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WTB Blue Ring Octopus.... Danger... Yes... I know :)

iSeeMax

Pygmy Octopus
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Messages
8
for starters let me say i am 198% completely aware of the following...I am fully aware of the risk and i understand possible outcome if i was ever to come within a situation that is too close for comfort.


as well as...

"General Information:

With a beak that can penetrate a wet-suit, they are one little cute creature to definitely look at BUT Don't touch.

The bite might be painless, but this octopus injects a neuromuscular paralysing venom. The venom contains some maculotoxin, a poison more violent than any found on land animals. The nerve conduction is blocked and neuromuscular paralysis is followed by death. The victim might be saved if artificial respiration starts before marked cyanosis and hypotension develops. The blue-ringed octopus is the size of a golf ball but its poison is powerful enough to kill an adult human in minutes. There's no known antidote. The only treatment is hours of heart massage and artificial respiration until the poison has worked its way out of your system.

The venom contains tetrodotoxin, which blocks sodium channels and causes motor paralysis and occasionally respiratory failure. Though with fixed dilated pupils, the senses of the patients are often intact. The victims are aware but unable to respond.

Although the painless bite can kill an adult, injuries have only occurred when an octopus has been picked out of its pool and provoked or stepped on.

SYMPTOMS

*

Onset of nausea.
*

Hazy Vision. ( Within seconds you are blind.)
*

Loss of sense of touch, speech and the ability to swallow.
*

Within 3 minutes, paralysis sets in and your body goes into respiratory arrest.

The poison is not injected but is contained in the octopus's saliva, which comes from two glands each as big as its brain. Poison from the one is used on its main prey, crabs, and is relatively harmless to humans. Poison from the other gland serves as defense against predators. The blue-ringed octopus either secretes the poison in the vicinity of its prey, waits until it is immobile and then devours it, or it jumps out and envelops the prey in its 8 tentacles and bites it.

First Aid

First aid for blue-ringed octopus bites

Pressure-immobilization is a recommended first aid. Prolonged artificial respiration may also be required. May require supportive treatment including mechanical ventilation until the effects of the toxin disappear. There is no antivenin available in Australia.
Mouth to mouth resuscitation can keep the victim alive and the poison gradually wears off after 24 hrs, apparently leaving no side effects. "



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with all that said and all precautions have been taken to prevent escape (fine mesh, astro turf) .... I have 2 possible tanks that I would be considering placing the octo in.... My last Bimac was in my 300 gallon BUT i think that will just be WAY TOo BIG for such a small and dangerous animal such as the blue ring... I have a 24 gallon nano and a smaller 6 gallon is actually more of a candidate but im not too sure if a 6 gallon will just be too small. i would hate to stress the animal unnecessarily... the 6 gallon would be first pic because it has no rear filtration unlike my 24gallon jbj so makes of a less chance that the octo will find its way into the back and make it almost impossible to get out. Both the 6/24 get weekly water changes and are kept pristine so water quality in these small tanks is not of issue. just dont know which tank would be more suitable.
I am familiar with the proper way to escape proof the tank. the 6 gallon has tiny tiny mesh covering the opening and is lined with astro BUT i dont know if the astro will work for a BLO since their suckers are super tiny as well and just might be able to grip on astro turf. If i decide to place the octo in the 24 gallon further precaution will need to be taken to be sure escape cannot be obtained.

this is not my first octo. my story can be found below.

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?19953-Hello...-Im-new-here-and-bring-sad-news


Im wondering if anyone has seen any Blue Ring Octos at any LFS here in So Cal. Or if there are any BRO's that i can order online from any trusted sites? If beggars could be choosers i would prefer the Grater BLO as opposed to the Lessor. Thank you for any information or insight you may be able to provide!

-chris
 
Actually, the only blue-rings available commercially are H. lunulata. They are slightly smaller than H. maculosa, but in fact both have a mantle length under 5 cm and will do fine in a six gallon - as long as it is a species only tank, the water is pristine and you engage in good husbandry. We often keep our H. l in 5 gal systems with no problem.

Forget the astroturf. It doesn't work reliably with blue-rings.

The real downside with blue-rings beside the obvious is that they do not ship well and they usually arrive as large adults and only live a month or two. There are importers who will special order them, particularly if you wave all guarantees and they know that you know what you are doing. However, quite frankly, if I were a supplier, I would pass. Why risk the liability for $20 profit?

Roy
 
thank you guys for all of your input. i will for sure look into this more. i have placed a few special orders with high hopes on running across one. Neogonodactylus thank you for your info about the astroturf. i didnt think it would work but was not sure. if the BRO will work in the 6 gal thats most likely the area he will be kept. he can be watched and its easier to prevent possible escape in the smaller tank with less openings to cover.

the one i saw down here in OC at a lfs called TONGS. they normally get really really small ones in there so thats honestly my target store atm.
 

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