- Tank Setup. As for housing, a reef tank that is large enough for the species you plan to keep is a must, as is a central pump and a Berlin-style ...
- Aquarium Care. Most octopus keepers feed daily using a feeding stick, usually offering a small piece of defrosted frozen raw shrimp or occasionally live food items, such as small shrimp, ...
- Enrichment and Play. Enrichment is a means of stimulating your octopus by enhancing its environment. ...
- Lifespan and Reproduction. One of the downsides of keeping a pet octopus is their short lifespan, especially since octopus keepers can grow very fond of their octopuses.
- Finding an Octopus. Over time, the availability of any given octopus species changes. ...
- Available Pet Octopus Species. Below are some of the most commonly kept pet octopus species at present. ...
What do octopus eat in the wild?
You should keep your octopus on a steady diet of life food that consists of shrimp, small fish and crabs, and various mollusks. You only need to feed them once a day, but it is important that they get enough to eat on a regular basis. Frozen food is acceptable, but it’s not as good as live food.
What do you feed a baby bimac octopus?
A young bimac octopus will need smaller food like hermit crabs, small shrimp, little fiddler crabs and small bits of seafood. As a treat, you could also try feeding your octopus pieces of fresh scallop. Avoid Artemia, also known as brine shrimp, for young octopuses, as they lack the protein that your pet requires.
How often should I Feed my octopus?
You should keep your octopus on a steady diet of life food that consists of shrimp, small fish and crabs, and various mollusks. You only need to feed them once a day, but it is important that they get enough to eat on a regular basis.
Do octopuses make good pets?
Octopuses make for cute pets, but there is a lot you should know before actually getting one. These aquatic creatures can be challenging to care for, but it is definitely worth it if you know what you’re doing. The more you learn about the octopus, the easier this will be.
Can octopus be kept as pets?
Octopuses, in general, are not a great choice for a pet. For one, they are incredibly intelligent and seem to easily get bored. One study [pdf] revealed that octopuses in small tanks outfitted with flowerpots, stones, beads and shells still showed signs of distress and even self-mutilation.
How often should I feed my octopus?
Octopuses eat crustaceans, small crabs, small fish, mollusks and live shrimps. They are basically carnivorous creatures who will prefer being fed live food. Feeding the animal at least once a day will help keep it healthy and strong. You can occasionally feed the octopus frozen food but live food is best for it.
What should I feed my dwarf octopus?
The Octopus can be fed small live feeder shrimp or freshwater ghost shrimp, small crabs or hermit crabs. Any live foods should be fed spirulina based dry foods, plankton, and cyclops to enhance their nutritional value.
How much do you feed a octopus?
Giant Pacific octopuses can consume 2–4% and gain 1–2% of their body weight each day. That's the equivalent of a 150-pound person eating up to six pounds of food and gaining up to three pounds every single day!
How long do octopus live as a pet?
It varies according to species, but octopuses, both wild and captive, live roughly 1 to 5 years.
How do you entertain a pet octopus?
you want to keep it positive, keep them engaged and keep challenging them by providing them with toys and puzzles. It's something that they can work on while also providing them with interaction with their keepers, such as tactile sessions where we test their tentacles and their mantel.
Are octopus hard to take care of?
Octopuses require attention and care. It's difficult to leave for a vacation (as it is with a reef tank). Avoid keeping them in an office or dormitory where they will be unattended for weekends or longer. Regardless of what you might read, octopuses do try to escape.
How long can octopus stay out water?
around 20-30 minutesLike fish, octopuses need water to survive, and take in oxygen through their gills. But marine biologist Ken Halanych told Vanity Fair that octopuses can survive for around 20-30 minutes outside the water.
How much does it cost to own an octopus?
Prices range from $20 to $1,000—with the bulk of pet octopuses priced between $30 and $100 as of January 2013. A 70-gallon tank—which is not an unusual choice for octopus enthusiasts wanting to provide their pet with plenty of room to roam—costs about $300.
What are octopus eat?
Their prey includes gastropods, like snails and sea slugs; bivalves, like clams and mussels; crustaceans, like lobsters and crabs; and fish. To catch their food, octopuses use lots of strategies and tricks. Some octopuses wrap their arms – not tentacles – around prey to pull them close.
How many times a day does an octopus eat?
Octopus do not eat every day and depending on the type of species they only have to eat every four days. Other species can survive for a week without food. Female octopus will not eat for a month when they brood eggs, they usually die as soon as the eggs hatch due to starvation.
Can octopus live in freshwater?
Octopuses do not stay in freshwater as their home. No species of freshwater octopus is known. Scientists don't know if the freshwater octopuses actually exist or its existence is just a myth. However, some "freshwater" octopus can be found in rivers of North America but they are hard to find.
