TidePool Geek said:
Hi Armstrong,
I've wanted to comment on this thread since the beginning but have avoided doing so because I couldn't think of a way to do so politely. I still can't think of a way so I apologize if some of what follows seems harsh, confrontational, or even rude. Please understand that these comments are meant to be constructive and that I wish I could find a more diplomatic way of making them.
Your friend's idea of keeping an octopus for a short time in order to "study" it is simply a very BAD idea for the following reasons:
1. It's inefficient - She will be spending a good deal of money for the octopus, its food, and the various unique requirements inherent to octo husbandry. Further, the time expended during the early days will be extensive. OTOH: For far less outlay in terms of money or time she can learn several orders of magnitude more by simply reading books and online information. In addition, information found this way has generally been written or compiled by experts who will notice and understand behaviors that would almost certainly be invisible to a novice.
2. It's deceptive - An octopus in an aquarium is different than an octopus in the wild. If you were to keep an octo from a very young age through senescence in a tank that was the best simulation (of the natural habitat) you could manage you might have an animal that acts 80 to 90% "natural". During the early days in a new tank you'd be lucky to get 10 to 20% natural behavior. The bottom line is that most of what you would be studying would be wrong.
3. There has been no mention of a specific goal - Octopodes are among the most interesting animals on earth and there are literally thousands of things about them that bear further study. OTOH: Without targeting some definite aspect of octo biology, physiology, behavior, etc. your chances of learning something useful are just about zero; especially compared to simply doing some reading on the subject.
4. There has been no mention of any background - You have to walk before you can run and your posts have indicated that neither you nor your friend have much of a foundation to build on with respect to studying an octopus. I don't believe that any species has been mentioned yet you originally proposed to return the animal to the wild when your study was completed. That's both bad science since you can't really study a thing until you have a pretty good idea of what that thing is and bad ethics since the return of non-native species to the wild has such a potential for the spread of disease and/or parasites. Further, different species have different requirements for their keeping. There are several hundred species of octopus in the world but I doubt that you would find more than two or three species in any given biome. It's simply not valid to say that you've got two tanks that are ready to accept an octopus without naming the species for which the tank has been prepared. This is pretty basic stuff and if you're not already thinking about it then you're nowhere near ready.
Again, I'm sorry if this seems unduly harsh but I truly believe you and your friend would be far better off to concentrate on book/internet/classroom study for a while. If you really want hands-on experience then it would be better in every way to follow the advice you were given in an earlier thread and sign up to volunteer at a local aquarium or marine science center.
Discouragingly yours,
Alex
I respect your opinion...however...
1. When I stated that she wasn't "rich"..what I meant was, she isn't a millionaire and this was related to possibly shipping back the animal for study in a safe way...such as shipping it in an already-cycled tank safe for it to reach a destination without harming it or killing it. This would cost a lot of money and me nor her have any experience in SHIPPING livestock. The only thing im aware of is that the water must have oxygen for it to survive obviously.
2. Of course an octo in an aquarium differs from an octo in the wild. She never planned to learn something that she already knew. She is aware of their basic behaviors such as incredible intelligent behavior often seen and heard about in the media. Her goal was to experience all of this stuff off-hand and in person. Wether it was already discovered..and written about...which it surely is, she isn't planning on reading about their behavior because she already has. I helped her along with it by letting her barrow "Cephalopod Behavior." Experiencing their habits and behaviors off-hand is different.
3. In my opinion...Octopuses are the most intersting creatures in the ocean and probably in the world. There isn't any other creature that's boneless, has liquid tissue capable of squeezing through quarter-sized holes without crushing any air-pockets, and has the ability to change its skin color, texture and shape as the result of chromatophores and light-reflecting cells off the skin. "My" chances of learning something news is zero...yes, because Im already very aware of their behavior. However, me nor her are wanting to learn something NEW about the species. "She" not.."Me" plans to experience their ability's off-hand as mentioned above.
4. Trust me on this one, iv been walking for years...and im finally running. Im 15 going on 16 and iv consistently studied octopuses since I was 6 years old. Iv been fascinated by the animals since I was 4 after being introduced to them at a sushi restauarant with my father and mother. However, iv already established myself for having good knowledge about them as well as cephalopods including the squid and cuttlefish. I know the basics of these animals as well as the non-basics such as the information about their organs internally and how they relate to everyday life, oxygen circulation rate, their intelligent and complex behaviors, what their blood is composed of...the lost goes on and on. I usually studder sometimes when I try answer peoples questions about octo's because I have so much info in my head...it's difficult to grasp it together and express a comprehendable answer informatively. Anyways, im getting off subject. My friend doesn't have as much education as I do related to the octopus. That's the reason WHY im helping her. Im keeping her aware of what species she should be getting and should not...the O. Bimaculoides would be a no, no because it originates on the coasts of california and commonly named the "Mud-flat octopus" obviously. Putting it here would kill the animal because of its loss of water thats native to it. Temperatures vary...everything vary's from coast to coast. The two tanks cycled are also helped by me. If she plans to keep an octo for about a week or a few days, iv already informed her about salinity, temperatures, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, calcium...blah, blah all that stuff...basically the water parameter care. She has everything set up. If I werent helping her, I wouldn't even recommend her ever planning to experience a live octopus specimen because of her lack of excessive knowledge on the animal which is NEEDED to keep it safe at on all levels.
I respect your comments and your concern because im just as enthusiastic on keeping octopuses/cephalopods safe at all costs. I hate to see them harmed or mis-treated. I also hate hearing story's of octopuses dying because of un-educated pet-keepers...there have been numerous ones here at TONMO...and like you, I hate sounding rude and offensive so I refuse to give my 2 cents. However, I have my friends back on this. Again, she isn't new to marine biology. She's studied salwater captivity keeping for a while now and she's taken marine Bio in high school. I support her 100% and im very, very happy to see her connect finally with the octopuses. But...iv already emailed my local aquarium about the animal and again...hope to get a positive response back.
Arion
