This mirror is being hosted with the permissions of the original content creator for preservation and educational purposes.
Presented by Charles & Linda RaabeMactan Island,
The Philippines
© 2008 All Rights Reserved
If you have ever had the fortune to dive with an octopus, cuttlefish,
or squid, or have kept one as a pet, you learned quickly that for a so
called "Invert", they are very smart and full of character. Which makes
keeping one as a pet very challenging.
I have had the fortune of
keeping octopus and cuttlefish over the years and if there is one thing
you learn quickly is that an octopus is a master escape artist and a
very efficient hunter. There is only one way to keep an octopus, and
that is in a species specific tank, dedicated to just the
one octopus.
The tank and filtration systems have to take into account
that Octopus have no skeleton and can squeeze through the smallest of
openings. There are many instances where a hobbyist has stepped on
their octopus in the morning a few rooms away from where the tank is.
If you are willing to take the time and effort to keep one as a pet,
they can be extremely interesting and will even learn to be friendly, that is, if you have food in your hand.
One word of warning though, from time to time you may see the small
blue ring octopus for sale, DO NOT buy it, they are very venomous and
can kill you. There are alot of other species available that pose no
danger to you or unsuspecting children or guests. And please do not buy
any cephlapod on impulse, most species only have a year or two life
span and need specific tank requirements to keep one, which takes
planning and forethought. The same concerns and care needed by
Cuttlefish and Squid are very similar as the Octopus.
Below are the egg mass that my cuttlefish laid a month after capture,
appearing as small black spheres which is due to a coating of the
mother's ink but clears as the eggs swell, after which you can see the
baby cuttlefish swimming around in its enclosed aquatic little world.
Also shown is a newly hatched baby at one day old. For very
detailed information on the care, breed and raising of this species,
please see this extermely informative website.
I'm always amazed at how the cephlapods are able to be
extremely rapid quick change artists, able to instantly chance their
colorations and even the texture of their skin to not only act as
camoflauge, but to communicate their moods to members of their own
species. It is very easy to become intriqued by these intellegent
invertebrates.
CEPHBASE - A database driven website on all living Cephlapods.
THE CEPHLAPOD PAGE - A personal website of Dr. James Wood.
THE CEPHLAPOD WEBSITE - Information and forums concerning all areas of cephlapod care and identification.
KEEPING CUTTLEFISH - A very good article concering the keeping and care of cuttlefish.
Found within a live rock and is no
bigger than a small fingernail when spread out and now resides within
my refugium
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This mirror is being hosted with the permissions of the original content creator for preservation and educational purposes.
