blue ringed octopus

[andy321]

would it be possible to keep a blue ringed octopus in a 24 gallon aquapod.

[Chef Reef]

bleh.. i hope it bites you for trying to keep it..

[Gonodactylus]

It depends on the the species. H. lunulata and other tropical species should be fine in a 24 gallon system. H. fasciata and H. maculosa require cool temperatures. The real problem here is keeping the octopus from working its way into the fitration section of the system or escaping. H. lunulata will crawl above the water line and if an animal got into the filters, it could be dangerous trying to extract it. When working with blue-rings it is essential that you know where they are at all times.

Since you asked the question, I assume you know the risks of envenomation and the difficulty of keeping these animals for any period of time. For most people it is not worth the effort or risk.

Roy

[richofoz]

Knowing where they are is easier said than done too...
I spent over 20 minutes at the Melbourne aquarium staring in to the blue rings tank.
The tank was 1'x1'x2' with very little in the way of hiding places. Eventually I gave up and asked a staff member if it was even in there.
She walked up and pointed to the very front of the tank and said there he is!
I couldn't believe it. I know cephlapods are capable of some of the most amazing camoflage but this was somthing else!
He'd picked up a bunch of shells and rocks and held them in such a way that he just looked like a pile of shells...
I'm not sure about all of the species but the ones we get down here can be tiny. I'd imagine quite a bit more difficult to contain than other species.

[Gonodactylus]

All of the species of blue-ring are about the same size - 4-5 cm mantle length. They all are fairly accomplished at camouflage. That is why I questioned the use of a cube. We keep our blue-rings in simple sealed glass cubes with only a thin layer of sand and a piece of pvc to hide in. Filtration is via canister filter and the water outlet is sealed and filtered with foam. There is no way in or out of tank unless we remove the glass lid.

Roy

[GMaquarium]

I kept a blue ring, for a little over a half a year before a marine bio student convinced me to sell it to school. It was one of my favorite pets. I kept the blue ring in a 5 1/2gallon tank with no sand, and just a couple of plastic colorful toys for him to hide around. I made a screen for the top so he doesnt get out and so no stupid people put their hands in the tank (I kept him on my counter top at the shop). Fed him peppermint shrimp and sometimes fw ghost shrimp when I was out of peppermints. He seemed really happy.

[barnett8]

Here's sort of a dumb question, but if you don't mind, Gonodactylus what exactly do you do for a living.

[Animal Mother]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11455571#post11455571 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by barnett8
Here's sort of a dumb question, but if you don't mind, Gonodactylus what exactly do you do for a living.

He's a professor at Berkley I believe.

[gholland]

Here's his webpage.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/aquarius/roy.html

[kar93]

So thats where doctor roys mantis list is from

[rexdenton]

So dangerous and so difficult... why do it?

[andy321]

i was just wondering because my neighbor bought one and saw at an aquarium

[408mike]

Oddly enough I can get one and am really tempted to, if only because I can't seem to get a good daytime species. The one I have does nothing but hide, and i think blue rings are pretty active during the day right?

[Animal Mother]

I would suggest a less deadly, and more readily available species in a larger tank. They are more fun, less threatening, and usually available in much better condition than an animal that's been shipped from the other side of the world. Most Blue-Rings die in the shipping process and the ones that survive rarely last longer than a couple of weeks. They are beautiful no doubt.

I just scored a baby O. briareus (about the size of a nickel with arms curled up, head the size of a peanut) from www.divertom.com. They are nocturnal, but adapt well to daytime activity. Plus, they're just gorgeous octopuses, grow to about 2.5 feet long arm tip to mantle tip. Check out some of the videos of "Fluffy" on Youtube. It's a member of TONMO's pet O. briareus.

Actually several members of TONMO have gotten briareus' lately and they all seem to be pretty quick to adapt to captive life.

The thing about Blue-Rings is, if you do accidentally get bitten... you're screwed. No if's, and's, or but's. You're dead. The hospital isn't going to be able to do anything about it. The ambulance isn't going to get there fast enough to do anything for you, and you're not even going to be able to act fast enough to call 911 in the first place. There are reports that even placing your fingers in the shipping water causes a reaction. On the slim chance that you do get hospitalized, you'll be on life support for at least 12 hours before you can breathe on your own. They are meant to be left to their world, handled only by experts.

[408mike]

Say I pick up a briarius from the site mentioned, can I keep the baby in my 12 gallon for a week or two? I'm looking around for a 55 gallon but I'm not sure how to set it up. It takes a couple weeks for the water to be ready right? Or can I just stick in sea water from my LFs and put in maybe 30 lbs of live rock, hook up the filters and throw him in?

[Animal Mother]

The new tank will really need a couple of months to stabilize enough for an octopus. If you can get a tiny one like I got you will probably have 2 or 3 months to let the new tank mature while it lives in the 12 gallon. I'm keeping mine in a large plastic "Kritter Keeper" inside my 75 gallon until it grows large enough I won't completely lose it in the tank. That will probably be several weeks.