Different octupuses for captivity

[bluezombie]

What are the different octopuses you can keep in captivity? What are the differences between each of them, and how easy/hard is each to raise? Thank-you!

Right now i'm looking into one like corw314's Biddle. Not sure what species that is though.


EDIT: Also, which one is less likely going to bite/attempt to kill you? I want one i can stick my hand up to and just play around with, if that's at all possible.

 

[shipposhack]

This post is not a very answer-able one. There are a wide range that would do fine in captivity, however only a few species are typically available. Carol doesn't know for sure the species of her octo, I believe she is leaning toward O. Vulgaris, due to his large size. I think Vulgaris is right to through the pictures I saw. I think that because he looked a lot like the O. Humellincki I had for a little bit, minus the eyespots. People used to think Vulgaris and Humellincki (wish they would change it back to Filosus ^^ were the same species , so it makes sense (to me, at least) that Biddle would be Vulgaris. He very well could be another species as well.

The most common octopus to be kept is O. Bimaculoides, or a Bimac. The vast majority of this species is outgoing, playful, energetic, medium-sized, and fairly easy to take care of. Another plus is they are diurnal. The downside of this species is they are from cold water (60-72 fahrenheit is ideal), and it could be hard to keep the temp where it should be. These are also the most common (pretty much only purposefully) octopus to be captive bred at the moment.

I'm not about to give a profile on several octopuses that are good for captivity (although I might if I was bored and hyper... of which I am only the first ) but I will give you some species names that usually do well, and you can research them on your own... Here we go:

(genus of all should be Octopus, although some may fall into another odd [closely-related] one)
Cyanea
Humellincki or Filosus (Tonmoers that have kept this species find it to be perfect, but they always seem to mysteriously die)
Vulgaris (big tank)
Aculeatus
Briareus
Mercatoris (dwarf therefore nocturnal, small, and shorter lived than larger ones)
Joubini (see Mercatoris)

There are a bunch more that people'll get every once in a while. Most aren't properly identified until you get them and notice their behavior and pattern.

Hope I helped

Good luck

 

[Jean]

Hi Shippo,

Not sure there's any octopus that you can 100% safely (theirs and yours) put your hand up to. All octopus have a venomous bite (almost most are relatively harmless to humans, you can develop a serious allergy to it) and it depends very much on the idividual on whether or not they're likely to bite (and on the day!) plus there is a safety issue for the octopus, they have very delicate skin and it's sooo easy to injure it, any chemical on your hands (soap, sunscreen, cleaners etc ) are likely to be detrimental to your friend as is your body heat!

Bimacs seem to be the most inclined to interact from what I've read but I'd still be careful!

J

 

[bluezombie]

Thanks you guys. But i don't get the part about octo's having all venomous bites. i thought that was only the blue ringed? And i just found a photo of a person handling a Filosus. And i thought they tended to not bite, and instead just play around. Cuz lots of videos where ive seen divers meet octopuses, instead of biting they just grab them, touch them then leave.

 

[monty]

Thanks you guys. But i don't get the part about octo's having all venomous bites. i thought that was only the blue ringed? And i just found a photo of a person handling a Filosus. And i thought they tended to not bite, and instead just play around. Cuz lots of videos where ive seen divers meet octopuses, instead of biting they just grab them, touch them then leave.

nice pic...

The distinction is that most octos have a venom they inject that causes paralysis in crustaceans like crabs and shrimp. It doesn't really have a major impact on humans (or vertebrates in general) because its action target is some part of the crustacean nervous system that's different from vertebrates. However, it's still injecting some random protein in its bite, so there's always a possibility that you'll have an allergic reaction to the protein even though its toxic properties don't work on humans. Also, you're likely to get bacteria or other pathogens that are in the aquarium water in the bite wound, which can lead to infections. There's also sometimes a reaction like a bee sting, as well.

Still, all those issues pale in comparison to blue rings, which will inject TTX as venom, which most certainly does kill humans quickly and effectively.

Most octos interacting with divers don't bite them, but it's really up to the octopus. Any wild animal is going to be unpredictable to some extent, so messing with an octopus is similar to messing with a raccoon or a bee or something. Maybe it'll bite, maybe it won't, but it certainly could. I've played with octos diving a few times, and haven't been bitten, but it seems like most people who keep them as pets and want to interact with them end up getting nipped a few times.

 

[DWhatley]

Look at the sticky marked Octopus Bites at the top of this forum for some stories/details about owners and their octopus' bites.