[200g+guy]

i have just recived the 2 blue ringed octopus i ordered earily yesturday i have just finished the quarenting process and have placed them in their 55gal home they are amazing i have 55 pounds of live rock 2 finger leathers 3 red gorgonians 2 torch corals 1 brain coral 5 or 6 groups of polyops 3 groups of pulsing coral as far as corals go fish i have a yellow tang a 6 line warass 4 fire gobys 7cardinal and my favorite 2 blue ringed octopus
i have a bunch of blue leged crabs for feeders and 3 cleaner shrimp (theyll probably get eaten though
yes i know they are posinus they can kill 26 people with one bite

[Taras1]

OK, you know they're poisonous and there's no antivenin. Why'd you get them?

[eickhorn]

Well
I might be able to answer that !

Because he wanted them !

Heck 25 years ago, i used to have tiger sharks in a 400 gallon tank.

[ry77]

any pics yet?

[200g+guy]

will post pics as soon as water clears the caves were to small for them(yes i took them out of the water)(with a net)

[ry77]

haha good call, are you actually planning to have them mate?

[200g+guy]

well no because they lay 50-100 eggs and they have a 20% juvinial rate and a 50 thats 10 and at 100 thats 20 i dont want 15 little octopi but ya it would be cool but i would never be able to get them all out for matinece

[ry77]

good call there, arent the more nocternal? do you only really see them at night?

[200g+guy]

well i feed during the day so ill see them then and i placed the rock to where i can see them in their caves but they are active during the day and night just like cats but with 8 legs and deadly venom

[ry77]

what do you feed?

[200g+guy]

well i put some blue leg hermits in the tank for them to catch and eat on their own but they werent so i took some out (with a net) and cracked the shell open put the dead hermit on the end of a wooden cabob stick and stuck it near them and it ate it with no problem they are only 2-3 in at the max(without their legs spread out)and one of them will eat 3 or 4 hermits a day and the other one will eat 1-2 its amazing to watch them eat

[ry77]

any live shrimp or anything like that? i would think that would be a treat.

[200g+guy]

i have 3 cleaner shrimp but im kinda hopeing they woulnt eat those but there goin to i know it but who cares they were like 3 bucks each

[ry77]

where did you get them so cheap?

[orestes19832003]

your braver than me but those suckers are beautiful. id love to see pics of them.

[200g+guy]

i will post waters still alil bit clowdy but when it clears up i want to test out my underwater lense i bought from my local cannon shop

[chuck rayburn]

why would anyone buy a blue ringed octopuss. they only live a year. Oh, buy the way, they are DEADLY!

[mtfabel]

I want to see some pics. I find it hard to beleive that anyone actually has these.

[e_baer]

how large do they get? I kinda want one now!

[Six-line Wrasse]

Blue Ring Octopus bites are deadly. You get bit, you die.

Keeping one is risky, hopefully they can't crawl out of your tank and you don't have any children and live as a hermit. If one of your friends were to get bite by a loose octopus it would be a sad day. If you have children I'd like to report you for keeping a child in a hazardous environment.

These creatures are one of the few creatures we aquarists should never get in the habit of taking lightly.

[pyromaniac398]

I agree with six-line. I ifnd it to be irresponsable at best to keep one thing that could kill a person with one bite let alone two. I've done a little research an multiple sites do not reccomend keeping them

"The risk associated with keeping Blue Ring Octopuses, plus their short life span and challenging water requirements earns them a spot high on the list of the worst cephalopodpets one can choose. For more information, please refer to our article about Blue Ring Octopuses.

The Cephalopod Page does NOT recommend keeping Blue Ringed Octopuses for anyone but researchers and those who are experienced with venomous animals."

that was from:Sources of Live Cephalopods - The Cephalopod Page

I find it hard to believe that someone would come to own this. I bring into question also whether or not you have them. You say you got them the day before you posted, but then you also say that you finished quarentine, but quarentine is supposed to take longer than one night. You also say that you will post pictures when the water clears, but you claim that they were making their home in apparently a well established tank, why is that water cloudy. I could just be pullin this out of thin air but your story sounds fishy to me (pardon the pun). I guess all this is ment to mean is that if you really did get them I would seriously reconsider keeping them, and if you didnt next time post something like im thinking about getting a blue ring octopus let me know what you think. I dont want to stir up the water just voice my opinion.

[Fishhead Junkie]

maybe he meant peppermint shrimp and not cleaner shrimp....cuz i cried when my 2 cleaner shrimp died..especially at $20+ a shrimp. oh please people, people keep posionous reptiles, spiders, even that foxfish. plus i am thinking if the octopus does get outta the tank, how in the hell is it gonna come after someone..WALK ON ITS TENTACLES????? more like lay on the floor in a pile of mush and die!!! let the man enjoy his octopus, we are all crazy as well for being into saltwater fishtanks, who else spends $50 on a small piece of rock with a piece of gooey crap on it????? DUH!!!!!!

steve

[Six-line Wrasse]

An octopus is fairly mobile even after leaving the water.

Also, lets say one of his kids accidentally stumbles across it before daddy gets home. It's a slim chance if he has the tank properly sealed but it's still greater than 0.

[Taras1]

I concur w/Six-Line and Pyro. I'm a prison doctor. I don't take handcuffs and shackles off my death row and max security patients, and I keep CO's (correctional officers) with me at all times. Even in the most secure environment, people get hurt in my line of business In my line of business it's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of WHEN. At least I know that I've got help around and that I can survive. With your "pet," can you or anyone else survive WHEN?

[Taras1]

I got your PM's. I'm posting an excerpt from my replies to you for the benefit of others on this thread.

part of your reply:
"... death row inmates kill people blue ringed octopus kill stuiped people who dont take it seriously or who play with it there is no way that i or any of my family and friends could or can get hurt ..."

My return reply:
Actually, the blue ringed octopus kills people, period. Over 29 deaths alone this year from people coming in contact with them, some stupid, some ignorant and some by accident.

Case in point - another deadly species, the Black Mamba. A close friend of mine, who is a subspecialist in snake venom toxicology handles these and other venomous snakes. He's brilliant, world reknown and been bitten several times by Black Mambas - not playing with them but doing his job in a very controlled environment. He's still alive thanks to antivenin and being prepared for the WHEN not IF.

And your reply back:
"ok im not handeling them i ave them in a tank with a glass top on it and adhesive holding it down a i only open it when i need to restock the hermit crab population which is every month and it only takes a a couple of seconds so there is no way it can escape and i never put my hand in the water so there is no danger period"

The Blue Ring is a beautiful animal. I like looking at them in a public aquarium in a controlled environment. I have NO desire to own one. There are plenty of beautiful sea creatures suited for the home marine aquarist.

I refer you to a professional article on the web:

Death in a Pretty Package: The Blue-Ringed Octopuses - The Cephalopod Page
So why should you NOT buy a blue-ringed octopus? - The Cephalopod Page

As Dr. Phil says, "You either get it or you don't."