What do octopus eat?
Octopuses eat crustaceans, small crabs, small fish, mollusks and live shrimps. They are basically carnivorous creatures who will prefer being fed live food. Feeding the animal at least once a day will help keep it healthy and strong. You can occasionally feed the octopus frozen food but live food is best for it. Because the animal is quite messy with food, you may need to remove any food left in the tank quickly. This will help to ensure the tank remains tidy and clean.
How many gallons of water do octopus need?
If it is one octopus being kept in a tank, it may need at least 55 gallons. You will also need to adapt the animal to the water that is the same of that in the tank to prevent it from releasing ink.
Why is it not easy to keep an octopus in an aquarium?
Keeping an octopus in the aquarium is not an easy task because it takes more care for the keeper for the animal to survive in captivity. Because the animal is a saltwater dweller, the water placed in the tank must be salty.
How big do octopuses get?
Most of the octopuses kept in captivity will not exceed 15 inches in width but it not uncommon for those in the wild to grow as big over 30 feet wide !
What is the pH of an octopus?
pH value of 8.2 with lots of oxygen. temperature around 76 – 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Octopuses are generally delicate to keep in a captive enclosure and therefore require a safe and pristine environment to survive. It is therefore imperative for the keeper to ensure water quality at all times.
Why do octopus have white skin?
Mostly, when the octopus appears white it means that is scared or thoroughly frightened. When the octopus is agitated it will show a deep red color on the out er skin.
Where do octopuses live?
Octopuses are naturally salt water dwelling creatures most commonly found in oceans and other tropical seas. Octopuses like to live along coral reefs near the bottom part of the oceans where they easily created dens to hide and remain undetected by predators. Octopuses also like to hide in small crevices or rocks that they will find in oceans. Basically, octopuses like to live just on the bottom most part of the ocean, on oceans floor hidden amongst the coral refs. Only experienced people who are well trained in capturing them will be able to get from their hiding places in the ocean floor.
What is the most popular octopus to keep as a pet?
Algae octopi are the most social and interactive species. But the most popular octopus species to keep as a pet is the California Two-Spot octopus. It’s very friendly and makes a great pet for that reason. It’s also strikingly beautiful, with eyespots on either side of its head!
How long do octopi live?
Another fact of the matter is that you aren’t going to be able to go on trips because octopi can’t be left alone. They do, however, only live for a year or two. This means that the time commitment isn’t that long, but you will need some time to grieve your lost friend.
When will octopi be in the ocean?
February 2, 2020. February 2, 2020. Since 1950, the amount of octopi in oceans worldwide has been booming, and this is even more the case in recent years. Our ecosystem is changing, and because of this, the ratio of sea life in our oceans is different than it ever has been before. Besides the obvious environmental ramifications, ...
How many gallons of water do pigeons need?
They’re a notoriously high maintenance animal, and they need tanks that are at least 55 gallons. They also need one or two giant sump pumps to keep their water clean, and to be safe they like to have a backup tank for cleaning time and emergencies.
How many gallons of water does an algae octopus need?
Algae octopus can live in a tank of a minimum size of 50 gallons. It's known for being active, even during the day when other species are more likely to hide. The algae octopus needs an average water temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
How much water does a Caribbean reef octopus need?
They require a tank that has water around 74° to 76° degrees Fahrenheit. Caribbean reef octopus needs a tank of at least 50 to 75 gallons with an average water temperature of 78° degrees Fahrenheit. This is another species considered friendly and suitable as a pet.
How big do red octopus get?
East Pacific red octopus, or ruby octopus, is on the small side and can live in a smaller aquarium. An adult will weigh around five ounces and will be about 20 inches long overall. Since they come from the colder waters of the Pacific, they need an average water temperature of around 60° to 65° degrees Fahrenheit.
What is the behavior of an octopus?
Pet Octopus Behavior. The octopus is a highly intelligent animal that is thought to have the same level of intelligence and reasoning as a cat. They have been known to open shut jars with food inside and figure out how to escape tanks. Some keepers relate that they can distinguish between different people.
What pH should an octopus tank be?
The pH should be about 8.2 and ammonia at zero. If these levels are off, they can easily make your octopus ill or kill it.
How big do California two spot octopus get?
California two-spot octopus is one of the most popular pet octopus species. It has arms that can grow as long as 23 inches, with a mantle up to seven inches.
What temperature do octopus need to be in water?
This species is also called the bimac. They require a water temperature of around 59° to 72° degrees Fahrenheit. They are thought to be one of the "friendlier" types of octopus that are kept as pets. Caribbean dwarf octopus is a smaller octopus that can live in a 30 gallon tank.
What do octopus keepers eat?
Because you don’t want your octopus to suffer any injuries, it’s best to remove any large claws before offering live crabs or crawfish.
