Can special orders be made?

[Armstrong]

My friend who's currently studying marine biology wants to know if any website such as octopets, or even fishsupply.com can make special orders. She wants to know if they can sell larger octopuses at 12 inch arm-span or larger if there in stock. If so, she's willing to make a bigger payment. Im real excited over this and cant wait to see a live octopus shipped to her once she makes an order. She wants to study it for a few days and afterwords...release it in the ocean. We both live near the coast luckily.

 

[William Tyson]

where you live needs to be a factor, mainly because if you live in a temperate climate and they ship you a tropical octo, releasing it is a good as killing it. but on a lighter note. try talking to the people at liveaquaria.com they may be able to help you out.

 

[DHyslop]

If she's doing this for scientific research through a recognized institution she might be able to get one from the NRCC

Dan

 

[Armstrong]

where you live needs to be a factor, mainly because if you live in a temperate climate and they ship you a tropical octo, releasing it is a good as killing it. but on a lighter note. try talking to the people at liveaquaria.com they may be able to help you out.

Alright, i'll ask her to email them about it. Im also assisting her in any knowledge she needs to know such as what species to order and so forth. I would never want to her to get a tropical octopus...because we live near a colder temperature of water.

 

[Nancy]

You should only release into the ocean a species that's native to that area. So, if you lived in bimac territory in California, you could release the bimac there. However, a large part of the east coast has no octos.

Florida again does have several species.

After studying it for a few days it might be better to keep it or find a home for the octopus. A bimac of that size might live for some time.

So what coast do you live near?

Nancy

 

[Armstrong]

You should only release into the ocean a species that's native to that area. So, if you lived in bimac territory in California, you could release the bimac there. However, a large part of the east coast has no octos.

Florida again does have several species.

After studying it for a few days it might be better to keep it or find a home for the octopus. A bimac of that size might live for some time.

So what coast do you live near?

Nancy

I completely agree with you. We live in the east coast in the New Jersey state. But she's open to any advice that she needs to know. I'll be sure to let her know about the releasing of any species she gets. If she can...which im sure she would, she would probably find it a more suitable home for it after studying it. She can't keep it though because of the responsibility involved. If she or I cannot obtain any live octopus that she can take home and study and release safely...she was thinking of going to our local fish market and finding out what livestock are being held there. My fish market doesnt have seafood shipped dead. However, they don't sell the animals live...only crabs and lobsters. But they do have octopuses on sale all the time and she wants to see if any live octo's are kept in the back so she can take one home...study it and bring it back. Of course it will be killed which is heart breaking for me especially, but thats all thats possible for now.

Me and her thought of ideas, but cant seem to grasp one thats good enough to keep an octo safe. I thought of her going to my local aquarium which has an octopus their in captivity...however, in order to actually encounter it physically...you must volunteer. She doesn't have time to do such a job. Also, the volunteer work doesn't have studying involved. You have to feed the invertabrates (octopus) and make sure the supplies and water parameters are stable. Plus, the aquarium is an hour away and too much of a hassle to show up for volunteer work consistently.

If anyone here has any idea or suggestion for her to obtain a live octopus and have it released or given away safely without harming it...she and I are open. Im helping her out at the moment because she's new to cephalopods, but has had experience with them previously. She needs a live specimen though because she's studying their behavior and responsive behaviors related to their intelligence and is trying to see any differences amongst species. She's already studied these animals dead before...for internal examination. So any suggestions would be great...or any ideas.

 

[monty]

I thought of her going to my local aquarium which has an octopus their in captivity...however, in order to actually encounter it physically...you must volunteer. She doesn't have time to do such a job. Also, the volunteer work doesn't have studying involved. You have to feed the invertabrates (octopus) and make sure the supplies and water parameters are stable. Plus, the aquarium is an hour away and too much of a hassle to show up for volunteer work consistently.

