Source for octopus?

[kangadrew]

I am looking for a source for octopuses. My only qualifications are that it is a species that doesn't get too large for a 60 gallon (no vulgaris, bimac, etc -at the same time I would prefer it to not be the tiniest species that are available), it's not coldwater (no red octo, bimac, etc), and there's a source for it where I can get it right now for under $40.

Thank you!

 

[Brad1215]

You're looking for somewhere to buy an octopus for $40 or under?

 

[meir]

Try blue rings, but with great caution as they are highly poisonous

 

[tomtom2245]

I don't know about right now but Live Aquaria sometimes carries them under their Marine Inverts section. I would strongly discourage the blue ring unless you absolutely know what you are doing. They are pretty small, golf ball or smaller, and can fit through any opening smaller than their beak. Just imagine what could happen with an animal that could easily kill you and can get through an opening that small.

 

[Tahoe61]

Where are you located?

 

[kangadrew]

You're looking for somewhere to buy an octopus for $40 or under?

Yup.

Try blue rings, but with great caution as they are highly poisonous

Absolutely not. Everyone I have ever talked to/heard from about keeping an octopus has said they have been bitten at least once, usually just due to curiosity. Absolutely not going to risk it with a blue ringed.

I don't know about right now but Live Aquaria sometimes carries them under their Marine Inverts section. I would strongly discourage the blue ring unless you absolutely know what you are doing. They are pretty small, golf ball or smaller, and can fit through any opening smaller than their beak. Just imagine what could happen with an animal that could easily kill you and can get through an opening that small.

Yeah, definitely not getting a blue ring. Live Aquaria has some in now I believe but they're like $55 I believe.

Where are you located?

Near 28405.

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

Try blue rings, but with great caution as they are highly poisonous

Don't try this. And they are not poisonous, they are venomous.

 

[kangadrew]

Don't try this. And they are not poisonous, they are venomous.

Yeah, definitely not going with a blue ring. Kind of upsetting that people would actually recommend that species. Actually, no it's very upsetting

 

[Bongo Shrimp]

Yeah, definitely not going with a blue ring. Kind of upsetting that people would actually recommend that species. Actually, no it's very upsetting

True, they are likely not educated as to how truly dangerous the venom is. Or they have a sick sense of humor. What if you truly didn't know the dangers?

Anyways have you tried asking a LFS? There are usually some common Caribbean species that are easy for a LFS to order and are not very expensive.

 

[kangadrew]

True, they are likely not educated as to how truly dangerous the venom is. Or they have a sick sense of humor. What if you truly didn't know the dangers?

Anyways have you tried asking a LFS? There are usually some common Caribbean species that are easy for a LFS to order and are not very expensive.

True, the venom is incredibly dangerous. Combined with the small size and curious nature of the species, it's practically a death wish wanting to keep one. And I want an octopus to interact with it, getting a species I can't touch kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?

I will be giving my LFS a call in a second here to see how much they could order an octopus in for. If it's not too much I will just get something through them. I'll actually just call them now, I'll post what they say in a few minutes

 

[kangadrew]

The lady who answered said that she can't log into the ordering system to see what they can get in, and the manager who can do that gets in at 5:30 tonight, so I will get a call later from him

 

[kangadrew]

Alright, going to give them a call back tomorrow to see, because he never called me back and he wasn't working again today.

I started setting up the 10 gallon for now, I cut down some acrylic and I'm about to go drill it, four holes in the corners for the locking mechanism, and two holes near the back for sump lines. The locking mechanism will consist of a screw drilled into the lid and into a small piece of wood. This will be able to be twisted (only with a screwdriver) to unlock the lid - in order to even move the lid, all of the four parts will need to be unlocked. Think sort of like the locking mechanism on the Exo Terra, times four.

Will post pics tomorrow or some other time. After I pick up some more PVC I am going to build a counter-current skimmer for the sump. Will update the thread as necessary

 

[kangadrew]

Lid is done! I am going to go to bed so I will post pics tomorrow, basically there are two 3/8" holes for return lines and four individual locking mechanisms. I am going to put some astroturf on these mechanisms so that there is no chance of the octopus playing with them and accidentally unlocking its tank.

