Pigmy octopus

[Brock Fluharty]

I have been researching octopi, and I think that the pigmy would be my best bet. I am not planning to buy one yet, but does anyone know where they are available for purchase? I just want to know how much they cost, and some info on them. Thanks in advance!




Brock

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Preferably online...

 

[Jean]

Brock

Have you checked out the octopus care info & tank reqirements etc on this site?

Don't know what a pygmy will cost (I'm in NZ so costs, availibility of such are quite different to the US) BUT I do know that although pygmies seem viable there are some issues. They are usually wild caught and so you have little idea how old they are (often near the end of their life so you wouldn't have them for long) and they are more nocturnal than other species. Most on this site go for a Bimac (even tho' they're a bit bigger and need a minimum 50G tank) because they're mainly captive reared (and so you knwo the age!) more day active and can be quite interactive with humans!

Cheers

J

 

[Brock Fluharty]

I am sorry, but my mind is set on a pygmy. I do not have the room for another larger tank. Do you know the minumum tank requirements for a pygmy or 2? How much do they cost in NZ?

 

[Jean]

can't get them here, I would have to order one online then deal with exchange rates, shipping rates, get a Ministry of Ag permit, probably a Ministry of Fisheries one too, deal with biosecurity.............. tis mindblowing and then after who knows how many hours in transit it would very likely not survive!

As far as I know there are no octopus on sale in NZ, if you want one you have to catch it yourself! Which is easy enough BUT there are several common species that all look the same as juveniles and one grows to 2-3m arm spread and 10-18kg in weight....bit big for the average home aquarium!

J

 

[cthulhu77]

I've kept digueti in 30 gallon tanks with no problems, other than the very short life span...same sort of setup as with all the other octos, tank, lights, sump, skimmer, powerfilter...

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Could I keep one or two in a 10 gallon? or a 20? Is a digueti a pygmy? Where did you get yours if it is a pygmy?

 

[Jean]

There's only a few octopus species that can be housed more than one to a tank. They can be quite territorial and cannibalistic!

J

 

[TidePool Geek]

Howdy,

I'm sort of new here so please excuse my ignorance. What is meant by "pygmy" octopus? A quick search on Cephbase turned up the following eight octopus species - all of which include 'pygmy' in their respective common names. [BTW: The same search also turned up three 'pygmy' squid.]

Octopus bocki - (from) Fiji

O. digueti - Mexico

O. fichti - Mexico

O. joubini - Caribbean

O. parvus - Japan

O. superciliosus - Australia (Bass Strait)

O. warringa - Australia (S.E.)

O. wolfi - Tahiti

Obviously that covers a wide variety of habitat in terms of temperatures and probable diet. So how do you set up for such a thing?

Taxonomically yours,

Alex

 

[Neogonodactylus]

The most common pygmy available in the US is O. mercatoris - usually misidentified as O. joubini. They are common in Florida waters and LR farmers such as Tampa Bay frequently collect them. Price is usually in the $20-30 range plus shipping, although I have seen them for less. O. mercatoris breed in the spring and often you can get a female with eggs. Normally that would be bad since she will be dead in two to three weeks. However, we have had success rearing the juveniles and at least that way you will have one for several months. The down side is that they are very nocturnal. We never see ours until after dark and as soon as the lights go on, they are back in their shell.

O. bocki is common thorughout the Central and Western Pacific, but they are difficult to keep. I prefer O. wolfi, but they are not quite so comon.

Roy

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Do you know of a website that sells them? I can assure you all, that I will not be getting any type of Ceph for a long time, as I have just purchased seahorses, and I have a couple of reef tanks, that need some TLC.

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Does anyone know where to get one? Someone must, because I know some of you have, or have had them. Please!


Brock

 

[Nancy]

They're difficult to find.

Sometimes Tampa Bay Saltwater has them, you could inquire there.

Nancy

 

[cthulhu77]

we had high aspirations of setting up some tanks for breeding digueti this year, but with the impending move, decided to wait until next summer...so, hopefully, in two years I will have a steady source of dwarf brown octos.
Your best bet is just to keep on checking with the suppliers...they pop in from time to time (mostly in the spring)

greg

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Is this species one that cannot be kept with another? if they can be kept together, what is the minumum tank size for 2? If they cannot be kept together, what is the minimum tank size for 1?