# Octopii



## Kristy_07 (Jul 8, 2010)

So, I was wondering if anyone knows anything about keeping octopii as pets in Oz? Are you allowed to? 

I had one as a kid for awhile. A blue-ringed called Bluey  

When I heard about Paul the World Cup psychic, I thought I'd see if there's any in captivity in Oz...


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## Scleropages (Jul 8, 2010)

Yup you can keep them as pets. Bit of a pain to keep them in the tank tho!


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## Pythoninfinite (Jul 8, 2010)

Of course you can - even in Oz, you can catch them and eat them, so, although it's surprising, the 'authorities' haven't stopped this potential for pleasure and learning.

Octopus need very high quality water to survive for long periods, they are sensitive to all sorts of contaminants and biological build-ups (nitrates especially), so your filtration needs to be very sophisticated. All things considered, octopus make great captive subjects, although they are often more intelligent than the people who keep them!

Jamie.


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## giglamesh (Jul 8, 2010)

as its been said high water quality. they need a very good tank security wise. also they prefer lower lighting. things to keep them occupied "no pun intended" and they generally dont seem to live very long at all a few years


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## Klaery (Jul 8, 2010)

Yeah as others have said they have quite short lifespans and a very hard to keep. But yes you can


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## Kristy_07 (Jul 8, 2010)

Cool, thanks all. I've been "researching" (*ahem* wasting valuable work time) this afternoon, and had found much the information that you have all said. But I didn't realise that so many people would know about it! I had also read that they're lifespans are quite short, so I don't think they die from bad husbandry... to my knowledge, anyway. 

If anyone has anymore info, I'd be glad to hear it! Ta!


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## Pike01 (Jul 8, 2010)

They dont live very long, alot only live for a year.


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## Kristy_07 (Jul 8, 2010)

pike1 said:


> They dont live very long, alot only live for a year.


 
Have you kept them before, pike?


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## Pythoninfinite (Jul 8, 2010)

Be assured, they will die from bad husbandry faster than they will from reaching their natural lifespan. Many Cephalopods have a very limited life - cuttlefish & squid die after mating - not sure about octopus, but they wouldn't be too far removed from their more mobile counterparts.

Jamie


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## Kristy_07 (Jul 8, 2010)

Sorry, Jamie. I've reread, and my post was badly worded. I didn't mean to say they wouldn't die from bad husbandry, but that from what I researched from other keepers, their lifespans are only 1-2 years, anyway. 

I don't feel so bad about the one we had as kids, now. We had him for about 12mths before he died unexpectedly. Maybe it wasn't us after all!


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## Crystal..Discus (Jul 8, 2010)

I've heard horror stories of tentacles being sucked into filters, and the occasional dog harassed when the lid wasn't on and locked properly :lol: Apart from being extremely expensive to set up and maintain, I wouldn't mind an octopus as a pet. If a Sailfin can amuse people for an hour, an Octopus can entertain for days :d


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## Pythoninfinite (Jul 8, 2010)

Yes Kristy, the Blue Ring may have died from natural causes! You did well to keep it for a year, so you're obviously doing something right... Not sure if they're 'extremely' expensive to set up & maintain, but you really do need to be very conscious of maintaining water quality, so an anaerobic filter to remove nitrates is a good idea, unless you can do very frequent water changes.

Security (keeping the damned thing in at night!) is also a major concern - they are curious creatures and love to explore - especially if the tank next door contains something delectable like a crab or a lobster!

Jamie.


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## giglamesh (Jul 8, 2010)

octopuses are going to hide alot of the time


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## Jonno from ERD (Jul 8, 2010)

I have kept two so far. The first lasted about 6 months, but it was also my first attempt at a marine aquarium. My second was in a larger marine tank, but with only basic filtration and lots of live rock. It lasted a year, but was mature when caught, and the other tank occupants (Moray Eels) were fine. 

I don't have any marine tanks any more, but I am keeping freshwater eels and they are an absolute blast!


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## bpb02 (Jul 8, 2010)

I would love to get my tanks up and going again I havnt kept anything for a few years now pretty sure I've still got everything i need somewhere


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## Kristy_07 (Jul 8, 2010)

That's really interesting! The blue-ringed I had was mature when caught, but we didn't do anything special for the little guy.... 1/2 water changes 2 or 3 times a week (we lived on the bay) and feeder fish and thawed frozen shrimp for food. We had no idea - we just found him swimming around the boat ramp one day and brought him home. I have felt so *guilty* for 20 years for him dying after only 12mths! It's like a huge weight just fell off my shoulders!!


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## moosenoose (Jul 8, 2010)

I brought a blue ringed home once as a kid. Sadly it didn't last long. In hindsight, I should have left it where I found it.

On another note, they'd make fascinating pets when kept in the right conditions!!


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## boodie (Jul 8, 2010)

Jonno from ERD said:


> I have kept two so far. The first lasted about 6 months, but it was also my first attempt at a marine aquarium. My second was in a larger marine tank, but with only basic filtration and lots of live rock. It lasted a year, but was mature when caught, and the other tank occupants (Moray Eels) were fine.
> 
> I don't have any marine tanks any more, but I am keeping freshwater eels and they are an absolute blast!


 
What are the moray eels like to keep? I saw a little snow flake one down at the fish shop and thought it was the most beautiful little thing. But i don't have the time or money to maintain a marine set up, we just have the fresh water with some gouramis and a few tetras, etc.
Do they get as large as they do in the wild in captivity, or are they a smaller subspecies.


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## Snakeluvver2 (Jul 8, 2010)

we caught and octopus once while we were fishing, it scared the crap out of me being only 7


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## giglamesh (Jul 8, 2010)

the snowflake eels are wonderful i just sold mine as i shut down the tank. but perfect model citizens. and fun to watch


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## Jonno from ERD (Jul 8, 2010)

Morays are probably one of the easiest marine vertebrates to keep. Again, I kept mine with just a basic canister filter with plenty of live rock. I will get them again once we're in our new house.

Cheers


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## Kristy_07 (Jul 9, 2010)

Speaking of morays, has anyone else watched this?

[video=youtube;fHNpYxCSnUM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHNpYxCSnUM[/video]


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## giglamesh (Jul 9, 2010)

haven't seen that one before but have seen docos and such that have things like that. the larger ones are capable of tearing limbs off arms ect


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## Kristy_07 (Jul 9, 2010)

The largest one I saw was enormous. Scarily big. Huge. I have a 60kg male mastiff, and the head on this moray was as big as my dog's head. The eel was sitting in his hole, gasping away, watching, but I couldn't bring myself to go closer than about 2m to him. I felt like a snack


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