What to consider before buying an octopus?
There is much to consider before buying an octopus. Purchasing the octopus will not be your main expense; that will be the tank, equipment, and food costs. The last category can get quite expensive, because octopuses prefer a diet of shrimp and crabs.
What is the purpose of enrichment for octopus?
Enrichment is a means of stimulating your octopus by enhancing its environment. This may be as simple as providing live food, which helps the octopus learn and develop its prey-catching skills.
Is an octopus a pet?
Octopuses are interesting, intelligent pets. Even the shyer, less interactive ones, like the dwarf octopuses, are still intriguing to watch. And if your octopus is more outgoing and interactive, as many are, you’ll have a lot of fun with it. Some octopuses even have a mischievous side, and all of them will in some way entertain you. The color and texture changes alone are remarkable to see. However, the more time you can spend with your octopus, the more interesting a relationship the two of you will develop.
What do bimac octopus eat?
A young bimac octopus will need smaller food like hermit crabs, small shrimp, little fiddler crabs and small bits of seafood. As a treat, you could also try feeding your octopus pieces of fresh scallop. Avoid Artemia, also known as brine shrimp, for young octopuses, as they lack the protein that your pet requires.
What is the most popular octopus?
The most popular choice of octopus kept as a pet in the UK and US is the bimaculoides, also known as the bimac. This species is more sociable than other octopuses, which may in part be down to the fact that it’s diurnal, which means it is active in the day. Whether you end up purchasing a bimac or another type of octopus, you’ll want to research your species to discover their exact requirements, including tank set-up, size and temperature, as this can vary widely depending on the species.
Is an octopus an intelligent animal?
Octopuses are highly intelligent creatures and this, along with their exotic movements, makes them very interesting animals to watch. As long as pet owners are willing to do their research, they can make fantastic pets. If you’re thinking about adding one of these 8-legged, underwater friends to your family, check out the guide below to ensure you give your octopus a warm welcome and a happy home.
What do octopus eat?
A young octopus will need smaller food such as small shrimp, hermit crabs, small fiddler crabs, small pieces of seafood, and even amphipods from the live rock. It may be able to eat snails and a few can even tackle small clams and mussels at a young age. Try pieces of fresh scallop for a treat.
What is the most popular pet octopus?
Also, the recommended water temperature is determined by the species. Octopus bimaculoides ( bimac) seems to be the most popular pet octopus in the U.S. and is now often captive bred. It is diurnal (day active), not too large, and will interact with you.
How long do octopuses live?
Octopuses have short lifespans, often less than a year. Many people prefer to buy a young octopus so that they can have their pet longer. Of course, there is nothing wrong with buying an adult octopus and giving it a good home. Occasionally octopuses are bought as gravid female who lays eggs shortly after purchase.
Can octopus produce waste?
Remember that an octopus can produce nearly 3 times as much waste as a fish of a similar mass, so aim bigger than recommended for a fish-only or reef set up. A big protein skimmer is strongly recommended. 5.
Is it easy to own an octopus?
Keeping an octopus is fun and interesting, but an octopus is not the easiest pet to own. You need understand saltwater aquariums as well as how to take care of a ceph pet to be a successful octo owner. Here are some things to think about and to guide you before you take the plunge and buy an octopus. 1.
Can octopus crawl through caves?
Caves should be various sizes to accommodate your octopus as it grows. They also like to crawl through hidden passages in the rock and peer through holes . Some people are guilty of having a bare tank with a couple of rocks so they can see the octopus more but this generally has the opposite affect.
Can you use RO water for cephalopods?
Use RO/DI water to make up the salt water for your tank. If you buy salt water from your LFS, make sure it's based on RO/DI water. Water quality is a major concern when keeping cephalopods. They are much more sensitive than fish as they lack scales to act like a barrier and have a huge surface area of skin. 11.
What is the best way to protect octopus?
The first, and generally the best option is to have a sealed top that is octopus-proof, but not air tight. An example of this would be a top made of plastic egg crate (the light diffusion panel sold at many hardware stores) that is covered with shade cloth.
What is the oxygen level of an octopus?
Experiments with the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, have shown that these animals will die when the concentration of dissolved oxygen drops to 2.5 mg/L, and are more likely to succumb to disease or injury with oxygen concentrations below about 5 mg/ L (Nesis 1982).
What phylum are octopus in?
Octopuses are members of the Phylum Mollusca, making them the distant cousins of a wide variety of more familiar reef aquarium animals including the Polyplacophorans (chitons), Gastropods (snails & slugs), and Bivalves (clams & mussels).
What is the plural of "octopus"?
Technically, the proper pluralization of the “-us” ending for a Greek-root word such as octopus should be the suffix “-odes”, but octopodes is generally considered a bit of a mouthful, and in both the Oxford Dictionary and among the scientific community, the most common pluralization of octopus is simply “octopuses.”.
