Octopus Vulgaris

Steve Biggie

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Jul 28, 2015
Messages
3
Location
South Florida
Ok, well I just might set the record for negative replies on this thread....
Here goes, New to Ceph care and know nothing other than what I've browsed here. I have a new but 3month established 120g tank. The plan has always been to build a really awesome octopus tank....good so far?

I live in palm beach county, FL and have access to quite a few reef specialty stores. Of which, all have struggled since July 15 or so to find me the octopus I'be so coveted.(nothing special, I was told a common octopus would be a better fit than a Pygmy. No store's distibutors had any at all) I heard about a new store opening from a friend, and guess what? They had one in stock!($40, owner said he'd had it since July 9) After bringing it home 2 days ago it has bewildered and amazed my entire household. (Feeding from my hand, playing with Legos and glass jars) Love it. Still with me?

Here's the problem, we've been so obsessed with playing with it, and taking pictures/videos, today I counted its arms. 7! What do I do? Google says its capable of 11ft and 165lbs. Is it cruel to keep? Will its size/life expectancy change drastically due to the 120g tank? Will it lift lids with just a few lbs weighting them down?

Obviously I'm to blame, reef store owner too (but he looked to be 20-25 yrs old and attempting his first try at a real business)
I'm an idiot one way or the other, but am I one for not knowing the species before I buy, or one because maybe I'm missing something and this isn't actually Haliphon Atlanticus?
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    486.5 KB · Views: 264
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    1,019.8 KB · Views: 280
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 293
We have a whole section for ceph keepers and we are here to help, not hinder :biggrin2:.

I was expecting this to be a Common Caribbean Octopus (Octopus briareus - often called a common octopus in FL) but I do believe you have a Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) and I am jealous! These are not an exotic species (and I would like to move this thread to our journals section - with your permission) but have been hard to come by for several years. You may be pushing the limits of the tank but some of the Caribbean animals (unlike the Mediterranean variety) remain small enough to live comfortably in a 120.

Octopuses often lose their arms in the wild, they grow back. Start watching for a little white "string" developing from the truncated arm. Hopefully this one lost its arm in the wild and not in your tank but check for any accessible impellers (usually powerheads are the culprit) and remove them (very difficult to shield them from hunting arms). The Koralia style powerheads have been the most successful for moving water but even these have been (on rare occasions) a problem. Fortunately, a zippered mesh filter media bag (link is for style, I have not used the vendor but do order these from eBay) works very well around the Koralias and requires little cleaning maintenance. Be sure to use a fairly large mesh and do not use a string type (too hard to take off to clean).

Use our search feature in the journals section for some of the vulgaris we have kept to get an idea of what to expect. LOTS and LOTS of weights on the lid! I would recommend adding a lock (here are a couple of links to DIY locking lids but feel free to explore the whole Tank Talk section). These are the most powerful of the animals we keep at home.

We also have a collection of recommended discussions for new keepers in the Octopus Care section, here
 
Thank you so much for the help! Yeah, in comparing pictures on the web I thought it looked most like a common. What confused me about the arms is that I can't make out any possible area where an arm is missing. Is this typical as well? Thanks for the quick response and feel free to move this to the "beginners section" :wink:
 
LOL, no beginners section but I am hoping you will journal your experience so will move this to Cephalopod Journals.

It would be quite unusual (but not totally unheard of) if your little guy didn't start out with 8 arms. Photographs are often the best way to notice features so I would suggest taking many (especially as he/she crawls along the front glass) and then reviewing them, looking for the stub. Over the next month you should definitely see a small string that will start to thicken, grow suckers and get fatter. We really don't have a good "go by" for growth rate and it is likely a factor of age (healing and arm regrowth will happen faster in younger animals and almost not at all in aged senescent octopuses). However, I would venture to guess you should see about an inch within 2 weeks.

Does it have a name? I would like to rename the thread to include the name and the species to make it easier to find.
 
Corny and unoriginal I know but I had been calling him "Ocho". (Which obviously no longer works) Think I'm going with Ol' Woody or Woody for short. (From the famous "family" cartoon)

P.S. Small world, I did some work for the Nissan store there in Gainesville. Boiler room still open?
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    572.9 KB · Views: 264
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    560.2 KB · Views: 299
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    575.5 KB · Views: 253
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    488.1 KB · Views: 294
I am not sure about the Boiler room. Since the smoking ban in the city (not sure how e-cigs are treated - I've noticed nationally that a lot of places are banning them as well), a lot of the small bars have closed. If you come up this way again, please let me know and we can do a mini-TONMOcon (and find an open bar :sagrin:). Photos for min-TONMOcons are required, here are some that I have posted.

NOTE our biannual TONMOcon (T-con VI!) will be in Sarasota this October. Please consider attending!
 
Hi Steve,
I had to laugh at your posts because they sound just like mine when I got my first octopus, Bob. I had to rush and get a larger tank ready for him when DWhatley ID'd him to be a Briareus.
If you can find another one please let me know, I would love another animal.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top