• 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.

First-time octo owner has a few questions...

Hey dwhatley,

I think I'll take your advice and set up a smaller tank for my merc.

What do you think about briareus? I found one online, and the greens and blues are quite stunning.
Monty suggested that species, but I'm not sure how big they get, how long they live, and how diurnal they are. I need to do some research there before purchasing.

Thanks for the website compliment. I haven't updated it since I got my merc.

If its a she, and she's pregnant, I'll definitely let you know and review your brood journal.

Take care,

-Dustan
 
Briareus take some adjusting as they are naturally nocturnal, but most of the members on here have luck converting them to diurnal. They can grow to 7 inch mantle, 24 inch arms.
 
Bio_Teacher,
You could read on the site for days (and I highly recommend it) but there are some relatively short articles (under the same heading) that give a good overview of keeping an octopus as a ward. The Journals expose the wide range of personalities ;>). One of the things you will note in the articles is that all octopuses that are home aquarium eligable live for roughly 1 year (basically birth, growth, reproduce and die). There seems to be a seasonality that suggests that this is about the same as the life span in the wild. The female (with one known exception) broods one batch of eggs, usually doesn't eat (many of us have had good luck feeding them - especially the Mercs - in an aquarium while brooding). The normal cycle for the female is death within a week after the eggs hatch (Mercs hatch out over about a 10 day period) but if you can keep her eating, it is viable to extend her life for several week.

Please keep us updated as you continue to experiment and let us know how the students react as they become accustomed to their new roommate(s).
 
Well, I think with all the info and advice from everyone here, I know enough to responsibly keep whatever species ends up in my classroom. It seems that with such short lifespans, I'll have the opportunity to keep a variety of (octopi, octopuses, or octopods?, hehe).

I witnessed a really funny event today with my merc. It was under a rock peering out, and I noticed it was firmly holding on to a hermit crab that was trying its best to get away. At first I thought it was eating the hermit, but it was just holding it to barracade the entrance. Poor little crustacean :^D

I'm going to order from saltwaterfish.com, which I hear from fishkid typically sends out hummelincki octos. He said they're active during the day and very interactive with him, so that sounds like a good option.
My current merc is going to get a smaller home in a darker area of the room.

Cheers, and thanks to all...

-Dustan
 

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