Kept properly, a suitable aquarium species will live its natural lifespan, but sadly, that’s no more than a couple of years. That’s good for everyone because not only is the species difficult to keep alive but, says Ross, “given its coloration, there’s every reason to assume that it’s venomous.” “We’re actually seeing fewer of them come through the trade,” he says.
#Pet octopus how to
After Ross figured out how to care for the species properly and wrote about it, that has changed. One species called “wonderpus” (after its Latin name) used to sell for a high price, even though it would only survive for a couple of months. One thing newcomers will learn at TONMO is that only about a half dozen of the approximately 300 known species of octopus are good candidates for a home aquarium.Īnother member, Richard Ross, aquatic biologist at the Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences, believes that sharing knowledge online has helped reduce the number of unsuitable octopuses being sold. King and Whatley are members of The Octopus News Magazine Online (TONMO), a community of hobbyists, professionals and scientists interested in cephalopods, the group of animals that includes octopuses. “They profit from hunting a bit, and they do like it better,” she says. “You go to Whole Foods and buy shrimp.”Īnd that’s the easy route - live food is superior both for nutrition and enrichment. Another backup tank setup is a good idea in case there’s an emergency, like the octopus inking its tank, which can clog its gills and kill it.įinally, you’d better have a good lid, because the octopus is a master of escape.Īnd with all that, all you can keep in the tank is one octopus, because they’ll eat any tank-mates, including other octopuses.įeeding is complicated and expensive - you can’t run out to the pet store for octopus chow. Whatley says an octopus needs at least a 55-gallon aquarium, with a second large tank for a sump to hold the complicated filtration equipment needed for a saltwater aquarium. This is an animal with specialized needs.įor starters, it requires a lot of space. The rewards of communing with this alien intelligence come at a high price, though. “But he would never do this for my husband, even though he’s the one who feeds the animals.” “I had one little guy, I’d put my hand in the tank and he’d rub on my fingers to be petted,” says Whatley. Yet keepers say that individual octopuses have different personalities, and some say they can tell humans apart.
Interacting with an octopus is a lot like communicating with an alien, since these animals are vastly different from humans: Whatley points out that octopuses have three hearts, a brain surrounding the esophagus, blue blood and no bones. “With one, I would go sit down, and I wore myself out running back and forth - it was almost like it was laughing at me.” “I’ve had several of them do this off and on for two hours,” she says.
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