That sounds like a rule that could easily be bent or broken. If she legitimately wants to do a credible experiment that is certain to not harm the octopus, I think it's very likely that she could talk to the appropriate staff people at the aquarium and negotiate an opportunity to work with the octopus. In fact, if the results could be published in a way that gives visibility and credit to the aquarium, they'd probably jump at the chance. I think the key is to come across as professional, though-- write up a proposal for the experiment explaining what is to be tested, how the experiment will work, what steps would be taken to make sure the octopus is not harmed, etc. Remember, people who take care of octopuses are usually already enthusiastic, so tapping into that enthusiasm should be possible. I'd think the key selling point is to come across as a mature, well-researched enthusiast, and not as "this is some incompetent kid who might hurt the octopus or mess up the tank or something," which is probably the biggest fear of someone who is responsible for caring for the animal.

Some of our members who staff public aquariums (Jean?) can probably give better advice on how to approach the aquarium administrators-- I'd consider writing a letter or phoning to try to arrange a meeting with someone like the director or curator or octopus specialist... if you ask a doscent or information desk type, they may be too used to taking a stance of "there are always people asking for special treatment, so I just give them all the same canned speech to scare off the ones who aren't serious"

 

[Armstrong]

Thanks Monty, and I agree with you completely...however, as I stated...she cannot spend a few days at the aquarium as in sleeping over or else the study would be incosistent because the aquarium isn't close to us. She would need gas money to keep going back and forth and you know gas prices these days right? Its rediculous. Also, the aquarium is located in a bad area...unfortunately, Camden is the most dangerous city in the USA. I never even knew about this until the security guards there told me why the aquarium closed so early.

As for passing for study...even though I havent had education in marine biology, or havent had "proper" education related to school or college, they wont even take me even though im extra enthusiastic over cephalopods and octopus in general. They told me that the aquarium staff and volunteer rules are stabled, and strict. In order to even volunteer for such as job as even getting close physically to the octopus there, you must be 18...able to lift 50 pounds (?)...and must attend the correct schedule consistently. I was dissapointed more over it...simply cuz I wanted to at least touch the animal so badly. lol. But, that aquarium usually hasent ever had octo's in captivity and this is the first large octo ever kept there in good health so I could imagine why there so strict with it. My friend really doesnt want to go through all of this...especially the fact of having to volunteer for at least more than a month. It's a waste of money, and hazardous in terms of safety. It sucks that it has to be located in Camden, New Jersey.

 

[Tintenfisch]

you must be 18...able to lift 50 pounds

Usually the lifting requirements have to do with the everyday aquarium tasks of carrying around blocks of frozen fish, buckets of water, and heavy gear such as dive gear.

Getting new, enthusiastic people to study cephs is always something we want to encourage... but if your friend cannot keep the octo long-term, where is she planning to keep it temporarily? Even over the course of a few days, the octo will need the usual high water quality and cycled tank. Do you have a tank set up already that she will be using?
What level marine biology is she studying? What is the time frame of her study? What kind of behaviors is she looking at, and how does she plan to study different species?

 

[Armstrong]

Usually the lifting requirements have to do with the everyday aquarium tasks of carrying around blocks of frozen fish, buckets of water, and heavy gear such as dive gear.

Getting new, enthusiastic people to study cephs is always something we want to encourage... but if your friend cannot keep the octo long-term, where is she planning to keep it temporarily? Even over the course of a few days, the octo will need the usual high water quality and cycled tank. Do you have a tank set up already that she will be using?
What level marine biology is she studying? What is the time frame of her study? What kind of behaviors is she looking at, and how does she plan to study different species?

She already has tanks cycled and ready for specimens. Her marine bio stats...im not sure with. Iv never been aware of any of the info you asked about. As for the species, she isn't sure yet. Since the odds of even obtaining 1 species of octopus is scarce and releasing them safely...she might just have to travel elsewhere once she has the time. But as I said before, even if she had volunteered for a job at my local aquarium...it still wouldn't be good. Not having the octo in her own place means she would have to travel back and forth to study the animal because of closing times. The city the aquarium is located in is dangerous and hazardous to her own safety as well. She doesn't want to risk that. I think it's just plain rediculous to not let a person studying marine biology have the opportunity to interact or observe any animal at the aquarium without volunteering for work.