wanting to start an octo tank

[hsc-secretary]

Hi, my name is Scott and I am eight years old. My mom and I would like to start an octopus tank. I was wondering if any of you could give me some advice on what it is all about. What kind of octopus do you recommend getting? What type/size tank should I get? What kind of food do they eat? Is there a preference in sex of the octopus? Do they need company? Are there any fish I definitely shouldn't put in the tank? How often should I feed them? I would really appreciate all of your help in this matter. Thanx

 

[Animal Mother]

Hey and welcome to TONMO.

You should have your mom read these articles: http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cephcarejump.php

 

[sorseress]

Hi Scott,

I'm glad you found this website. There are many things to know about keeping an octopus, and many octopus have died because people didn't do their homework before they started. Read all of the articles, and read the threads on the ceph care forum. It takes a long time to get a tank ready for an octopus, and to be sure you are successful it's best to have a pretty big tank. That can get expensive, so you and your mom will have to talk it over and see if this is something you want to do right now. Do either of you have any experience with salt water tanks?
There are a lot of experienced people here who can answer questions, but it's best if you start by reading the articles and threads. Those will help you learn much of what you need to know.

 

[monty]

to TONMO, Scott.

I agree with Sorseress that it's important that you make sure your mom is ready to support you, because there is a lot of work and money involved in octopus keeping, which sometimes comes up unexpectedly. I don't mean to be discouraging, though; I really appreciated that my parents let me keep a seahorse tank when I was young, but I couldn't have done it without my mom being willing to drive me to the fish store frequently and pay when I needed extra equipment or food or salt mix...