Local Octopus? Or good Breeder?

Grasshopper23 · 02/28/2019, 11:21 PM

Does anyone know where to get a local octopus? Or know of any good breeders?

After waiting for a few months to see if one would show up at 6th Avenue in SF (not a fan but they said they get them in on occasion). I bought one online. There are not many options and I was really hoping to find a bimac -which I could not. So I tried my luck with a "Pacific Brown" from yourfishstore. It was from Indonesia.

Here is a video a few days after I got her;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMpSYMwLVu0&t=4s

I was super psyched when and it exceeded expectations. Then I realized it was probably nocturnal so it didn't fit the description of what I was hoping I had, an Abdopus Aculeatus. They are not nocturnal and grow to a medium size. What I wound up with was a similar looking dwarf species.

After about two weeks it settled into a cave in one of the live rocks and pulled some shells over the door and rarely came out. Then she laid eggs. So now I am very disappointed and I feel guilty... however I really want to find the octo that I am looking for so any help will be appreciated.

JVU · 03/01/2019, 12:35 AM

That’s a bummer that you received one that wasn’t what you were looking for, and near senescence.

I’m tagging along to see if anyone has any good ideas for reliable sourcing.

dochou · 03/01/2019, 02:23 AM

I feel sorry for the octopus. It looks so sad.
What are your plans for it since it's not the one you want?

Grasshopper23 · 03/01/2019, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dochou

I feel sorry for the octopus. It looks so sad.
What are your plans for it since it's not the one you want?

Can you show me video of a happy octopus? I am still a novice at reading their facial expressions.

Now that she has entered senescence I will let her comfortably live out her days in the den she has chosen. This is the normal end of life for an octopus.

Dennio · 03/01/2019, 02:21 PM

just curious how do you know its in senescence, does that happen after laying eggs?
Keep checking 6th ave, i usually see an Octopus when I'm there.

Mind sharing what kind of lid your running on the tank? ive always thought about picking one up

Grasshopper23 · 03/01/2019, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennio

just curious how do you know its in senescence, does that happen after laying eggs?
Keep checking 6th ave, i usually see an Octopus when I'm there.

Mind sharing what kind of lid your running on the tank? ive always thought about picking one up

I shouldn't be so hard on 6th Avenue. They are the only LFS in SF. I am happy they are there. Although the health of livestock is not the best their prices are fair and they do have a lot of inventory.

As for the lid, I have an old Kritter acrylic 75G tank (48x18"). It has two very robust lids. They each weigh 4.5lbs. I could easliy put a 5 or 10lb weight on them if I had a bigger octo. That was one of the reasons I decided to keep my tank and get an octo. It was easy to octo proof it. I would post a picture if it wasn't such a pain. I love RC but they need to add drag and drop for pics.

Yes, senesence is the last stage of octo life. For the females they lay their eggs and look after them in their den and don't eat and rarely (maybe never?) leave until they die. I think that happens before the eggs hatch. Males also go through this.

Tonmo is a great site for cephalopod info but there is not much traffic. That is why I am posting here hoping to find some Bay Area Ceph Heads.

Dr. Jeffles · 03/01/2019, 08:40 PM

Do you like cuttlefish? I just got 4 eggs from BlueZoo, 3 hatched so far. They're really fun and quite cheap, maybe check out that website.

They also had some sort of Mediterranean octo species about a month ago IIRC, but they might be out now.

dochou · 03/02/2019, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grasshopper23

Can you show me video of a happy octopus? I am still a novice at reading their facial expressions.

Now that she has entered senescence I will let her comfortably live out her days in the den she has chosen. This is the normal end of life for an octopus.

I've read that octopus are very intelligent animals. They're far smarter than fish. So I just assume they're not going to be happy locked up in a relatively small tank. Fish such as clowns live in a tiny amount of space in nature and so I don't think they mind living in a tank.
But I could be totally wrong about it.

Berkeleyaquaman · 03/02/2019, 09:50 PM

Dr Jeffles
What species of cuttlefish?

Dr. Jeffles · 03/02/2019, 11:08 PM

Bandensis

Neilmu · 03/04/2019, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grasshopper23

Does anyone know where to get a local octopus? Or know of any good breeders?

After waiting for a few months to see if one would show up at 6th Avenue in SF (not a fan but they said they get them in on occasion). I bought one online. There are not many options and I was really hoping to find a bimac -which I could not. So I tried my luck with a "Pacific Brown" from yourfishstore. It was from Indonesia.

Here is a video a few days after I got her;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMpSYMwLVu0&t=4s

I was super psyched when and it exceeded expectations. Then I realized it was probably nocturnal so it didn't fit the description of what I was hoping I had, an Abdopus Aculeatus. They are not nocturnal and grow to a medium size. What I wound up with was a similar looking dwarf species.

After about two weeks it settled into a cave in one of the live rocks and pulled some shells over the door and rarely came out. Then she laid eggs. So now I am very disappointed and I feel guilty... however I really want to find the octo that I am looking for so any help will be appreciated.

I recently started my search for an octopus. I see you purchased her from Yourfishstore.com. I've read some online reviews (Yelp) and was scared away. I also called and emailed but no response. How was you experience with them?

