• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

blue ring octopus

Nice of you, that seek to discourage people from breeding this "monster". I see that you love your hobby and do not want to expose others to unnecessary excesses.

Can I ask another question.
What kind of equipment needed for the cultivation of octopus from the coasts of Australia if there are any other than H.lunulata.
 
Octopus breeding is a whole different issue. This task has only been accomplished by a few Laboratories and even fewer hobbyists. The few that have been successful have only done so with a select few species that lay larger eggs. The smaller egged species are planktonic and we have not solved the mystery of raising and feeding them. There is still a lot we don't know about these awesome creatures and husbandry seems to be one of the biggest questions right now.
 
Thanks for your reply.
Now I have a question. If I would have to start cultures in addition to what is salt water and the appropriate filters will I need? some live rock, anemones or something else?
 
Well, the general opinion of the forum is that it's not worth unduly risking your life to care for a pretty critter. If you wish to try your hand at captive breeding, may I suggest finding a species that is designated 'large-egged'? They are benthic and much easier to keep alive than small-egged octopuses. The key difference is that pelagic animals, of which small-egged octopus larvae are a few, are notoriously difficult to keep in tanks.

Aquarium equipment is basically the same as for any other octopus, and the octopus care articles explain what is needed. Mating Octopus (Abdopus-aculeatus)
 
You do need live rock in order to start a healthy nitrogen-fixing bacteria culture.

Anemones will get eaten. It is unwise to keep an octopus in a tank with other animals.
 
:welcome:

You will also need a lot of patience and a fair amount of money!!! Patience because it will take a minimum of 3 months to cycle your tank (BEFORE you get your octopus!), this will get the bacterial cycles to deal with waste, up and running and hopefully chemically balanced, money because you will need to buy test kits for various waste products (octopus produce several times the waste of a similar sized fish AND they are very messy eaters!) and you will need to buy good quality food, marine shrimps/crabs etc probably live, at least to start with, some octopus can be trained to take dead seafood, but not all!

I also endorse the recommendation that you read the octopus care sections!

FYI Anemones can also sting your octopus leaving nasty blisters and lesions on the skin, which can lead to infections and death of the octopus. Octopus are unlikely to eat them.

cheers

Jean
 
It sounds to me like you are fishing around for answers to your original question for more information on how to keep blue ringed octopus. Though everyone here are trying to beat around the bush to convince you to chose another species. Blue ringed octopus only live about seven months and are fairly small animals, most the size of a golf ball when fully grown. This means that if you do manage to get one it will more than likely half way through it's life or almost dead. This means that you will be risking your life for a few months maybe even as less as a few weeks. Another things you should know is that these animals only show their blue rings when they are stressed out. If you're intention to keep these animals is to view these rings means that you will have to keep the animal in a state of stress which will only cause its death to come quicker. Another important thing that I cannot stress enough is that there is speculation that these animals are capable of releasing a small "cloud" of toxin at their prey to paralize them and make it easier to capture/kill. This means that if your animal does release toxin into the water, by coming in contact with the water you can potentiall pass the toxin to your body without being bitten. Like I said it is just speculation, but I don't think there is any proof on that yet. All I can say is you have the facts. Anything you don't know you can look up, but you will not get any help from the people here as they strongly feel it is morally wrong to keep them. The basic care of these animals is the same as any other octopus, but the precautions involved with keeping them inside the tank and keeping you safe is more meticulous. It's your life, but if your country is illiquipted to handle the basic venomous snake bites when antivenom is available, I don't think it is a wise decission to handle an animal that has no cure and needs immediate and intensive care to keep you alive. That is if you even make it to a hospital. I offer the best of wishes for you in what ever route you take and pray that if you do get a blue ringed octopus that you are fortunate enough to not suffer a bite.
 
Already about to convince me that I did not buy blue ring octopus.
Maybe now tell me something about the breeding cuttlefish Sepia bandensis.
Would be very useful to photos of aquariums.

Daniel regadrs
 
A 63 gallon tank pretty excessive for a blue ring anyway. I would recommend, from what I have read here and in the octopus book I have, an A. aculeatus or cuttlefish. Bimacs are the best, but are very rare.
If breeding is the cause, a mercatoris pair or group would be all right, as they are one of the only octopus species that are not canniballistic(usually). They are dwarves, and breed easily with "large eggs". You can buy them from people in florida and ask if they can ship overseas.
 

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