• 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.

my lfs can say they can get zebra octopus. what are the requirements?

fishkid6692

Wonderpus
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Feb 2, 2008
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ok when i went to a lfs in my area looking for a merc. they said they know a guy that can get them zebra octopus. what are the size requirements and that kind of stuff. i'm not sure if it's true but they said it's octopus chierchiae and they seem like very knowledgeable people. any advice would be great!
 
What other cephs have you kept?

I don't believe that they will get O chierchiae, though it seems to be the bait on the stick of the retail moment. Most of the time these animals are 'available' they really aren't. They will prolly get wunderpus and that is not something many people think should even happen. Regardless, unless you are experienced in ceph care, neither species is very appropriate.
 
The "Zebra's" I've seen in LFS's around here are usually Mimics or Wunderpus'. They range from $300 to as much as $750.

Read these threads carefully to know what you're getting yourself into.

Zebra Octopus For Sale In The Bay Area (a good thing?)

No one here endorses keeping Mimics or Wunderpus as they are rare. In other words, they aren't common in their own habitat, much less the aquarium trade, which means they are potentially endangered and it is not ethically sound to buy them because it only encourages the collection of more.
 
i've had a hummelincki before. but she died of old aged. i only had her for about 2 months. but will someone please tell me the tank requirements? how big to mimics and wonderpus get? are they harder to take care of than other octos?
 
Animal Mother;112754 said:
The "Zebra's" I've seen in LFS's around here are usually Mimics or Wunderpus'. They range from $300 to as much as $750.

Read these threads carefully to know what you're getting yourself into.

Zebra Octopus For Sale In The Bay Area (a good thing?)

No one here endorses keeping Mimics or Wunderpus as they are rare. In other words, they aren't common in their own habitat, much less the aquarium trade, which means they are potentially endangered and it is not ethically sound to buy them because it only encourages the collection of more.

:bonk: I refer to these threads because they are going to tell you what you need to know. If you aren't willing to do the research yourself you absolutely do not need to even consider the possibility of owning and caring for such a delicate species. The information is there, but you need to read it for yourself instead of asking other people to recycle information that has already been posted.

If you want to walk on the moon, you don't just go to NASA and say "Hey, where can I fill out an application?".
 
cthulhu77;112751 said:
Hands tied here.

:biggrin2:

I am so sad we couldn't do the ethics roundtable and drinky drinks. I think it would have shown us how close our opinions actually are, and could have led us to a place where we could help things move forward together.
 
fishkid6692;112756 said:
i've had a hummelincki before. but she died of old aged. i only had her for about 2 months. but will someone please tell me the tank requirements? how big to mimics and wonderpus get? are they harder to take care of than other octos?


Given your experience, and from the way our private back and forths regarding keeping cuttles went, I think you should steer very far away from any exotic ceph. The exotics shouldn't be collected in my opinion, and in the opinion of many others, and the ones that do get collected should only be kept by people/institutions that have the time, money and other resources to try to breed them.

I know that it is terrible to be told that you shouldn't get an animal you are interested in getting. I know it would have bothered me when I was starting out or even middling. At the same time, I am very thankful to those who steered me towards easier to keep animals in the beginning, so that I built up a good set of skills to keep and breed more exotic animals nowadays. I can't even begin to tell you how many tiny tips and experiences I have learned over the years have made it possible to have the success I have been lucky enough to have.

There are a ton of animals that make better 'learning animals' than any exotic and probable endangered cephs. These animals deserve our learning everything we can about marine husbandry before even considering keeping them at home.



My standard disclaimer about wunderpus:

The size of Wunderpus photogenicus (or almost any other 'exotic' ceph) populations in the wild is unknown, and it is unclear what effect their collection will have on those populations. Little is known about what they need to survive in the wild, and even less is known about what they need to live well in the aquarium. After much wrestling with this issue, I urge even experienced ceph-keepers to think long and hard before bringing one into the home aquarium. Many cephalopod enthusiasts feel that the wunderpus shouldn’t even be collected for the trade at least until more scientific research has been done on the species. Though I agree with this sentiment, it seems the sad realty of the Marine Ornamental industry is that these animals will continue to appear in the trade. It is my hope that those that read about them are interested in these animals, but do not rush out to buy them and make the effort to get them into the tanks of people prepared to give them the extensive care they need simply to survive.
 
Thales;112759 said:
:biggrin2:

I am so sad we couldn't do the ethics roundtable and drinky drinks. I think it would have shown us how close our opinions actually are, and could have led us to a place where we could help things move forward together.


I am always up for a podcast! And I do believe you are right, more things in common than in difference.
 
well i'm ok with being told not to get it. i rather be told not to then get it and not be able to care for it properly. thanks for everyones help! i will keep trying to get a merc.
 
fishkid6692;112763 said:
well i'm ok with being told not to get it. i rather be told not to then get it and not be able to care for it properly. thanks for everyones help! i will keep trying to get a merc.

Sweet! Thanks for being open!
 
Just a note, it's not clear that the "zebra" that's Octopus chierchiae is any less rare or endangered:

the perfect octopus

The way I read Roy's comments, the population has crashed in the Panama area, and it's not clear where the recent ones that have shown up are coming from. If TONMO members find a source for them, it sounds like it would be a very good idea for people who have experience breeding and raising cephs could try to establish a breeding population, but it may not be a good idea to encourage their collection in general for the same reasons as wunderpus and mimics.
 

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