However, with very few exceptions octopuses are phenomenal escape artists, and even a large octopus (some of mine have had a head the size of a large grapefruit and been nearly 3 feet in diameter when spread out) can easily make a home out of a long-neck beer bottle! As soon as that well-oxygenated water enters the aquarium, however, your animals and even the bacteria in your tank and filter begin to use the oxygen within it, and the more animals and bacteria there are in the tank, the faster that oxygen is used up. Yes, you read that right – there are numerous reports of octopuses not only being smart enough to figure out how to open the lid on their tank, but strong enough to actually do just that! You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies In the simplest terms, without sufficient turn-over and current to allow efficient gas exchange, the rate of oxygen replacement into your tank water is not able to keep up with the rate at which is being removed by the animals and bacteria in the tank and filter. Octopuses are no exception to this issue, and a captive animal housed in a tank without sufficient hiding places and without sufficient stimulation can develop a number of stress behaviors including white color patterns, inking, frequent deimatic displays (these are sometimes called “startle flashing” in which false eye spots or brilliant colors are suddenly displayed in an attempt to startle a potential predator), autophagy (eating the tips of their own arms), hiding all the time (depending on species, however, this may be natural in some particularly timid species), and rapid jetting into the side of the tank, among others (e.g., Wood and Wood 1999). An example of this would be a top made of plastic egg crate (the light diffusion panel sold at many hardware stores) that is covered with shade cloth. He was nicknamed Harry, after Harry Houdini. However, I have seen some particularly determined octopuses manage to climb across an Astro-Turf barrier, so this technique is not always effective. In addition to the reasons listed above, an efficient skimmer and some carbon will help in the event that your pet is scared into expelling its ink within the confines of the aquarium. Visitors to the Portobello Aquarium loved Sid the octopus but all Sid wanted was to find a mate. If fresh or live crustaceans are not easily available, the best alternative is to feed your pet good quality frozen shrimp (after you have thawed them, of course), provided that you try to vary the diet from time to time with other prey that is available (e.g., DeRusha et al. Also, as I said, these animals have special needs, and they are simply not suitable for most reef aquaria. So, despite their extremely sensitive reputation, octopuses seem surprisingly tolerant of a relatively wide range of water conditions in captivity (e.g., Hanlon and Forsythe 1985; DeRusha et al. So Sid, who was about nine months old when caught, would be of an age now to be looking for love. Obviously, you should make an effort to provide such foods, and you should also try to get the freshest (live if possible) variety of seafood prey to ensure your animals health. A video posted to LiveLeak shows a large octopus as it apparently tries to escape from its tank at the Seattle Aquarium. Inky the octopus made a dash for freedom by apparently breaking out of his tank and slithering down a 50-metre drainpipe. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when Even more expensive would be the loss of giant clams ( Tridacna spp.) — -- An octopus' daring nighttime escape from the National Aquarium of New Zealand is making international headlines after a handler apparently left the top of the sea creature's tank … Well, many people have come up with different strategies for preventing these extremely clever escape-artists from taking a walk across the kitchen floor. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The octopus’ name is Ink, and it’s a new acquisition for the aquarium. Even if you could supersaturate the seawater (lets say it’s at 9mg oxygen/l — the highest recorded on the natural reefs I mentioned), that still only gives you about an hour before the animals would begin to show signs of suffocation if gas exchange is limited. Back in 2009 at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California, a two-spotted octopus took apart a water recycling valve, before directing a tube to shoot water out of the tank for a total of 10 hours, which consequently caused a huge flood. Technically, the proper pluralization of the “-us” ending for a Greek-root word such as octopus should be the suffix “-odes”, but octopodes is generally considered a bit of a mouthful, and in both the Oxford Dictionary and among the scientific community, the most common pluralization of octopus is simply “octopuses.” Even though this could be considered equally incorrect by purists, it is certainly preferable to the Latin pluralization of a Greek root in the obviously incorrect form “octopi.” So, I’ll get off my little soap-box now, but hopefully I have convinced you not to use “octopi” in the future. Inky the octopus escaped from the National Aquarium of New Zealand and into Hawke's Bay. Even during that short walk, Sid was trying to lift the lid off the bucket. – Part II. reefs, these animals are not particularly suitable for a reef aquarium, skimmer can help to remove the ink from an aquarium, Reef Breeders Photon V2+ LED Light: The Definitive Review, Fauna Marin’s ICP Analysis now Available for Direct Shopping, The Ice Storm Clownfish is the “Next Gen” Snow Storm. I think that they make a wonderful pet, and if their special needs are taken into consideration, they adapt well to aquarium life and can live out their entire natural lifespan in captivity. certainly an expensive way to feed your new pet. Sharing the full story, not just the headlines, A few weeks later, Sid made a second dash for freedom. I can say from personal experience with many pet octopus over the years, that if you put in the time and effort to provide your pet with a stimulating and safe environment, they will become a highly interactive and enjoyable pet that you will remember long after their short lifespan has passed. However, this also means that regular maintenance is required to prevent these filters from clogging up. In fact, octopuses can control the amount of ink that they expel, and if the amount of ink expelled is small and the tank is large, use of carbon and skimming can Sid, an octopus who was held captive in New Zealand, had been successful in escaping from his tank multiple times and even stayed in a drain for five days in an effort to hide before yet another escape attempt. However, last year a European study discovered that they actually have six arms and two legs. BIZARRE footage shows a giant octopus making a desperate bid for freedom after escaping from its tank in a scene that looks straight out of … Your email address will not be published. