> Do all octopus (including non-native) live for only a year?
There are a few that pass the 18 month mark but they are usually very cold
water species. One from the arctic lives more than 2 years but it lives in water
just above freezing. One species from the west coast of Baha Mexico was
thought to live more than two years because it could breed more than once but it
is thought to be extinct now. All the small ones live less than a year, that is
one reason I was told that no one was interested in shipping the Hawaiian
bobtail squid (Euprymma scolopes) it only lives three or four months and no one
was interested in collecting such a short lived animal for sale. A few said
they would catch and ship me a couple just for me but since it would require
special collecting trips they would cost $100 each. (this is just bullshit from
people who didn't see the need to collect something that had such a small number
of interested people.) They are actually very common and easy to catch and
keep alive but shipping might have been a problem but the ceph list people
didn't seem to think there should be any problem shipping them. I gave up on them
when it became apparent I wasn't going to be able to build the 2500 gallon
refugium I had planned for a reef tank I was going to build when I moved to my new
house which never happened so it was a no go from all sides. Sorry to go so
far off topic but I really loved these little guys <A
HREF="http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=2&q=http://www.eurekalert.org/kidsnews/index.php%3Fpage%3Dcro
okes-kids&e=7370">Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymma scolopes</A> and I really
wanted them to be part of the display. So to get back on topic all octopuses
and cuttle fish are very short lived animals. Nautilus are an exception and
are thought to live about 16 years but they require special conditions (i.e.,
cool water) and are only found at great depth. The good news is that nautilus
are captive bred but getting one can be problem and they cost about $106 each.
Here are some more links. <A
HREF="http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=5&q=http://www.wpunj.edu/cos/envsci-geo/chambered_nautilus.htm&e=7370">Chambered
Nautilus</A> <A
HREF="http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=3&q=http://www.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/sources.html&e=7370">Sources of Live Cephalopods</A>
Moon
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