Captive Bred Octopus in Eastern FL

[CHolland]

Im looking for a new Octopus after the death of my last one.

I know it's a long shot, but I thought I couldn't hurt to see if anyone in Eastern/central (maybe even Western) Florida has any hatchlings they are willing to sell.

With my last one, not knowing the animal's age is a little frustrating for me. I'm not picky on the species, I just would love to have an idea how old the octopus is that I'm getting. I'll probably end up special ordering one from my LFS, but it can't hurt to ask, right?

 

[DWhatley]

You can try calling some of your local fish stores to see if they have a locall caught animals. You won't know the age but you can at least see it and the size before purchasing. Unfortunately, right now is not likely the time you will see much from local divers as most FL animals are sourced from the keys.

 

[tonmo]

I'll probably end up special ordering one from my LFS

Let us know if you do this!

 

[CHolland]

Let us know if you do this!

I'm a little late to reply, but I totally did! Got him in last week! I'll post about him in the journal section.

 

[Floridakeys5]

Im looking for a new Octopus after the death of my last one.

I know it's a long shot, but I thought I couldn't hurt to see if anyone in Eastern/central (maybe even Western) Florida has any hatchlings they are willing to sell.

With my last one, not knowing the animal's age is a little frustrating for me. I'm not picky on the species, I just would love to have an idea how old the octopus is that I'm getting. I'll probably end up special ordering one from my LFS, but it can't hurt to ask, right?

Im looking for a new Octopus after the death of my last one.

I know it's a long shot, but I thought I couldn't hurt to see if anyone in Eastern/central (maybe even Western) Florida has any hatchlings they are willing to sell.

With my last one, not knowing the animal's age is a little frustrating for me. I'm not picky on the species, I just would love to have an idea how old the octopus is that I'm getting. I'll probably end up special ordering one from my LFS, but it can't hurt to ask, right?

The best time to find a new Octopus in Florida would be from the Lobster & stone crab fisherman, they would catch them in their traps. But beware most would be females and once they lay eggs, they dont feed and die after the eggs hatch if fertile. Males do best.

 

[Floridakeys5]

The best time to find a new Octopus in Florida would be from the Lobster & stone crab fisherman, they would catch them in their traps. But beware most would be females and once they lay eggs, they dont feed and die after the eggs hatch if fertile. Males do best.

 

[Squirrel1]

I know that Saltybottomreef has a shop in Florida... they have dwarfs and commons. I got two from them in the mail and they didn’t live very long but maybe that was the shipping. Local pick-up could be different because they wouldn’t be in the bag for so long.
Squirrel1

 

[DWhatley]

I know that Saltybottomreef has a shop in Florida... they have dwarfs and commons. I got two from them in the mail

Did they ship the octopuses overnight or through regular mail?

 

[Squirrel1]

Did they ship the octopuses overnight or through regular mail?

Overnight. But they both came in poor conditions. The second one was out of the water and not moving because there were only around 2 teaspoons of water inside the bag, and the first on came with no air inside and looked dead, all mushed up, with a hermit crab scraping stuff off of its arms.

 

[DWhatley]

I would avoid this supplier if this is the case. I was a bit excited looking that the photo of their "common" as it does look like a vulgaris (usually "common" ends up being O. briareus when coming from FL. Even from my trusted supplier in the Keys, I request to pay extra for more water weight, I know they use O2 in packing and they place the animals in drilled out plastic jars to keep them safe in shipping.

 

[Squirrel1]

I would avoid this supplier if this is the case. I was a bit excited looking that the photo of their "common" as it does look like a vulgaris (usually "common" ends up being O. briareus when coming from FL. Even from my trusted supplier in the Keys, I request to pay extra for more water weight, I know they use O2 in packing and they place the animals in drilled out plastic jars to keep them safe in shipping.

What company do you use?

 

[DWhatley]

I use a small collector in the Keys, KP Aquatics. They have a waiting list you can use but often there is a long wait. I only had to wait 2 weeks until they happened upon ET but generally, they only find them when they collect their live rock and much of it was buried during the last hurricane.