How long do octopus live?
However, you must be aware that their “entire natural lifespan” is still quite short. For most tropical species of octopus, a lifespan of about 1-2 years is all that you can expect. Also, as I said, these animals have special needs, and they are simply not suitable for most reef aquaria.
Where does the name octopus come from?
Although many medical and scientific names tend to be Latin, for which the “i” ending is the correct plural (e.g., bronchus and bronchi), the name octopus comes from Greek roots ( okt = eight, and pous = foot), and should not be pluralized in the same way.
Can you feed octopus live prey?
The reason that I encourage you to find a suitable alternative live prey to feed your octopus is simple. Aside from the nutritional issue, live prey has another benefit over fresh or frozen seafood: your octopus will have to hunt it. This may seem unimportant to you, but it turns out to be very important to your pet. As I mentioned above, these animals are extremely intelligent predators, and spending their life in a completely predictable and unchanging glass box is not only boring for them, it has a strong impact on both their health and behavior (e.g., Wood and Wood 1999). In fact, during his research with baby octopuses at Dalhousie University, James Wood discovered that he could prevent “suicides” (animals crawling out of their tanks and drying out) by adding sufficient numbers of toys and challenges to keep the animals interested (e.g., Wood and Wood 1999). Professional zookeepers have long recognized that captive animals housed in unnatural and unstimulating enclosures can develop abnormal, repetitive and neurotic behaviors, and most zoos have made a serious effort to enrich the environment in which their animals are housed to avoid such behaviors (which has led to the development of a trade journal for zookeepers and professional aquarists titled The Shape of Enrichment to exchange ideas to better stimulate captive animals). Octopuses are no exception to this issue, and a captive animal housed in a tank without sufficient hiding places and without sufficient stimulation can develop a number of stress behaviors including white color patterns, inking, frequent deimatic displays (these are sometimes called “startle flashing” in which false eye spots or brilliant colors are suddenly displayed in an attempt to startle a potential predator), autophagy (eating the tips of their own arms), hiding all the time (depending on species, however, this may be natural in some particularly timid species), and rapid jetting into the side of the tank, among others (e.g., Wood and Wood 1999). It is therefore critical that you make every effort to try to provide sufficient stimulation to your pet in order to avoid such behaviors and prolong their life in captivity.
Why Would Anyone Want a Pet Octopus?
Octopuses are strange creatures. They have one of the more bizarre species of the animal kingdom, yet despite their odd appearance, they’re also one of the smartest animals on the planet. It can be truly fascinating to watch them go about their day.
Challenges of Owning an Octopus
If you do decide to bring home an octopus, there are a few challenges that you should be aware of ahead of time.
Which Species of Octopus Are Best to Own?
If you’re still committed to the idea of owning an octopus, you should at least try to get a species that seems to do well in captivity.
Do You Really Need an Octopus?
While octopuses can be fun to keep and are undeniably fascinating to watch, that still doesn’t mean you should keep one as a pet. They’re challenging to own, and there’s always the chance that you’ll be forcing them into a deep depression by making them languish in captivity.
Pet Octopus Appearance
Behavior
- Researchers have observed signs of extreme intelligence in octopuses, both in captivity and in their natural habitat. They tend to hide out a lot in aquariums if provided with adequate vegetation, rocks, and other things. These mollusks can be very social creates as well. It is accustomed to hunting as night, which is when it’s most active.
Natural Habitat
- Octopuses can be found in all of the different oceans across the planet. The largest populations of these creatures exist around coral reefs and close to the ocean floor.
Common Health Problems
- Octopuses are not prone to disease, but they can develop lesions on their skin. It is therefore important that you look out for hard, raised areas on their skin.
Pet Octopus Breeding
- When a female octopus lays eggs, it stays with them to ensure they are safe until hatching occurs. The female dies soon after their eggs hatch, leaving the offspring to find their own food without any help whatsoever. The fact is that breeding octopuses can be challenging if you have absolutely no experience. This is something that you will need to thoroughly research before tryi…
Conclusion
- Octopuses are part of the mollusk family and usually grow to about 14-15 inches in captivity.
- These aquatic creatures can be quite social, but they also spend a decent amount of time hiding away.
- It is important that you keep the lighting in your aquarium dim at all times.
- You should do everything possible to minimize noise with your tank setup so as not to stress …
- Octopuses are part of the mollusk family and usually grow to about 14-15 inches in captivity.
- These aquatic creatures can be quite social, but they also spend a decent amount of time hiding away.
- It is important that you keep the lighting in your aquarium dim at all times.
- You should do everything possible to minimize noise with your tank setup so as not to stress out your octopus.
