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O.mercatoris Care

Tanngu87

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Messages
4
So i always wanted to get an octopus and i finally found one and i brought it home and he's been chilling in the tank for 2-3 days now. He's been eating Shrimp and coming in and out but not really active. But can anyone help me with the right requirement of keeping this species??
 
hi - i am not the right person to fully answer this, bc i am just hoping to own one soon, but in the research i have done for it so far, i learned that it takes 3 months for an aquarium to mature so that an octopus can even live in it. do you already have a tank set up? also, it needs to be 55gallons minimum with lots of live rock, caves and other such hiding places. if you dont have this set up already he isnt going to live long.

btw - where did you buy your octo? i are you located in larval mass, bc i am in boston and really have done a lot of research but cant find anyone selling them in boston. would def like to learn more about how you found yours.

good luck!
zoe
 
zbarry0112;146172 said:
hi - i am not the right person to fully answer this, bc i am just hoping to own one soon, but in the research i have done for it so far, i learned that it takes 3 months for an aquarium to mature so that an octopus can even live in it. do you already have a tank set up? also, it needs to be 55gallons minimum with lots of live rock, caves and other such hiding places. if you dont have this set up already he isnt going to live long.

btw - where did you buy your octo? i are you located in larval mass, bc i am in boston and really have done a lot of research but cant find anyone selling them in boston. would def like to learn more about how you found yours.

good luck!
zoe

I live in Florida and i got him at the LFS and i know that Live aquaria got a newshipment of octopus in cause i subscribed and they emailed me this morning that they had a new shipment.
Octopus - Assorted: Saltwater Aquarium Invertebrates
 
bluespotocto;146177 said:
got any pics of your octo yet?

Yes of course. So i was asking my LFS what type of octopus it was just to confirm if it was a O.mercatoris but they didnt know.:confused: So i guess since i am posting pics up can they identify if it is a O.mercatoris?
 

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My guess is mercatoris from your photos. If you will look in our List of Octopuses 2008 you will find numerous journals but GHolland has probably the best photos of an adult in Varys thread.
 
after researching o. mercatoris for months i have learned a few things about the species

1-you might not know this about merc's but they're nocturnal. in fact they usually won't come out of their "den" when their are lights on in the room much less in the tank. in all the pictures you've posted the lights seem to be on. your probably just watch the tank at the wrong times. you have to have the lights off more often or you'll end up stressing out the octo and killing it . i would invest in the moon lights (red light bulbs) if you want to see it more often. they will allow you to keep the lights on more often and nocturnal octos will come out of their dens when their on.

2- you also mentioned that you were feeding your merc shrimp, which is absolutely fine. although this has no affect on how often your octo comes out of its den it is always best to feed your mercs a variety of live foods such as fiddler crabs and minnows. this will ensure that your octo stays in good health. actually after you have your merc for several weeks you can start adding more than one days worth of food to the tank. mercs are smart enough to only eat what they have to but there are 2 things you need to remember. first to many other inhabitants will kill your octopus don't ever ad over a weeks worth of food to your tank. second (i know i mentioned this before) you should probably wait roughly 3 weeks since putting it in the tank before starting the extra food supply, start it slowly (2 in the tank at a time [for a week or two] then three [for a week or two] ETC).

i hope these tips help you with your new octo. send me a message if you have any more questions a know quite a bit about mercs and other dwarf species.
 

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