Blue Ringed Octopus

[Waters]

As long as you can keep it locked in the tank it's no different than keeping venomous snakes. I have a few rattlesnakes,eyelash vipers, and some Cobras. It's all about the precautions :). And yes I would love to have a blue ringed

Nice :-) I have always stuck to the large non-venomous reptiles (monitors, boas, etc.).

 

[shane91]

I'm right there with you I have or still do keep tics,boas, and burms. And my one beautiful female black throat;) we know how hard that is to come by

 

[Waters]

Yeah, they are beautiful monitors. I had a large Argus and a large Nile that I kept for a long time before finally selling them. They were getting two expensive to feed (plus the wife wasn't too happy with the frozen rodents in the freezer :) ) Always wanted a Burmese but was afraid of the max size.......I stuck to the "smaller" boas and Ball Pythons.

 

[Reefloco760]

Go big or go home!

 

[Dana Borgeson]

They are poisonous to humans. You could die

Ummm, they might also be poisonous.....I doubt anyone's tried to eat them. They are most definitely Venomous, however, and you'd die by slow asphyxiation.

 

[Smotz]

They are poisonous to humans. You could die

So are palys and zoas. Lets not be hypocritical.

 

[w.lohrman]

Coldwatermarineaquatics.com sells octopus $150 plus shipping

 

[Bbaz123456]

I still don't think it's a good idea to keep a venomous pet... imagine if a toddler got involved. smh

That's the exact reason I keep sharks, stingrays, lionfish, and a foxface! Keep them grubby lil paws outta my tank kid!!
The op was asking where to get one, not for everyone's advice on whether or not he should get one. He obviously knows what he's getting in to.

 

[Amphibious]

Reportedly, death comes within 20 minutes of being bitten. Good luck getting to a hospital before death arrives.

I have kept them in the past but haven’t seen one at my wholesalers for several years.

Dick

 

[AcroNem]

To answer the question, yes you could have one trans shipped to you, and on the import lists I've seen they're unfortunately cheap. Cephalopods are terrible shippers and you'd have to fill the rest of the box with other fish, maybe even meet a minimum weight for your order. So if you're okay with the high risk and putting others at risk too you can get one. But it's a bad idea.

 

[Dana Borgeson]

That is why I have a customized enclosed tank. I have looked at the laws there are no laws saying that you cant own one really! The only way the Blue Ringed octopus kills is the tetrodotoxin makes your throat swell to the point where it suffocated the victim. If the Victim can make it to a hospital in time and get get a breathing tube in them they will more then likely survive.

Incorrect. Tetrodotoxin is a bacterial by product and is the same as found in Japanese Fugu. You become PARALYZED and can't breathe because your muscles stop working. You can't move to call someone, you just slump and die. If you had an EMT team right with you, they could get an ETT in your trachea, but if you had to wait longer than 4', you'd be beyond help

 

[Lenny_S]

Octopuses in general are hard to keep. While the Blue Ring is a beautiful creature, it's best not to try to keep one. They are very smart, pretty small, and can squeeze through any opening their beak can fit through which is only a few millimeters wide. They are one of the most venomous creatures in the ocean and their sting is often completely painless. So if you do get stung, you probably wouldn't even realize until it was already too late.

 

[saltyphish]

Thank you! I've been looking for one but the chances of one being shipped here to northern ohio is 1 to none. Thats why I am looking for one that can be shipped to me!

After that nut case who owned the exotic animals released them all, Ohio changed a lot of laws concerning exotic species. I've not read the full list but seems like the Blue Ringed Octopus would fall under those guidelines making it illegal in Ohio. The same goes for venomous snakes and lizards. Make sure you have checked those guidelines they really tightened restrictions on what you can have.

 

[vaioshark]

Hey everyone! I was wondering where can I buy a blue ringed octopus. I use to know a site that sold them but i seem to cant find the site. I do know the dangers to them and was wondering if anyone knew anywhere I could purchase!?

I use to have one. Kept it for a year. Fed it twice a day. Only ate live food. Crabs and crawfish from the bate shop. Never had a problem. I closed tank, locking top. Internal filter. 20 gal tank, 60 gal filter. But good luck finding one. Most places won't sell them anymore.

 

[guyblom]

I kept one for about 6 months many years ago. They're fairly common in the rock pools along the coast here in Oz.

There are a few things to consider before going down this path...

1. You won't see them most of the time as they spend most of their life hiding in crevices.

2. When they are out of their home, you'll probably have to look pretty hard to find them as the rings are only really pronounced when they are agitated or distressed/defensive. The rest of the time they are more of a leopard skin pattern that blends into the rockwork with perhaps some faint small blue rings/dots. Depending on the species/base colouration/mood these base patterns can range from really drab to quite elegant though.

3. Whilst their primary native diet is crabs, molluscs, shellfish etc. they will also attempt to devour any of their slower fishy tank-mates - usually without success though (unless the prey happens to be snoozing).

4. Yes they are extremely toxic - but they are also essentially very passive. This doesn't detract from the fact that tank cleaning becomes a constant concern. If your hand is in the water scrubbing algae, , who knows if your sharing the space with a cephaloapod that woke up very grumpy?

In other words, you are only going to get the pretty blue rings to show if you agitate him/her enough, which is kinda unfair on the animal.

But it is pretty cool to watch them demolish a small live crab in seconds. It helps if you live coastal near rockpools so you can provide a proper diet for them!

Think hard about the pros & cons.

 

[billy mitchell]

in the mid 80's I had 2 ..really beautiful only when they are in defensive mode..their rings pulse fluro blue ...they are escape artists and spend most of the time in hiding ...lots of luck

 

[Pagey]

I was out walking around the rock pools of Darwin a few days ago and I put my foot down right next to one. Just sat there flashing it's rings at me. I can honestly say I almost died of fright, it didn't need to bite me!!
They are super common in the rock pools around here. I'll take a few pics next time I see one for you!

 

[cameronh]

I was out walking around the rock pools of Darwin a few days ago and I put my foot down right next to one. Just sat there flashing it's rings at me. I can honestly say I almost died of fright, it didn't need to bite me!!
They are super common in the rock pools around here. I'll take a few pics next time I see one for you!

That's pretty neat!! Glad it didn't bite you haha!

 

[atoll]

3 recorded deaths but that is only in the last century who knows how many more before. If I was an LFS why would I want to be responsible for selling an animal that had the potential to kill someone and know I was implicated in that death by selling the animal. Somethings are better left alone.

 

[debby]

these animals do not belong in captivity