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I notice a lot of people being interested in octopus lately, both on this forum, other forums, and in the aquarium trade in general.

I visited an aquarium today on an oceanography class trip, where I got to see a very beautiful giant pacific octopus.

He inspired me to gather some information about octopus, and I figure I'll make one thread where we can compile and share information about these unique creatures. So!

These guys belong to the class Cephalopoda. This means they are classified along with Nautilus' and cuttlefish; the three most common orders being Octopoda, Nautilodidea (subclass) and Sepiida, accordingly. You may also be familiar with squid, from the order Teuthida or Vampryomorphida, or Sepioloda. All of these guys require very specialized care, and are recommended strictly for advanced aquarists willing to dedicate a lot of money, time, and money into their well being. Certain varieties of Octopoda are really the ONLY ones we should be seeing in the trade.

These mainly nocturnal animals come from oceans all over in a variety of sizes; cool, temperatate, warm, deep into the abyss or way up in the shallows...Cephalodpods can be found in waters all around.

[font color="#C00000"]INTERESTING FACT #1: Cephalopods are on the top 10 list for animal inteligence. [/font]

Moving on!

Some body part terminology:
-tentacles (used for a number of things...reproduction, getting prey, etc.)
-hyponone (a siphon)
-mantle (body cavity)
-radula (like a tongue)
-chromatophores (allow them to change color, texture, and pattern, used for defense)

This really is a challenging group of animals to care for.

[font color="#C00000"]INTERESTING FACT #2: Octopus are one of the biggest escape artists in the aquarium trade.[/font]

To keep octopus, one must consider many factors. The water temperature for most, needs to be relatively cold, usually requiring a chiller. They can be interesting eaters, who should regularly be fed live foods, which directly yields us to the fact that they are messy eaters. Octopus need very good water quality, and in particular a very high level of DO. This means frequent water changes. In addition, they typically have a short lifespan, not exceeding 18 months.

To keep them from escaping, ensure a fitted hood on top of the aquarium, and find a system of weighing it down. This is where aquarists get to be creative.

Their tank should probably have one type of hiding place, such as a rocky cave. Without one, they will be stressed to the point of death. For smaller octopus, an aquarium roughly around 20 gallons is recommended. They are not fond of light, so a dimly lit aquarium is a must. Keep in mind they are nocturnal.

Diet: fish, crustaceans, bivalves, crayfish, grass shrimp, crabs

Enrich foods with algae, krill, plankton

They are extremely messy eaters. Keep an eye on water quality and eliminate uneaten foods immediately.

**Never feed by hand---always use some sort of feeding stick if target feeding is necessary

Which species to look for, and which to stay away from.

Octopus dofleini
Stay away from! These beauties get WAY too large for the everyday aquarist and should be left to public aquariums only. Not to mention they need extremely cool water.

Octopus bimaculatus
Look for! One of the best species for the home aquarium.

Hapalochelaena lunulata
The Blue Ring octopus...STAY AWAY FROM.
[font color="#C00000"]This species is extremely poisonous and its bite can be fatal or debiliatating to humans. It is very painful, and has been responsible for death before. For all practical purposes, there is no antivenin.[/font]
Give this small species the respect it deserves.

Octopus briareus
Look for. Good species for home aquariums.

Octopus joubini
Look for. Another good species for home aquariums.

[font color="#C00000"]INTERESTING FACT #3: Octopus can be taught tricks![/font]

I remember hearing a story once about a marine science lab that was keeping octopus among other various tanks of fishes and corals. It was noticed that one of the fish tanks in particular was rapidly losing fish, yet there was no sign of disease, or aggression amongst the tank mates. A camera was set up, and it was proved that at night, the octopus would climb out of his tank, go into that one, eat the fish, and then climb back. They are very intelligent animals who deserve 100% of our respect.


Resources:

A PocketExpert Guide to Marine Invertebrates
by Dr. Ronald L. Shimek

Reef Secrets
by Alf Jacob Nilsen and Svein A. Fossa

Reef Invertebrates: An Essential Guide to Selection, Care, and Compatibility
by Anthong Calfo and Robert Fenner





-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

I am no expert (in fact i am only on my 1st FW, let alone SW)
BUT... The story of an octopus (well, octopi)

Some scientists were doing an experiment to see how intelligent octopi were. They put a switch in a tank with three octopi, and they had to flick it to get food, and turn their lights on and off by themselves. They learned almost immidieatly, but after 2 days they got bored and broke the switch. After that the scientists tryed again, but the octopi refused to take part in any more experiments.

Well, i thought it was interesting.

BNF

They're pretty neat wet pets, but the short lifespan makes it hard to bond with one over a long period of time. Get to know an octopus, and BAM! It dies. People don't want that to happen to them, which is one reason why octopuses aren't as popular as they should be. They're definitely worth a serious look by anyone deep in the marine hobby. Like mantis shrimp, they can be troublesome pets, but they are intelligent and can make great saltwater companions.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

you forgot to mention that the only inflexable part of their body is their beak. Thus, the only part of their body that limits where they can go is their beak. So if you have a small octopus, and it has a small beak, any opening in the tank that is bigger than its beak is a possible escape route.

Other than that, my store had one in once, pretty cool animals.

Occy lubs

Love the story of the smart occys refusing to participate. Should've given them a deck of cards instead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

"Love the story of the smart occys refusing to participate. Should've given them a deck of cards instead."

It never works. Every time you beat one at gambling and try to get your money out of them, they ink and jet away.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."