Tip of the Day – 1/22/2013

If you’re looking to walk on the wild side of marine aquarium keeping and say, want to house an octopus, then there are several things you must do to ensure the animal’s health and happiness in your setup. For starters, understand that most octopus don’t live much longer than a year, and many live much shorter lives. And understand that the octopus you purchase may have already lived a for several months in the wild prior to capture. Also keep in mind that the brilliant cephalopods are escape artists that can even crawl out of tanks that have lids on them. Speaking of their brilliance, in order for an octopus to be happy, it needs to be enriched with puzzles and toys. A typical setup with a pile of rocks that you barely interact with is not the key. They are like a small child and need to play and explore their environment. Besides a proper diet and water conditions, these other criteria must be accounted for if you want to house a thriving octopus.