octopus advice

[mat20040]

Hi
I am thinking of setting up a 120 gallon for octopus
is there anyone that kept octopus and can give me advice about them, tank set up and keeping it happy
thanks

[lockrookie]

Bolted down cover for top of the tank

[mat20040]

even with canopy on?

Bolted down cover for top of the tank

[lockrookie]

They are Escape artists you put all the time and effort to make a cool home for them and they find a way out and die. You need a secure lid of sorts canopy or no canopy.

Think of it like reverse child proofing your tank

[subman]

Bolted, tie wrapped, duct taped and weights on the lid lol. They are extremely intelligent and need toys to keep there mind busy. Here is a great website for more research...
www.tonmo.com/index.php

So IMHO a 120 is a massive tank for one, depending on which one your looking at.

[corpusse]

What species? I have experience with O. Briareus. I have kept 2 in the past and both lived successful lives. The only time one even reached out of the tank was when I teased him with shrimp from above. I had a mesh top and covered the overflow but never did it seem like he tried to get out. People seem to really overdo this one. A wrasse is more likely to get out as they are prone to jumping through say eggcrate.

They usually need live food to get them going. Fiddle crabs are best, but anything live they will go for. Even a small one is more then capable of taking out the hard shelled crabs. Don't expect to see them much for the first few weeks or months. In fact the first one I had I did not see him at all for about a month despite checking out the tank all hours of the night with a red flashlight. This is the main reason you need to feed live, you'll just never see him to fed frozen. Once they get comfortable they become quite social. I played with both of mine frequently.

Keep in mind the lifespan. 1 year is about the most you're going to get. Make sure to get a young one!

If you have more specific questions don't hesitate to ask. I kept them in a 90 gallon fyi.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-objnA-mbRwE/T6Cflu2wcYI/AAAAAAAAMpc/Ku7m_sW22Jc/s800/IMGP9185.JPG

One day I'll get another but I've since converted the tank to a garden eel tank.