Hi everyone,
I want to start off by thanking everyone here for their posts and articles. I've been researching keeping an octopus as a pet for a few weeks now and this site has been by far the best source of information I could find. Sounds like an awesome pet, I've always liked the look of an aquarium but fish are boring. That said I still have a couple questions that I was having difficulty finding the answers to.
The most important is that I live in DC, and it sounds like the more common pets come from California or Florida. Is it safe to ship these guys? None of the stores in my area seem at all interested in carrying or selling them and as such don't seem to know anything about it.
My current plan, after visiting a local aquarium shop, is to buy a 60 gallon tank with an overflow that drains down into a filter/protein skimmer, and then a return pump. Sixty gallons is the largest that space will allow and I realize this limits the choice as far as species goes. Articles suggest this is large enough for a bimac, not large enough for a vulgaris, but I have not seen tank size suggestions for other species.
My shopping list thus far includes:
60 gallon tank, overflow, filter/skimmer, pump
two large bags of soft sand
30 pounds of live rock (is that enough?)
An RO machine
Salt
Water testing kit (salinity, ph, metals, etc.)
I've not looked into food or anything yet as the tank would require a few months to mature, which should give me plenty of time.
I am a little concerned about the overflow and the tube from the return pump. The slots in the overflow are about 1/4 inch (pencil would not fit), which seems tiny to me, but after so many warnings I just want to double check that this is small enough. The tube from the return is roughly 1" diameter, this is obviously a large gap, but with water running from it would the octo still be able to get into it? If so, how can I secure it? The top of the tank is completely sealed, should I drill small holes for oxygen or is that unnecessary?
Hopefully I havent missed anything critical, and once again thanks for the awesome site. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I want to start off by thanking everyone here for their posts and articles. I've been researching keeping an octopus as a pet for a few weeks now and this site has been by far the best source of information I could find. Sounds like an awesome pet, I've always liked the look of an aquarium but fish are boring. That said I still have a couple questions that I was having difficulty finding the answers to.
The most important is that I live in DC, and it sounds like the more common pets come from California or Florida. Is it safe to ship these guys? None of the stores in my area seem at all interested in carrying or selling them and as such don't seem to know anything about it.
My current plan, after visiting a local aquarium shop, is to buy a 60 gallon tank with an overflow that drains down into a filter/protein skimmer, and then a return pump. Sixty gallons is the largest that space will allow and I realize this limits the choice as far as species goes. Articles suggest this is large enough for a bimac, not large enough for a vulgaris, but I have not seen tank size suggestions for other species.
My shopping list thus far includes:
60 gallon tank, overflow, filter/skimmer, pump
two large bags of soft sand
30 pounds of live rock (is that enough?)
An RO machine
Salt
Water testing kit (salinity, ph, metals, etc.)
I've not looked into food or anything yet as the tank would require a few months to mature, which should give me plenty of time.
I am a little concerned about the overflow and the tube from the return pump. The slots in the overflow are about 1/4 inch (pencil would not fit), which seems tiny to me, but after so many warnings I just want to double check that this is small enough. The tube from the return is roughly 1" diameter, this is obviously a large gap, but with water running from it would the octo still be able to get into it? If so, how can I secure it? The top of the tank is completely sealed, should I drill small holes for oxygen or is that unnecessary?
Hopefully I havent missed anything critical, and once again thanks for the awesome site. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.