octopus or mantis,

In the future I am panning on putting together a biocube for either a mantis or octopus.
I have done some research on both and understand that the mantis would probably be easier although the octopus seems to interest me more.
anyone have any experiance with either of these?

 

I've got a 14 biocube for sale if you your interested, check out my post.

 

I've got a 14 biocube for sale if you your interested, check out my post.

 

I had a octopus about 6 years ago. It was by far the coolest saltwater creature I have ever had. The only problem was that it only lived about a year. I guess the common octo only lives a year or two in captivity. It was insanely awesome to watch it glide across the tank while changing colors and paterns. Someday I will deffinetly be setting up a tank for another one.
-Bill

 

i have had a mantis shrimp(stomatopod)for a couple of years now and i think i will always own one.
the are very cool critters to feed and seem to be pretty smart. if you decide on one,i suggest Gonodactylus smithii( Purple-Spotted Mantis)it is one of the best to have as a pet and you wouldn't have to worry about it breaking a glass tank!!! check out roy's list of stomatopods for more info
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/crustacea/malacostraca/eumalacostraca/royslist/index.html#directory

 

I debated getting an octopus too, then in doing more research I thought cuttlefish were cooler. I had the tank up and running, but then an opportunity to get some cheap seahorses came a long, so I ended up having a seahorse tank. You should look into cuttlefish, they're easier to care for, plus you can have more than one per tank. They only live about a year in captivity too, but they breed pretty easily and the eggs aren't too difficult to raise, so you can pretty much have a self sustaining population.

 

I have never done any research on them, but I thought octos and cuttles required a larger tank than that... am I wrong? That could be an awesome tank to turn my 28g cube into if they can live in smaller setups.