Blue Ringed Octopus

[adidas]

Originally Posted by Samw

Octopus in general are great escape artists.

Not worth the risk of death. Goes without saying, but the chances of getting bit are greatly increased when you keep one of course vs naturally encountering one in the ocean. Octopus can fit through holes the size of a dime. Is everyone going to know that? Is everyone going to do the research before buying one? Is it possible for an octopus to escape your tank and you stumble upon it maybe during the night when the lights are out? Maybe not likely to happen but maybe not so unlikely either. I'd rather not take a chance on something so smart, so elusive, and so lethal.

The following is just a story I read about. Its not a Blue Ring one of course.

www.salon.com/tt/post/2004/06/02/post/+We+had+a+large+a+large+octopus+in+one+of+the+disp lay+tanks+who+disappeared+one+night.+The+catwalks+ we+used+to+feed+the+display+animals+were+simply+a+ set+of+boards+laid+over+the+tops+of+the+tanks.+Whe n+we+went+searching,+we+found+sucker+marks+drying+ on+the+boards+and+followed+them&hl=en]A STORY[/url]

We had a large octopus in one of the display tanks who disappeared one night. The catwalks we used to feed the display animals were simply a set of boards laid over the tops of the tanks. 

When we went searching, we found sucker marks drying on the boards and followed them. The octopus had gone past the dogfish tank (dogfish love to eat octopus), past the moray eel tank (morays also find octopus tasty), past the sea anemone tank (pretty but inedible) and dropped into the crab display where he reposed on a pile of empty crab shells radiating pleasure and satisfaction. Many people don't realize that an octopus can clearly show its emotion. It is relatively easy to tell when an octopus is happy, sick, scared, curious or even horny by the texture and color of its skin, which it can control almost instantaneously. After a few similar incidents, we moved this guy to a large tank in the common area of the research facility where he became a pet. 

For those of you who may still doubt the intelligence of an octopus, let me continue. Our new pet loved being fed by hand. He also liked to grab my arm to get lifted out of the water and taken for a walk. They can survive cheerfully in the open air for longer than you might think. 

His favorite game was to watch the door to see who came into his area. Octopods have extraordinarily good vision. If a stranger entered, he would quietly ease himself up and slightly over the edge of the tank (it was open at the top) and wait for his opportunity. Then he would use his siphon to jet a stream of cold seawater 15-20 feet to douse the unwary intruder. Then he'd dropped back into his tank and display the strong colors and hornlike skin protruberances that were his equivalent of giggling.

Wow... that story pretty much sells it, i'm definately getting one... someday..