Grasshopper23 · 03/05/2019, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neilmu

I recently started my search for an octopus. I see you purchased her from Yourfishstore.com. I've read some online reviews (Yelp) and was scared away. I also called and emailed but no response. How was you experience with them?

I guess the delivery and health of the animal was fine but the biggest issue is these online retailers have no idea what they have. There are at least 3 that are selling "Pacific Brown" or some other generic description. When you ask for details it is clear they don't have any. So unfortunately it is a crap shoot. As you can see from my story above it worked out less than ideal.

Grasshopper23 · 03/06/2019, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Jeffles

Do you like cuttlefish? I just got 4 eggs from BlueZoo, 3 hatched so far. They're really fun and quite cheap, maybe check out that website.

They also had some sort of Mediterranean octo species about a month ago IIRC, but they might be out now.

I'm definitely interested in cuttlefish but I want to have a better octo experience first... but I might change course if I can't find what I am looking for. I am sure a few bandensis would be awesome.

What is IIRC?

JVU · 03/06/2019, 02:17 PM

If I Recall Correctly IIRC

JVU · 03/06/2019, 02:26 PM

I’ve noticed the same problem with octopus sourcing, that vendors don’t seem to have any idea what species they are selling. I don’t know why this is the case. The same vendors don’t just sell “pacific wrasse”. The differences between different octopus species is hugely important in every way.

That’s the main reason I’m following along this thread, to see if anyone knows of a vendor who can actually tell you what species they are selling you. Also interested in cuttlefish. At least with those you can get eggs so you know they aren’t end-of-life.

Berkeleyaquaman · 03/06/2019, 11:27 PM

From what I’ve seen
The most common is Octopus vulgaris

But from time to time I see blue rings

JVU · 03/06/2019, 11:57 PM

Both which you absolutely would need to know you are getting ahead of time.

02/28/2019, 11:21 PM	#1
Grasshopper23 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: SF CA Posts: 176	Local Octopus? Or good Breeder? Does anyone know where to get a local octopus? Or know of any good breeders? After waiting for a few months to see if one would show up at 6th Avenue in SF (not a fan but they said they get them in on occasion). I bought one online. There are not many options and I was really hoping to find a bimac -which I could not. So I tried my luck with a "Pacific Brown" from yourfishstore. It was from Indonesia. Here is a video a few days after I got her; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMpSYMwLVu0&t=4s I was super psyched when and it exceeded expectations. Then I realized it was probably nocturnal so it didn't fit the description of what I was hoping I had, an Abdopus Aculeatus. They are not nocturnal and grow to a medium size. What I wound up with was a similar looking dwarf species. After about two weeks it settled into a cave in one of the live rocks and pulled some shells over the door and rarely came out. Then she laid eggs. So now I am very disappointed and I feel guilty... however I really want to find the octo that I am looking for so any help will be appreciated. __________________ ~Doug Current Tank Info: 75G mixed reef / 29G sump / 6x 54W T5 / SWC 160 Cone

03/01/2019, 12:35 AM	#2
JVU Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: East Bay, Northern California Posts: 83	That’s a bummer that you received one that wasn’t what you were looking for, and near senescence. I’m tagging along to see if anyone has any good ideas for reliable sourcing.

03/01/2019, 02:23 AM	#3
dochou Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Hillsborough, CA Posts: 564	I feel sorry for the octopus. It looks so sad. What are your plans for it since it's not the one you want?

03/01/2019, 02:21 PM	#5
Dennio Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 161	just curious how do you know its in senescence, does that happen after laying eggs? Keep checking 6th ave, i usually see an Octopus when I'm there. Mind sharing what kind of lid your running on the tank? ive always thought about picking one up

03/01/2019, 08:40 PM	#7
Dr. Jeffles Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Berkeley Posts: 44	Do you like cuttlefish? I just got 4 eggs from BlueZoo, 3 hatched so far. They're really fun and quite cheap, maybe check out that website. They also had some sort of Mediterranean octo species about a month ago IIRC, but they might be out now.

03/02/2019, 09:50 PM	#9
Berkeleyaquaman Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kensington CA Posts: 406	Dr Jeffles What species of cuttlefish?

03/02/2019, 11:08 PM	#10
Dr. Jeffles Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Berkeley Posts: 44	Bandensis

03/06/2019, 02:17 PM	#14
JVU Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: East Bay, Northern California Posts: 83	If I Recall Correctly IIRC

03/06/2019, 02:26 PM	#15
JVU Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: East Bay, Northern California Posts: 83	I’ve noticed the same problem with octopus sourcing, that vendors don’t seem to have any idea what species they are selling. I don’t know why this is the case. The same vendors don’t just sell “pacific wrasse”. The differences between different octopus species is hugely important in every way. That’s the main reason I’m following along this thread, to see if anyone knows of a vendor who can actually tell you what species they are selling you. Also interested in cuttlefish. At least with those you can get eggs so you know they aren’t end-of-life.

03/06/2019, 11:27 PM	#16
Berkeleyaquaman Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kensington CA Posts: 406	From what I’ve seen The most common is Octopus vulgaris But from time to time I see blue rings

03/06/2019, 11:57 PM	#17
JVU Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: East Bay, Northern California Posts: 83	Both which you absolutely would need to know you are getting ahead of time.