# Stop the maddness



## rday (Mar 10, 2003)

Excerpt from Sources of Live Cephalopods


> The Blue Ringed Octopus Issue
> 
> Members of the family Hapalochlaena display stunning arrays of coloration, which have earned them a nearly universally known moniker: Blue Ringed Octopuses. Like many beautiful fish in the sea, the spectacular patterning of this small octopus means the Blue Ring is prized and popular among hobbyists and aquarists alike. Unfortunately, it is not well known that these tiny cephalopods pack a very potent venomous bite that earns them a spot among the most dangerous creatures on Earth. Their venom, a potent neurotoxin called tetradotoxin, (abbreviated: TTX) is one of the few known cephalopod venoms that can affect humans, but the effect is drastic. Even in the minuscule doses delivered by a Blue Ring's nearly unnoticeable bite, TTX can completely shut down the nervous system of a large person in just minutes- the risk of death is very high. If the danger level is not a deterrent enough, members of Hapalochlaena are notoriously difficult to keep- they require very picky water quality issues, they are very shy and short-lived animals: often the animal you get from a pet shop or mail-order company is already 4-5 months old- not a good investment for a mollusk with a 6 month life span. Finally, Blue Ringed Octopuses don't wear their spectacular coloration all the time- only when they extremely agitated. I can guarantee that teasing and annoying a Blue Ring on a regular basis will kill one of you prematurely- Either the octopus from stress, or you after receiving a defensive bite.


Please be mature enough to realize that some things should not be kept in home aquaria. Especially when there are millions of other fishes/inverts that can do very well in captivity. At this point, after all the warnings, I feel more sorry for these animals than the people that they kill.


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

6 month lifespan, and the one delivered to you will be several months old already

LMAO


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

Hey if the person wanna rtisk their life over a octo-pussie then i dont see a probelm. Just make syure yuopu know what you getting into.


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## v4p0r (Aug 14, 2003)

I completely agree with you Rday. You seem to know a bit about this tho could you suggest a non-venomous octo that would do well in a aquarium?


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## rday (Mar 10, 2003)

Octopus bimaculoides is the most commonly kept octopus and you can usually get tank raised ones. This is a huge plus, because you know how old it is and it should be more hardy. Check this site about where to buy and good links on learning about octos.
Here's a handy link

Note- I know they offer links to places that sell blue rings. I hope I'm not enabling anyone here. Remember, just because you can doesn't mean you should.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

o snap its eric said:


> Just make syure yuopu know what you getting into.


I think that's exactly the problem...

Well said, rday


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

I 100% agree blue ring octopusses are not suitable for the home aquarium.










to continue the octopuss discussion click here


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