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Obviously oxygen is important to our animals, and if water around natural reefs is usually saturated with oxygen, then we should probably strive to maintain oxygen levels close to saturation in our aquaria as well (e.g., Ng et al. Eyespots on each side of the head, are a striking feature of this octopus. This generalization is particularly true of octopuses. continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. At first, he seemed quite content there. First, elevated concentrations of heavy metals, especially copper, are especially deadly to invertebrates, whether they are corals or octopuses. Their brain is the largest and most advanced of any invertebrate. As I mentioned above, these animals are extremely intelligent predators, and spending their life in a completely predictable and unchanging glass box is not only boring for them, it has a strong impact on both their health and behavior (e.g., Wood and Wood 1999). I have seen a number of posts recently asking for information about keeping an octopus, and thought that would make a good subject for an article this month. This was the golden opportunity Inky needed to set his escape plan afoot. Inky the Octopus escaped the National Aquarium of … In addition to taking only large prey items, they tend to be somewhat messy eaters, and water quality can be an issue if you do not have adequate filtration in place to keep up with the production of waste generated by an octopus. Or, after it was left ajar the first time, he might have realised it was a means of escape. An octopus escaped from a New Zealand aquarium this week. Others use a plastic mesh that is held on with a cable-tie or some such thing. Octopuses have extremely sensitive arms, and they tend to be very tactile animals: like small children, they like to touch, explore, and play with everything they encounter in their environment. They use their rearmost tentacles to push off from the surface of the sea bed before propelling themselves through the water with the other limbs. Hanlon RT, Forsythe JW (1985) Advances in the laboratory culture of octopuses for biomedical research. Animal Uprising: Octopus Attempts Escape At Seattle Aquarium (VIDEO) By Andres Jauregui. For example, Hanlon, Forsythe and colleagues have done numerous experiments with culturing octopuses in captivity and shown that these animals are pretty tolerant of a variety of water conditions that would generally be considered unacceptable for a coral reef tank (e.g., Hanlon and Forsythe 1985; DeRusha et al. NPR's Scott Simon celebrates his ingenuity and second-guesses the octopus… continuous basis, that will quickly clog up the pores of any mechanical filter, and need to be cleaned accordingly. An octopus has made a brazen escape from the national aquarium in New Zealand by breaking out of its tank, slithering down a 50-metre drainpipe and disappearing into the sea. My recommendation here is obviously not the only way that an octopus can be kept in captivity, but I am offering you my opinion for the way in which you are most likely to have success in keeping an octopus happy and healthy throughout it’s lifespan. For anyone interested in more detail on these groups, I provide a simplified introduction to some of the issues of current taxonomic classifications and basic biology of the Phylum Mollusca in my Introduction to the Molluscs article (Toonen 1998). Other options are to periodically feed your octopus in a novel way such as using a bamboo skewer through a cork to feed fresh shrimp, or placing the food item in a plastic bottle with a drilled cork sealing it. Inky the octopus, described as a “curious boy”, seems to have found freedom after escaping from his tank at the National Aquarium of New Zealand. An octopus named Inky escaped from his tank and made it to the Pacific Ocean, says the National Aquarium of New Zealand. For example, some people use open tanks that are very deep, but only fill the tank part of the way such that it is a long way for the animal to climb before it can get over the top of the aquarium. Octopi: They're just too darned smart, and they're sick and tired of this captivity crap. Another potential for many people is live crayfish, which are seasonally abundant in many areas and often sold at bait shops for fishermen. Without such a tightly fitting cover to your tank, there is a very good chance that your new pet will eventually end up as jerky on the floor rather than an Marine Ecology-Progress Series 177: 299-304, Ng WJ, Kho K, Ho LM, Ong SL, Sim TS, Tay SH, Goh CC, Cheong L (1992) Water- quality within a recirculating system for tropical, Toonen R (1998) Reefkeeper’s Guide to Invertebrate Zoology, Part 13: Introduction to the Molluscs, Toonen R (2000) Invert Insights: Dissolved oxygen in the, Toonen R (2001) Invert Insights: Why feeder goldfish make lousy food for marine predators. 1989). Marine Ecology Progress Series 117: 159-172, Leclercq N, Gattuso JP, Jaubert J (1999) Measurement of oxygen metabolism in open-top aquatic mesocosms: application to a coral reef community. So… I did something new. In fact, in the five species cultured by these researchers to date, there was no significant decrease in the rate of feeding or growth of octopuses cultured at a pH as low as 7.5, salinities in the range of 32-38 ppt (roughly a specific gravity of 1.022 – 1.028 at 80EF), and In this way, you have a solid lid that prevents the octopus from escaping, but you still have an open top that allows for efficient gas exchange. I looked up this info for you: [list type=decimal] [*] 1 Be sure to set up your tank at least three months before you get your octopus. An octopus has successfully escaped an aquarium and re-entered the ocean by squeezing through a gap in its tank. As I mentioned above, I generally prefer to use a well-sealed aquarium with an open sump in which to keep the skimmer and filtration, but a carefully sealed tank without a sump can work just as well, provided you have a reasonably large tank (say at least 30 gallons for an octopus whose head is about the size of a mandarin orange) and good filtration. Again, his door was found ajar. Even the cnidarians (corals, anemones, hydroids and the like), which an octopus is unlikely to try to eat turn out to be problematic, but in the other direction this time – as I mentioned above, octopuses have extremely sensitive arms, and the constant stinging by the cnidarians is both a source of stress and potential infection for your octopus. "An octopus is quite intelligent, so it's not beyond the scope of believability," Mr Crane said. Uniquely, octopuses have more than half their nerves in their arms and even partially think with them. Needless to say he didn't get far.. SCHEEL: In a New Zealand aquarium, another octopus, named Inky, becomes famous on the news when it was reported for escaping its tank and crawling across the floor, disappearing down a …
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