In fact they are so intelligent that hobby keepers report that it's not unusual for an octopus to break out of their tank, slither over to one nearby and eat the fish and crustaceans, and then return to their own "home" tank. One of the reasons the octopus has become popular with aquarium hobbyists is that this is one creature you can truly interact with. 130 most popular aquarium fishes. It uses its eight tentacles to bring the catch to its beak-like mouth. This allows them to use their arms to sense their environment and explore, and they can even "taste" using the suction cups on their arms. Caribbean dwarf octopus is a smaller octopus that can live in a 30 gallon tank. Despite some negatives, octopus aquariums and octopus-keeping can be quite easy in that they don't require much light, only need simple wet-dry filtration and don't demand the same precise conditions that reef invertebrates need. An adult will weigh around five ounces and will be about 20 inches long overall. In its natural habitat, it prefers to stay in a cave during the day. East Pacific red octopus, or ruby octopus, is on the small side and can live in a smaller aquarium. There's also a debate whether it's humane to keep such an intelligent creature in a small space, and whether it's possible to provide them with enough mental enrichment to keep them from being bored and stressed. You should also spend time learning about octopus body language and "coloring" as they can change colors and their choice of hues actually indicates whether they are excited, stressed or scared. Although they're fascinating creatures, take time to research their needs before getting a pet octopus. Freshwater dwellers have salty blood relative to the water around them. Large, small, peaceful, easy and hard to keep tropical freshwater fishes. This is another species considered friendly and suitable as a pet. All the octopus species are strictly marine animals, and the Flapjack Octopus is no exception. They can be trained and can learn to be hand fed. Making them work for their food also reduces boredom, such as putting some live ghost shrimp in a jar and closing the lid and giving it to them. 1 Evidence 2 Explanations 3 Description 4 Habitat 5 Diet 6 Controversy 7 In Popular Media 8 Gallery 9 … If your octopus is already tame and used to life in captivity, they may well eat frozen and defrosted food, but octopuses are very individual in terms of their feeding preferences, so it is vitally important to find out what they like to eat, and stick to it! Any live foods should be fed spirulina based dry foods, plankton, and cyclops to enhance their nutritional value. And if not, how did it end up there? Since they come from the colder waters of the Pacific, they need an average water temperature of around 60° to 65° degrees Fahrenheit. Why wasn't this page useful? You can expect a pet octopus to live about eight to 10 months, though some can live up to two years. They also are shy creatures so having tank mates would make them anxious and stressed. So the question was raised, is it possible that an octopus strayed as far as the Ohio State Park and survived so long in such a toxic environment? There are over 300 species of octopus. They also enjoy playing with shells and even your hands, although you should be careful to make sure they don't pull you too close to their beak and get bitten. There are over 800 extant species of cephalopod, although new species continue to be described. Many species of octopus are unsuitable as pets, either due to their size or the fact that they can be toxic to humans. It is toxic and can kill your octopus. Your octopus will also need constant care so if you need to travel, you must be able to find a pet sitter experienced in caring and feeding them. These include the: Caring for a pet octopus requires a weekly time commitment and can be expensive. The pH should be about 8.2 and ammonia at zero. My pet octopus would recognize me and come to the top and stick its tentacles out to take food directly from me. You can also choose from octopus pet octopus for sale, as well as from unisex pet octopus for sale, and whether pet octopus for sale is box, or polybag. Octopuses need live food for nutrition and enrichment, although most octopuses … The octopus therefore pumps seawater through the gills and uses the kidneys to filter out fresh water from the ocean. Medium Moon Jellyfish … Because the octopus has a high metabolism, they need to have a high oxygen content in their water. Given that crabs and shrimp aren't cheap. Marine species need to conserve fresh water and at the same time expel salt. Most octopus species will prefer to have live food though you can try to see if they will eat frozen.If you do feed frozen make sure the food is thawed first. Call 1-877-367-4377 to order! 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