Octopus Availability

[Vonsamhain]

I'm getting mine in the mail tomarow, but on the phone was told that they had a breeder that they got the tank bred ones from. I will let you know what I get

Keep us updated after the arrival PLEASE. I'm interested in what you get.

 

[Thales]

What do you see are irresponsible?

Just FYI, I got this email today. As you could imagine, I wrote them back saying I thought it was irresponsible on their part, but honesty is good.

"Dear Shawn,

Thank you for choosing Drs. Foster & Smith Live Aquaria for your live aquatic
needs. We currently have 2 assorted octopi available. They are approximately 2
1/2" - 3 ", and they are eating vitamin enriched Mysis and crab pieces.
We apologize, however we are unable to provide exact species of what we have
available as they are sold as assorted only.

If we can be of any additional assistance, please feel free to contact our Live
Aquaria Department at 1-800-334-3699 or via email at
[email protected] and we will be happy to answer any question(s)
you may have.

Sincerely,

Live Aquaria
Drs. Foster & Smith"

 

[simple]

Yea i called live aquaria as well, and they said the same thing, but mosthated got his from them yesterday and he was in good shape, so i decided to order one as well, it should arrive tuesday. I don't see it as irresponsible for them not to know what species they have, its more ignorance than irresponsibility, because they dont take the time to figure out what exactly it is theyre selling since they lack the knowledge to do so. Though im sure the wholesaler doesn't tell them what they're getting either...

 

[Vonsamhain]

Selling animals they know nothing about. IMO, you shouldn't sell something unless you know what it is. LFS do this all the time. I've seen stores sell things like Arawana and Moray Eels to Nano tank owners. I've seen stores sell Indian Ornamental Tarantulas to minor/inexperienced keepers because they were pretty. I've seen Wunderpus on sale many times where all you would need is a credit card. So yes, IMO if you dont even know what species of octopus you are selling I think it is irresponaible on the part of the business.

 

[Thales]

Selling animals they know nothing about. IMO, you shouldn't sell something unless you know what it is. LFS do this all the time. I've seen stores sell things like Arawana and Moray Eels to Nano tank owners. I've seen stores sell Indian Ornamental Tarantulas to minor/inexperienced keepers because they were pretty. I've seen Wunderpus on sale many times where all you would need is a credit card. So yes, IMO if you dont even know what species of octopus you are selling I think it is irresponaible on the part of the business.

I think knowing nothing about and not being able to ID are two very different things.

 

[Vonsamhain]

I think knowing nothing about and not being able to ID are two very different things.

This only shows that they care more about the profit then the hobby to me. I also live in the SF Bay Area. If you do some diving in the Monterey Area, you can see both Pac Red Octos & GPO's. Young GPO's look very close to Pac Reds, especialy at night. They are often mis-ID'd. Many of these online stores that sell "assosted Octos" post pictures of misleading photos as well. Imagine being given the reponsibility of taking care of a young GPO after ordering a large "assorted Octo". Sorry, but not being able to ID something you are selling is not being a very responsible business owner IMO. People are inherently impatient (as I can be ), and are perfect willing to take on an un-ID'd octo as their first. I just don't think it is a good idea.

 

[Thales]

This only shows that they care more about the profit then the hobby to me. I also live in the SF Bay Area. If you do some diving in the Monterey Area, you can see both Pac Red Octos & GPO's. Young GPO's look very close to Pac Reds, especialy at night. They are often mis-ID'd. Many of these online stores that sell "assosted Octos" post pictures of misleading photos as well. Imagine being given the reponsibility of taking care of a young GPO after ordering a large "assorted Octo". Sorry, but not being able to ID something you are selling is not being a very responsible business owner IMO. People are inherently impatient (as I can be ), and are perfect willing to take on an un-ID'd octo as their first. I just don't think it is a good idea.

I disagree with you slightly. Not being able to ID something and not coming clean about it is irresponsible, not being able to ID something and telling potential buyers that you don't know exactly what it is seems pretty responsible in this hobby/industry. Given that most octos are incorrectly ID'd in this industry in the first place (and there are many misidentified/nonidentifible animals in the industry), I find it refreshing and hopeful that LA is willing to say that they don't know.

 

[Vonsamhain]

I disagree with you slightly. Not being able to ID something and not coming clean about it is irresponsible, not being able to ID something and telling potential buyers that you don't know exactly what it is seems pretty responsible in this hobby/industry. Given that most octos are incorrectly ID'd in this industry in the first place (and there are many misidentified/nonidentifible animals in the industry), I find it refreshing and hopeful that LA is willing to say that they don't know.

I agree that not ID'ing at all more responible then mis-ID'ing to get a sale or to seem more informed.
As you may see as I get the ball rolling on my project that I am the kind of person that encourages healthy debate: however I DO NOT want this to mistaken for simply wanting to argue or being a forum troll. Sometimes its way to easy to mis-read someones "tone" in text. That being said, I completely respect ALL opinions.

 

[monty]

I think Thales makes the good point that it's actually better to be honest about not knowing the species than the common practices of "making something up" or calling it Vulgaris or "small brown octopus" and pretending it's known. I'm glad most distributors at least seem to know how to ID blue rings or not.

Where the letter seems a bit frustrating to me is that the "they are sold as assorted only" suggests that they either can't or won't tell you where they were collected, and aren't willing to provide further information to ID the animal before you're stuck with it.

I'm not sure what's reasonable to expect for ID-- IDing octos is hard, since they change color, shape, and texture, and since they often change a lot of their appearance as they grow. We're lucky to have a great number of members here who have a lot of experience, but most suppliers don't have that at all. And to complicate things, one pet octopus (Ocho, I think) turned out to be "octopus sp. 11" in Norman's book, a species that had only been seen once or twice by Roy Caldwell, and is scientifically "undescribed." Apparently, it makes a good pet, but the chance that some pet store could ID that properly is pretty slim.

 

[Thales]

I agree that not ID'ing at all more responible then mis-ID'ing to get a sale or to seem more informed.
As you may see as I get the ball rolling on my project that I am the kind of person that encourages healthy debate: however I DO NOT want this to mistaken for simply wanting to argue or being a forum troll. Sometimes its way to easy to mis-read someones "tone" in text. That being said, I completely respect ALL opinions.

Great! I feel the same way. If you ever feel off put by something I write, please let me know about it, as it is almost never my intention. Talking about stuff that is traditionally difficult like ethics and responsibility can get sticky, but I think its interesting, fun and necessary.

 

[reefermadness]

I just put my new octopus in my tank, It looks like a baby bimac. already friendly and playing with me. mantle size about the size of a quarter. I was told it was tank bred, and have no reason to think otherwise.

 

[monty]

I just put my new octopus in my tank, It looks like a baby bimac. already friendly and playing with me. mantle size about the size of a quarter. I was told it was tank bred, and have no reason to think otherwise.

cool. to your new octo! Let us know how it goes...

 

[simple]

pictures?

 

[sexymax]

where, in your opinion, is the best place to order an octopus from? (preferrably bimac) I work at a LFS and dont trust our ordering. (price/health) I am in the Las Vegas area.

 

[Animal Mother]

Honestly if you work at a LFS your supplier is probably going to be as reliable as any other source as far as getting a specific kind of octopus. UNLESS you wait patiently enough that you can purchase a captive raised Bimac from a member here. No guarantee that will be anytime soon again.

Your best bet would to be ordering from a reputable online dealer, but very unlikely you'll find a Bimac for sure. You might be able to get some sort of guarantee that way at least.