia..how sad for the poor octos.
 
Very good article and I grabbed a section to post:
Octopus cyanea males are sexually mature at 7-9 months after they settle out of the
plankton [Van Heukelem, 1983]. (dw - small egged)

Females lay their one and only clutch of eggs at about 10-11 months, having mated about a month earlier [Van Heukelem, 1983].
In this species, sexual maturity seems to be based on age, not size [Van Heukelem, 1983]. Mature adults commonly weigh between 340 and 6000 grams [Van Heukelem, 1983], (dw - huge range in size) although Hawaii’s state record octopus, caught in 2000 off Oahu, weighed 8623 grams (19.01 pounds) [Hawaiian Fishing News, 2003]. Each individual’s adult size depends heavily upon the conditions of food availability, water temperature and day length during the juvenile growth period [Van Heukelem, 1983]. When those conditions are favorable, Octopus cyanea are capable of very rapid growth. In the laboratory, juveniles gained up to 4.1% of body weight per day when fed ad libitum [Van Heukelem, 1983].

Octopus cyanea live for just 12-15 months after settling from the plankton [Van Heukelem, 1983]. (The length of the planktonic larval stage is not known [Van Heukelem, 1983], but the total lifespan of this species, from egg to senescent death, is most likely less than 18 months).

Octopus cyanea breed once and then die [Van Heukelem, 1983]. Females lay 300,000-700,000 eggs in this single breeding cycle [Van Heukelem, 1983], with larger females laying more eggs [Van Heukelem, 1983].

Species range: Octopus cyanea is widely distributed throughout the warmer waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is considered a common (not rare) species throughout its range [Van Heukelem, 1983]. Evidence of special behaviors that increase ease of capture (spawning agregations, site fidelity, etc): While Octopus cyanea do shelter in dens, they stay a maximum of 40 days or so in one den. [Van Heukelem, 1983]. Spawning occurs year-round in Hawaiian waters [Van Heukelem, 1983]. Females brood their eggs, but go into hiding and do not eat during this process [Van Heukelem, 1983], making them unlikely to enter a trap or follow a fishing lure.

The author mentions that size varies greatly in this species and that there have often thought to be multiple species. She notes cyanea as being crepuscular where all other indications are that is it diurnal. Unfortunately, cyanea is a small egg species so raising them at home is not viable. She also calls them tropical but the Hawaiian location makes me wonder about proper water temps.

Edit: There is another thread with similar interests that you may want to review:
Larger species recommendations?
 

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