This was my first time drilling acrylic, and I would like to give my pointers from the lessons that I learned (will make a new thread on this at some point)

• Get as many RPM's out of your drill as you can
• Put practically no pressure on the acrylic
• Start with a tiny drill bit (I believe I started somewhere around 1/16") and work your way up
• BE PATIENT
• If you use the drill in reverse, it works much better - it is basically just melting the acrylic versus drilling it, and so far I have had a 100% success rate with over 30 holes drilled this way (it may not work as well for thicker acrylic though, mine is like 1/4" or 1/8")
• Have some acrylic scrap on hand so you can test it out first, don't jump into it on the final piece

And for cutting acrylic:

• I have very small (24x12") sheets of thin acrylic on hand, so what I did was I took a sharpie, marked where I needed my cuts to be, and lined a straight edge up with them. Next, I did about 25 full scores in each straight line with a box cutter, with moderate to high pressure. Once this was done I lined the edge of a table up with the score marks, and simply bent the acrylic until it snapped
• My acrylic came cleanly off on the short side, but on the long side it didn't go so easily. So what I did was took a wrench and simply snapped it off in pieces, and grabbed the smaller parts and snapped them off as well. Most came cleanly with a straight edge, but there are a few imperfections in the one edge on mine
• I didn't personally do this because I didn't have any sandpaper, but I would highly recommend sanding down the edges of your sheet, because it can and will cut you badly (also use thick gloves when snapping the stuff, eye protection might be smart as well; I got hit in the cheek once with a stray piece, no injuries from it though)

I will post pics in this thread sometime tomorrow, I think you'll enjoy the lid that I have built. I will also post pics of the skimmer, I plan on trying to get that done sometime tomorrow as well. I'll do a step-by-step of that one.

 

[meir]

Yeah, definitely not going with a blue ring. Kind of upsetting that people would actually recommend that species. Actually, no it's very upsetting

True, they are likely not educated as to how truly dangerous the venom is. Or they have a sick sense of humor. What if you truly didn't know the dangers?

Anyways have you tried asking a LFS? There are usually some common Caribbean species that are easy for a LFS to order and are not very expensive.

True, the venom is incredibly dangerous. Combined with the small size and curious nature of the species, it's practically a death wish wanting to keep one. And I want an octopus to interact with it, getting a species I can't touch kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?

I will be giving my LFS a call in a second here to see how much they could order an octopus in for. If it's not too much I will just get something through them. I'll actually just call them now, I'll post what they say in a few minutes

I didn't recommend it as a pet, what I meant was ( as it obviously came across wrong) was that there aren't rly any small octopi being that if there were and it wasn't venomous it wld be the snack of many things. What I do recommend tho if you r looking for a small cephalopod i wld go with a Sepia Bandensis or dwarf cuddle fish. Have in mind tho their short lifespan which I th no is even shorter then that if an octopus. Another one I'd go with (if u cld somehow manage to get your hands on it) is the Metasepia Pfefferi or the flamboyant cuttlefish which are one of the prettiest cephalopods out there

 

[kangadrew]

I didn't recommend it as a pet, what I meant was ( as it obviously came across wrong) was that there aren't rly any small octopi being that if there were and it wasn't venomous it wld be the snack of many things. What I do recommend tho if you r looking for a small cephalopod i wld go with a Sepia Bandensis or dwarf cuddle fish. Have in mind tho their short lifespan which I th no is even shorter then that if an octopus. Another one I'd go with (if u cld somehow manage to get your hands on it) is the Metasepia Pfefferi or the flamboyant cuttlefish which are one of the prettiest cephalopods out there

I have found a few species I like that would work out for me, it's just a matter of what my LFS can order now. I would like a caribbean reef octopus to grow out in the 10 gallon then move to the 60, and when he's moved out I would like an atlantic pygmy octopus (or a similar species) for the 10 gallon. I thought about setting it up as a reef or a mandarin tank but that lock took half of my day to make, lol. So I will just use it as another octopus tank I guess.

 

[meir]

I have found a few species I like that would work out for me, it's just a matter of what my LFS can order now. I would like a caribbean reef octopus to grow out in the 10 gallon then move to the 60, and when he's moved out I would like an atlantic pygmy octopus (or a similar species) for the 10 gallon. I thought about setting it up as a reef or a mandarin tank but that lock took half of my day to make, lol. So I will just use it as another octopus tank I guess.

That's good [emoji4]

 

[say car ramrod]

If an LFS can't get one in Kp aquatics has a waiting list for them.

 

[kangadrew]

Thanks for all the help - I found two sources for them, one has them in now (or can get them in right now) and the other has to wait until December. I am going to try and place an order today

 

[Brad1215]

Who are the sources?

 

[kangadrew]

Gulf Specimen for pygmies and Caribbean Tropicals for the others